“The ocean is the only place where I am perfect as I am,” says Zandile Ndhlovu, pioneering freediving instructor and founder of The Black Mermaid Foundation, which advocates for diversity in the waters of South Africa and beyond. “It’s where I feel safest in this body.” Born hundreds of miles from the coast in Soweto, Ndhlovu was 28 when her love affair with the ocean began on a snorkelling trip to Bali. But as she learnt more about diving, she realised that she was often the only Black person underwater. Now based in Cape Town, she picks the beaches and cafés along the city’s coastline that she loves to visit.
