Swimming with Whale sharks in Cancun
Whale sharks are the gentle giants of the oceans. A pelagic species, they tend to migrate where the eating is good (a bit like me!) For them, this means following abundant sources of plankton. There are known spots around the world where they are known to gather seasonally for big feeds. From May to September each year they feast off the coast of Cancun, Mexico and, this year, I was there! I boarded a small 10m boat, with an excited group of seven tourists, north of Cancun and we set off. Lifejackets were insisted upon for all visitors and we soon understood why, it turned out to be an extremely…
Great Barrier Reef daytrip to Michealmas Cay
Meeting friends in Cairns recently, I was keen to show them the reef. An incredible number of people visit the Great Barrier Reef each year and, since a lot of them go to Green Island because of its proximity, which keeps costs down, we decided to go elsewhere. Michealmas Cay presented itself as an option, and looked amazing – easy decision. With over 900 islands, covering roughly 2,300 kilometres, choosing which island to visit could be an endless task. Fortunately tour operators only offer trips to a few islands or the choice might take all day. We started the day with a leisurely 33 kilometre sail out to sea, which…
Best diving spots in Croatia and Montenegro
Formerly little known parts of eastern Europe are becoming increasingly popular as countries like Croatia and Montenegro open up to tourism. Budget flights and low prices at the destination, with food, drink, and accommodation all easily affordable, make these countries an economical option as well as something that’s still a little out of the ordinary. And where better to dive, than somewhere that is still a relatively undiscovered? Croatia and Montenegro are becoming popular holiday options with divers too, thanks to the warm climate, with lots of sunshine combined with miles and miles of coastline. All inclusive dive holidays to Croatia or Montenegro let you explore the underwater worlds without…
Scuba Diving in Boracay, Philippines
Part of what made diving from Boracay Island in the Philippines so exciting was that it was the off-season and tremendously windy (gusty really) on the side of the island most of the dive centres were on. With absolute faith in what I was being told about great diving being available somewhere else I signed up. Getting ready The first interesting point of the adventure was being given a men’s wetsuit to wear. When I asked for a women’s wetsuit I was told ‘this one will fit you’. As a suitably female-shaped diver I knew this was going to be one of those baggy wetsuit experiences. I donned the wetsuit…
Top Shark Diving Destinations
Diving with sharks is the ultimate dream for most scuba divers. As the apex predator of the oceans, sharks command a lot of respect and getting up close and personal with them is a truly incredible experience. Shark-diving in the Bahamas Divers are spoilt for shark encounters in the Bahamas. Caribbean Reef Sharks are everywhere (some of them surprisingly large) but there is also a host of other shark species that are fairly common around the islands including hammerheads, nurse sharks, lemon sharks, tiger sharks and silky sharks. Whale sharks in Australia There are a few locations that boast regular visits from Whale Sharks but nowhere seems as reliable as…
Great Barrier Reef Birthday on Lady Musgrave Island
It is my belief that to come to Australia, let alone live in Australia for any length of time, and fail to visit the Great Barrier Reef would be unthinkable. Moving from Queensland to Western Australia limited opportunities significantly, so imagine my delight when the opportunity to spend my birthday on Lady Musgrave Island presented itself. Located on the outer southern Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave Island is the highest point of a coral cay. The rest of the cay forms a ring around the island providing a natural lagoon filled with fish and, because the water is so sheltered, some magnificent coral. Obviously we had come to dive. SCUBA…
How to become a scuba diving instructor
Some divers are satisfied with being vacation divers, but if you want to do more diving and are tempted by the lifestyle, read on for tips on how to become a scuba instructor. There are several different scuba diving organizations. PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) is the largest and most well known internationally, but there are others, including BSAC (The British Sub Aqua Club), NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors), SDI (Scuba Diving International), TDI (Technical Diving International) and CMAS (Centre Mondiale des Activities Subaquatiques). Each system is just a different approach to diving. They each require divers to get recreational tickets before progressing through further courses and gaining…
Underwater Animals – Don’t trust them!
After several years of working as a scuba diving instructor all over the world I am still passionate about the underwater creatures that keep diving lively. This post is about just a few of the critters I have encountered while diving, sort of a dive instructor’s guide to what really goes on under the waves. The Mad Humphead Napolean Wrasse are gentle giants. They can get to the size of a cow and are generally a greeny-blue-ish colour. They tend to have a pronounced forehead (hence the name) and large lips. In some places they have become very familiar with divers and will approach them. I had exactly this happen…
The most amazing dive I’ve (n)ever done
Mention Ningaloo Reef to people and their first thought is usually ‘Whale Sharks’ but divers also love the area for a special dive site called ‘Navy Pier’. The Navy Pier When I told friends I was heading to Ningaloo Reed, one friend urged me to make sure that I dived the Navy Pier while I was at Ningaloo. Now the Navy Pier doesn’t sound very excitng, does it? It is true that it is a man-made dive site, rather than a natural spectacle, but nature has a way of taking over beneath the surface. Nothing is ever simple There are several dive operators in Exmouth (the town nearest Ningaloo Reef)…
The wonderful whale sharks of Ningaloo
Armed with little more than a snorkel and my camera, I quite deliberately, went swimming with big sharks. Most of them were at least 10m long in fact and I loved it. Want to know what it was like? Read on. Where are we going? At an ungodly hour I was waiting outside my hotel for the ‘whale shark bus’ After several others came by and I was starting to feel like I was on Oxford Street, a bus looking for me turned up. It was a 20 ish minute drive out to Tantabiddi, the launch point for trips to Ningaloo Reef. From here you are taken by small dinghy…
