the great barrier reef and 12 tips for new divers

After being in the red desert center of the continent, flying over the water into Cairns couldn't help but make me smile. And we got a nice sunset to boot.

Cairns isn't much of a destination, but as the entry point to the Great Barrier Reef, it's pretty spectacular. We decided to go all out and splurge on a PADI open water diver certification, and my partner says it's the closest thing he's experienced to flying.

Being perfectly buoyant in water and breathing underwater just seems wrong-- is there any domain we humans haven't conquered? But it is an amazing feeling. Yes, there is a ton of gear, and there are gadgets and meters you have to monitor (so you don't, you know, run out of air and die). And yes, my tank and inflated vest felt like they were bigger than I was...

But being able to just sit on the sandy bottom of the ocean, waiting to see which fish approach you is unbeatable.

"Finding Nemo" was spot-on with their interpretation of the reef:

I didn't know there were so many different kinds of coral:

My favorite was the blue-tipped coral and the blue coral:

And diving really does bring you closer to all the fish than snorkeling can:

There were the usual suspects:

Some fish looked happy:

Others, not so much:

We saw fish that were camouflaged:

And some that were easy to spot:

There were lots of parrot fish (we even saw a blue one that was over three feet long!):

And some things fell somewhere between coral and fish:

I didn't mean to sound so Dr. Seussy. But I found all of the contrast fascinating. And sadly, we didn't get pictures of the best creatures because we saw them all on our night dive.

I was terrified, to be honest, when I was suiting up and looking out at the dark ocean. The wind was blowing, the waves were rolling and our instructor had scared us with the 'ring of steel' joke. (This is apparently the joke used to scare every new diver on their first night dive. He says very solemnly that we have to remember these instructions when we see a shark. He then proceeds to diagram how we swim towards our instructor, forming a 'ring of steel,' thus (ha ha) protecting him from the shark.) Right. Nervous laugh.

And sure enough, as soon as we descended below the surface, we saw a huge shark. Well, I think a six-foot shark is pretty huge-- apparently, it's just 'normal.' It started to approach us (yikes), then swam by and continued on its way. We had torches (Aussie for flashlight), and I was relieved to find night diving not as frightening as I'd thought it would be. Visibility in daylight was about 12 meters because it was a bit choppy, and visibility with a torch wasn't much less, so it was fine. And realistically, if something (a rabid shark, for example) was to speed towards you, you'd have the same chance of seeing it either way.

We saw a huge turtle, too-- the shell was also about six feet in diameter. Apparently, it's the resident turtle of the area, and someone decided to name it Brian. It looked like a swimming table. It swam right towards me (sea animals are often attracted to light at night), and I flailed ungracefully, trying to get out of its way. But it was awesome-- it felt like I was swimming with a peaceful dinosaur. You didn't want to get trampled, but you knew it would probably not eat you or rip you to pieces for fun.

We stayed on a boat in the Great Barrier Reef for three days and did eight dives. It was nonstop dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, sleep, dive, etc. But it was great. We met some great Dutch/German/Irish/English divers in our training course, and our small boat only had about two dozen people aboard. I would highly recommend taking motion sickness pills if you take one of these small boats out to the reef, though, as lots of people (possibly including my partner and me) got sick on the way out. We slept on the way back to Cairns and were fine. So, you can try sleeping, too.

Other tips if you're interested in learning to dive:

1. If you have your own gear (fins, mask, etc.), bring them. The gear they lend you is often sized Small, Medium and Large, which means most of it will be a little large or small. And fins that don't fit properly can cause horrible blisters and rub your skin right off after all those hours underwater-- and raw skin is no fun. Some people put socks in their fins, so you can try that, if all else fails. (Masking tape, not bandaids, were the usual remedy to these blisters/raw skin areas, and that isn't fun at all.) If you don't have your own gear, no worries-- the rentals aren't perfect, but they are included in the price and will get the job done.

2. BUT, if you think you'll dive/snorkel frequently in the future, buy some gear before you go. My partner and I got some decent quality masks/fins/snorkels when we got married last year (yes, we registered for snorkeling gear), and you'll save a ton of cash if you buy them online, for example, rather than at the pro shop. Our mask/snorkel/fin sets were Mares and other similarly respected brands and cost less than $100. In the dive shop, the same combination of gear would cost around $400. In case you're interested, we got our masks and fins at joediveramerica. And don't forget your underwater camera! They are very expensive to rent and generally not included in your diving package.

3. Bring motion sickness pills. Really. Even if you don't think you'll need them. If you're diving in Cairns, you can pick them up cheaply at any of the pharmacy shops (called chemists in Australia). You are pretty much expected to dive as soon as you reach the outer reef. The last thing you want to be is retching your brains out.

4. Bring a warm sweatshirt (or the like), but don't wear pants. The boats are often heavily air-conditioned, and it's often super windy on the decks outside, so you'll want something warm to snuggle in after diving and being wet. We spent the entire time on the boat barefoot (it's required), and the ground often gets wet. No one wants to wear pants that are wet on the bottom. Ick.

5. Eat! A lot. You can burn 800 calories per hour scuba diving, so load up accordingly. Don't bother bringing snacks, though. We had leftover food from our campervan adventure in the outback, and we didn't even touch it. They feed you really well on the boats, and there are always cookies, crackers, fruit and coffee/tea available for munching on. (Not that there is much downtime between diving and meals and sleeping anyway.)

6. Drink lots of water. It's easy when you're so busy to forget to drink water, but they give you a plastic water bottle, and you should just keep refilling it and chugging away. After being in saltwater for so many hours, I'm surprised none of us just pickled up.

7. Get your sleep when you're on the boat. They recommend that you don't drink while you're on the boat, but you're allowed to BYOB. (They even have a fridge for you to store your booze.) But, after all that diving, you will probably be absolutely knocked out at the end of the day. So, be nice to your hardworking body and let it rest.

8. When you're above water, you can use your snorkel instead of your regulator to save your air for your dive. Just keep your BCD (vest) inflated, and you'll be able to swim to your point of descent without wasting any precious air.

9. When you're underwater, relax. As a beginning diver, you won't see every little nook and cranny that an experienced diver will. You may screw up your navigation skills, misread your compass and get totally lost. You'll probably run out of air in half an hour while the pros are still wandering about 60 minutes into their dives. But enjoy the magical flying feeling and have fun exploring whatever you have time for. Breathe slowly and deeply, make sure you dive with a buddy, and most importantly, make sure you and your buddy agree on a dive plan before you're underwater. Underwater sign language is really limiting.

10. Equalize often. If you hold your nose and blow or wiggle your chin or try to swallow before your ears feel pressure/pain, and do it often as you descend, you'll be a lot more comfortable diving. Take your time going down-- if your ears hurt, you can come back up and equalize before descending further.

11. To avoid bumping into other divers, feeling rushed or getting crowded at dive sites, I found it best to be last in. It took my ears a while to equalize, so I liked to descend slowly-- and having no one behind us took the pressure off (no pun intended). Even if you're last in, you still get the full time diving (according to how much air you have). Just remember to start ascending when you have 50 bar of air, and remember to pause 5 meters below the surface for 5 minutes to avoid decompression sickness.

12. Have fun!

We were exhausted at the end of our dive trip, but we were so glad we did it. And once you're certified, you're certified for life.

We sailed back into Cairns and were lucky that our flight left about 24 1/2 hours after our last dive. You're not supposed to fly within 24 hours of your last dive, so we just made it.

We flew out of Cairns...

back to Sydney...


and then boarded another plane to Christchurch, New Zealand.

Up next, the most beautiful country on earth (in my opinion).

alice springs, uluru (ayer's rock) and the outback

Australia's red center definitely took some effort to reach, but I'm glad we went. After doing a bit of research, we learned that all of the accommodation in Uluru (Ayers Rock) is run by one company. They offer options ranging from luxury to "budget," but the budget wasn't very budget to us (about $100/night for a so-so cabin). So, we got a campervan in Alice Springs and drove the five hours to Uluru.

Compared to tent camping, sleeping in a campervan felt downright luxurious. It was my first time staying in one, and I fell in love with our cute little 'hi-top' backpacker, its clever use of space (sink, fridge, stove, microwave, shelves, closet with hangers, etc.) and the way the dining/living room transformed into the bedroom at night.

My favorite thing about camping is sleeping at sunset and waking up at sunrise. At our Uluru campsite, we woke up to a bird singing kookooboora kookoobeeeeera and this view.

And it turns out I was wrong about Australia being just like California. The birds 'down under' are way more melodic. No tweet tweet or chirp chirp here. There were full-blown songs and concertos, and there was quite a spectrum of different tunes.

The sky seemed brighter and bluer in Australia, too, and we really started to feel the Aussie magic when I was admiring the red dirt, and a pair of bright green birds swooped down in front of our campervan. I later learned they were desert parrots. I didn't know desert parrots existed. Not much later, a black eagle spread its wings right in front of our windshield and then soared away. Now, this is what I came to Australia for.

We visited the cultural center (with an interesting though not necessarily appetizing video about traditional bush food) and walked around part of the base of Uluru. People ooh and ahh over the sunset and sunrise colors, but I liked seeing the rock during the day, as the ridges were more clearly defined.

It made me sad to see people climbing the rock, especially because they had to walk right by huge signs that say in many languages, "Please don't climb." We've heard mixed reports on how sacred Uluru is to the local aborigines, but if the sign says 'don't climb, please walk around the base instead,' it seems obvious that we should respect it.

We also visited neighboring Kata Tjuta (also known as the Olgas), which was, like Uluru, one solid, massive rock, but it's been worn down over the years and now resembles a bunch of rounded heads. What makes Uluru and Kata Tjuta so impressive is that the area around them is completely flat.

We found free camping the second night at Curtin Springs, complete with restrooms, showers and a friendly and fearless resident emu.

The emu and my partner were duking it out for some of our trail mix.

It would appear that the emu won.

Or you could just say that my partner is a nice and generous guy.

As usual, we slept at sunset.

And awoke at sunrise.

And we got another visit from our new friend:

So, yes, our visit to the Australian outback was absolutely worth it. We met lots of other travelers who wondered whether they should bother, as it certainly takes both time and money, and I'd say if you can swing it, go.

Alice Springs is the hub of aboriginal art (meaning you'll have the most variety and the most competitive prices), but it isn't much otherwise. I'd use it as a loading station/gateway and make your way to Uluru and Kata Tjuta pronto. Also, if you rent a campervan, know that they charge by the calendar day, not by 24-hour days. (Clarified in comments below.)

As another completely random selling point, the carrots we bought in Alice Springs were absolutely delicious. Light and crunchy and sweet. We chomped on these all day long.

Even our flight out of Alice Springs was otherworldly.

Next up: Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.