July 24: Big Steps At Great Barrier Reef
Adjusting the weights strapped around my waist, tightening the harness holding the oxygen tank on my back, and placing the regulator in my mouth before lowering myself into the water on The Great Barrier Reef, I wasn’t sure how my first scuba diving lesson would go given my fear of drowning and general lack of coordination. However, inspired by the stunning natural beauty I had seen from above during my helicopter ride over the area that morning I decided to give it a shot.
Having spent the last few years learning to face my fears, my general philosophy is that I would rather try something and fail than not try because I might fail. When I found out my snorkeling cruise out of Port Douglas offered an optional chopper ride and intro to scuba diving lesson, I decided to splurge. Having a bird’s eye view of one of the world’s most spectacular habitats and then following that up with a close-up encounter seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up.
After boating out to the helicopter pad from the ship, I attached my three-point safety harness and donned my headphones and mic. The whirlybird’s rotor blades started spinning and the pilot pulled back on the collective pitch control. Our aircraft started to rise, opening up a spectacular view of the bright blue and turquoise tropical waters, the brown and grey coral, and the soft white sand below.
I loved the sensation of rising far above the water, being able to bank to check out a shark or fish in the area and getting an overall sense of the scope and grandeur of the setting. Feeling the craft pitch and turn, accelerate, and lift gave me a similar sense of euphoria as riding one of my bikes.
After disembarking, I slipped into a wetsuit to explore the reef at the water’s surface with my snorkel and mask. Lowering myself from the ship’s large, grated platform, I swam between colorful large red fish and watched schools of shimmering small blue ones flit by in the warm, light-colored water.
From there I walked to the scuba diving platform where I was required to demonstrate the ability to equalize the pressure in my ears, switch regulators, and clear water out of my mask before descending into the ocean.
My instructor used hand signals to guide me and two other participants to the sea floor and then took us on an amazing tour of the reef, stopping to let us run our hands between what looked like the curvy shells of a very large clam which snapped shut when the creature sensed our movement.
He also showed us what appeared to be a beautiful sea anemone with long, thin flowing flexible tentacles providing a sheltering place for little nemo-like orange and black fish. We practiced swimming while maintaining the same distance from the ocean floor and learned to move just with our feet, exploring more of the coral and wildlife within.
It was so gratifying to try something that seemed rather daunting and to end up having such a wonderful experience. What an amazing day!
