To date, the following three days I spent on-board a scuba diving vessel (and the subsequent experiences which took place underwater) were the ABSOLUTE HIGHLIGHT of the trip! It truly is amazing the beauty that exists in our oceans. As a completion of my PADI scuba diving certification, myself and roughly 20 other novice-level divers embarked on a multi-day tour around several reefs on the larger Great Barrier Reef. Aside from underwater encounters with creatures small and large (truly), our dives also included diving skills development … all of which allowed us to dive deeper and longer.Me playing with a sea cucumber, and just some of the smaller creatures that live off the reef:
Trip highlights:
1) Reef Teach – before going on the dive trip, I attended a complementary 2-hour info session (held by a marine biologist) on the Great Barrier Reef and the life that can be found on it. Despite over two hours, we only received the bare minimum of knowledge needed to be able to identify fish / plan life, know what to expect, know what to avoid, etc …
2) Night Dive – THIS part of the trip had me a little uncomfortable prior to leaving for the trip. Although an optional part of the trip, the second night of our trip had us scheduled doing a night dive on one of the reefs we had visited earlier on. The thought of sharks / octopuses hanging just over my shoulder, attracted by my flashlight, didn’t appeal to me … I’m glad I went through with it – you truly do feel like you are flying out outer space: no light, except for your flashlight, everything is calm and slow at night, and you get to see a number of fish-life that only come out at night. Amazing stuff!
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3) Swimming with sting rays and other fish (large and small) – I was caught off guard how, generally, calm fish are around divers. Sometimes they were simply used to divers … sometimes they were simply curious to check us out … maybe we’re just too alien to them to be threatening. However, fish large and small were usually quite happy to follow us around underwater (maybe they were waiting for food hand-outs?). Too many pictures show to you all, but here's a great one of me swimming along side two sting rays.
4) Meeting the cast of Finding Nemo – I saw just about every type of fish underwater, including the fish from “Nemo” – clownfish, Moorish Idols, cuddle fish, rays, etc … Cool stuff! Here are some clownfish we came across on one of the reefs ...
5) Swimming with “Crush” – This was probably the highlight of the trip, for me! On the second day, we visited a reef where we were informed sea turtles are generally seen. I told my dive German dive-buddy that, despite whatever we were doing at the time, if we were to see a sea turtle anywhere within striking distance we were to make an IMMEDIATE b-line to see if we could get our pictures taken with it. I couldn’t believe our luck, but after only being underwater for 5 minutes, I saw a huge sea turtle swimming directly towards us, and as soon as it reached our general area, it relaxed, closed it eyes, and was all to happy to let us take pictures and swim with him for a while. Such a gentle creature – amazing to think they can live to be 100+ years old!
The food ended up being a pleasant surprise of the trip. Our Canadian-born live-aboard chef (<- no joke!) made sure we were fed healthily throughout the trip. Few dishes caused more of a line-up that his cheesy-scalloped potatoes. Recipe provided below.
I offer this piece of advice (for what it's worth) to anyone who is thinking, but uncertain, about taking a dive course at some point in their lives: JUST DO IT! Spend the money, gain the experience … it’s something you will certainly take with you for quite some time!
Ingredients:
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 cup butter or margarine, divided
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
Method:
In a large bowl, combine potatoes and soup. Layer half of the mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Dot with half of the butter and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
4 pounds potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/4 cup butter or margarine, divided
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
Method:
In a large bowl, combine potatoes and soup. Layer half of the mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Dot with half of the butter and sprinkle with half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
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