Michael Odendaal

Aussie Divers Phuket – IDC October 2020

I have wanted to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor for a long time, ever since I tried my first dive and instantly fell in love. After that, I blazed through my AOW, Rescue and then did a PADI Divemaster internship. Fast forward 4 years of being stuck in an office in Europe, and I was very eager to finally become an Instructor and get back in the water.

I was looking at a lot of places all over the world and even other places in Thailand, before finding Aussie Divers. After reading some of the reviews and having a look at the package deals they had available, I decided to reach out for some more information. From how helpful and professional they were from the outset, genuinely taking time to give me advice and mention things I had not even thought about, I knew this was the place that I was going to do my IDC with.

Darren Gaspari is an amazing teacher, I don’t know how he does it, but he finds a way to explain even the most complex and confusing things in a way that you can understand and relate to. And if you still don’t quite completely grasp it, he will change his approach and even bring others in to assist and provide additional support and guidance. He does not give up on his students, I have seen this first hand. If I had a teacher like him in school I would have definitely done a lot better.

Now if you combine that dedication, with all of the amazing staff at Aussie Divers. Who are very passionate about what they do, welcome you like one of them and also support you, believe me there is no way you can fail. There is a reason that on the day of the IE, Darren puts you in an Aussie Divers shirt and tells you to walk in there like you own the place, and that is because he knows you’re ready even if you don’t know it yet.

I would like to thank everyone at Aussie Divers; Tom for letting me be the victim on a Rescue diver course; Lara for the tag along to see how the pool sessions are done; Nice and Alban for letting us sit in and learn how you teach in a live classroom environment; Alix, Andre, Maria, Martin, Nina and Ash for all the advice and support. Very special thank you to Ashley, Dwayne and Fred for all your time, guidance and pep talks. Massive thank you to Darren, for all the knowledge, time, patience, belief and understanding he poured into me for a solid 2 weeks and some change.

I could not recommend Aussie Divers more highly. With Darren and his team behind you, not only will you pass with confidence, but you will also have lot of fun on the way.