While I was visiting the beautiful Whitsundays recently I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try my hand at scuba diving for the first time in my life. I must say that the experience certainly did not disappoint.
The first thing that happened was to receive an induction which gives you a basic run down of what to expect while you are out on your dive. We also had the different hand signals explained to us such as how to signal that you are good, bad or wish to go up or down in depth. Pretty simple stuff but absolutely necessary when you consider that you will be submerged in water and unable to speak to others.
Next step, getting geared up. First you will need to get your wet suit on and then get a eight belt fitted. Once this is done it starts getting interesting. Then they put the oxygen tank on your back and then it starts really sinking in what you are actually doing. Once its on you know your not far off from an opportunity of a life time.
Next we went into a small pool area under the pontoon to get fully accustomed to the equipment. Familiarising yourself with the breathing apparatus is essential on your first time. This involves kneeling in shallow water and taking breaths through the mask. Sounds easy but it takes some getting used to. Once you have gotten used to it you are ready to jump in to the great barrier reef. Once you are first in the the deeper water the weight of the equipment seems to just disappear.
Once you are in the water, you get a feeling of weightlessness and at first I felt I was just going to float away. However, I was guided well and was able to explore the area which we were in without any difficulties. It was a great experience getting up very close to the coral which is further down, and swimming amongst the many different types of fishes. There was a large groper that swam right up to me, which I gave a little pat to, which was really nice.
The fish in the Great Barrier Reef were amazing
The breathing equipment was very effective, and after a while you get very used to using it. When we emerged at the surface, everyone that had gone on the dive, had smiles from ear to ear. What an excellent experience. I would certainly recommend it to anyone wishing to try something different. When you do it for the first time in the Great Barrier Reef, its even better.