Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef: it’s on everyone’s bucket list, and something we were lucky enough to do this week. Five days ago we met our scuba instructor, Louis, at Cairns Dive Center., and began our training. We spent two days alternating from the pool and the classroom, learning cool hand signals and blowing bubbles. We tested our skills in the shallow and deep end of the pool as we became comfortable using the scuba gear.
After the three of us passed our written tests successfully, we packed up our things and took a ferry to Fitzroy Island. The ferry to Fitzroy was full of rough seas and puking passengers. When we reached the shore, we were greeted by a luxurious resort which Avi and Nina informed us would be our home for the night.
Our first two open water dives were conducted off the shores of Fitzroy. We practiced skills such as clearing our masks and conducting buoyancy checks. Unfortunately, the visibility was low on our first dive, but on our second dive we saw some beautiful fish and a string ray. It was the ultimate welcome to the Great Barrier Reef.
We spent our evening laughing over free resort dinners and watching movies in the complementary movie theatre. In the morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast and then took a boat to the pontoon on Moore Reef, where our third and fourth dives took place.
The reef was beautiful. Colors of blues and purples, lams larger than your household pet, colorful sea slugs, and schools of rainbow wish joined us in the warm water. We descended to over 40ft under the surface and enjoyed the vibrancy of the life we had the privilege of viewing.