Scuuuuuuuuuuuba Diving

At the beginning of my trip in Australia scuba diving wasn't even on my mind to be honest. When I finally got onto the Oz Bus and one of the drivers recommended I do it, I decided to give it a shot. Turns out that was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I signed up to do a five day course with the Cairns Dive Center, the #1 dive company in Australia. The course involved two days of classroom studies and pool work followed by a three day/two night stay on their live-aboard boat with a chance to dive up to nine times.

The first couple of days were pretty simple. They involved lots of paperwork, watching a dvd of how to scuba dive, and actually doing some homework in answering about 100 questions our study book provided. I did the class along with five others--all around my age--two girls from the UK, one from Germany, and an Italian couple; they were all tons of fun to hang out with and really made the whole experience a blast.

In retrospect it seems kind of crazy that I went from one day having never worn scuba gear to two days later actually being out at the Great Barrier Reef. It's a weird experience being so far under the water and still being able to breathe; it's really like nothing else I've ever done.

We spent two hours on a smaller boat that took us to the live-aboard on our first day, and right after we got there and had lunch it was time to hop into our gear and get going. Practicing in the pool in one thing, actually being out in the water was--to be honest--a little nerve-racking to say the least. Fortunately things couldn't have gone better for me during our first two dives on day one.

However, day two wasn't as kind. Before we are certified divers (after the 4th dive), we are not allowed to go past 18 meters. For the 6am dive on day two, I happened to go to 18.4m. The punishment? A large spoonful of Vegemite. Vegemite is disgusting in small amounts, but a large spoonful that has to be swallowed is just plain wrong. But since I went past the limit (and instead of just saying I couldn't be certified), my instructor made me and two others eat it. It was by far the most vile, disgusting, horrible, nasty taste I have ever experience. It was like rotten fish eggs or something. I managed not to throw up, but I sure came close. Do not ever eat that stuff; I know I'm not.

But the rest of the trip was a blast. The next dive we were certified and have it all captured by a videographer. That night we were able to do a night dive, which not only freaked everyone out at first but also is one of the most surreal experiences I think anyone can ever have. And the next morning we got to do a deep dive--I was 90ft below the surface!

Oh, and there were tons of fish and other animals too. I saw lots of angel fish, butterfly fish, a sting ray, a white-tipped reef shark during the night dive, and we even took a moment to watch a real-life Nemo in an anemone. They are quite defensive of their homes, and luckily for us we even got to see a baby Nemo, which couldn't have been bigger than a fingernail.

So now I'm back from diving, certified and specialized in deep diving, night diving, and navigation whereas less than a week ago I couldn't tell you much anything about scuba diving at all. Incredible when I think about it. And luckily for me Townsville, where I will now be staying for a month, offers a shipwreck dive that is considered one of the top ten dives in the world. So my scuba adventures are only beginning.