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Published: October 21st 2009
Ready
Up early and ready for some diving.Tuesday was the big day, diving on the Ningaloo Reef! It was a full day trip, with two possible dives, supplied lunch and snorkeling! There was a bit of a problem though. Turned out it was very windy that morning. While waiting to be picked up, we were informed that due to the wind the tour would be delayed, and the itinerary changed. Instead of going to the nearby Muiron islands, we would be diving at Lighthouse Bay. This was supposedly better for diving, but no chance for snorkeling, as the water is too deep. As this was our last chance to dive before moving on, we had to take it. Luckily for us, everything still turned out great! It was a bit chilly on the water, but that was to be expected with the wind. What wasn’t expected was how different it felt diving in rough waters.
Our group was divided into two smaller groups: experienced and beginner divers. Experienced divers could dive with a partner and explore the area without supervision. The rest of us tagged along with our instructor. But first we had to get under the water! During our first dive, two other beginner divers panicked
Emus
During our short bus ride, we got to see some baby emus! while still at the surface. They opted out and decided to spend the rest of the time on the boat. Hill and I were next. We had scuba dived before at the Whitsunday islands, but in much more ideal conditions. Personally, I hadn’t really given much thought to the choppy conditions until of course I was actually in the water. We both had trouble right away. I was breathing hard using the respirator and having trouble calming my nerves. With every wave that splashed into my face, I considered opting out as well. I have to admit, I was scared. The instructor asked if things were fine, and I gave a very hesitant ok (hand gesture). I knew it’d be irresponsible to continue if things weren’t fine, so after a few minutes I finally pulled myself together. Hill and I had done this before, so it wasn’t impossible. I swam with our instructor and Hillary to the front of the boat to begin the dive. Turned out things would be a lot easier once underneath the surface. We took our time descending and swam around at a depth of 15m. We saw tons of cool fish, sea snakes, coral and
Diving
This was the boat wed be diving off of. You might not be able to see it in this photo, but it was pretty windy. other crazy creatures. The sensation of being that deep underwater is so strange. You can’t really see the surface, but you know the light must be coming from somewhere. So much of your focus is on your breathing. Not just because your respirator is the only thing keeping you alive, but it controls your buoyancy. A few deeper breathes will help you rise a bit more, or shallower ones will help you sink.
We were at the bottom for probably half an hour, and 5-10 minutes for submerging and resurfacing. Time flew by, but at the same time we were already exhausted by the end of it. This whole time I thought I was the only one between Hill and I who had panicked, but back on the boat she told me how she was considering pulling out too! But we both faced our fears, and conquered them! …well, in a way. I decided that a second dive would be too much for me. I did it once, why tempt fate? Hillary (the adventurous one) wanted another go at it! And she did it! Unfortunately, her second dive took especially long to descend because the pressure on her ears
Diving - 2
All strapped in and ready to dive! was proving to be really painful. They (the fifth beginner and the instructor) eventually made it to the bottom and explored another area, this time filled with sea turtles (some sleeping right in front of Hillary’s face)! After a long but exciting day, we fell asleep as soon as we got back to the hostel.
Wednesday we decided to take full advantage of the hotel connected right next to the hostel. The hotel had a swimming pool and bar area, and we just chilled out for most of the day. The water may have been freezing, but it wasn’t salty, so we welcomed it with open arms. That night we went out for some fish and chips with Darragh, our new friend from Ireland. Turns out Hillary doesn’t quite hate all seafood! In fact, she really liked it! Great news for me, because I love fish too. Lol
Thursday we checked out what else the town of Exmouth offered. We walked down to the new subdivision being built with the marina. It looked really cool, and already had some of the infrastructure in place. We then walked to the beach, where Hill soaked up a bit of sun
Diving - 3
Since Hillary and I were beginners, we went down separately with the instructor. while I did some whale watching. On our way back to the hostel we stopped in for a game of mini putt. Hillary beat me. Guess that 10 I scored on that par 3 didn’t really help. Haha That evening we went on a whale watching cruise. It wasn’t the season to see whale sharks (during a dive) unfortunately, but we saw plenty of humpback whales during the cruise! Sometime you’d catch the tail fin, or the flipper, or water being blown in the air, but every once in a while you’d get a real good look at one. In fact, a pair of whales even swam underneath the boat! It was such an amazing moment! We got to see a few more close ups before we called it a night. Once back at the hostel, we packed up our stuff and walked over to the bus stop for the long bus ride to Monkey Mia!
Kevin
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