Scuba-diving the Great Barrier Reef had always been on my life's To Do List. Perhaps this is why I had such high expectations of the whole shebang. Just my luck, it was hella windy in Cairns all three days I was there (14-16 Sept 2011), and the waters were especially choppy on the day we went out to the Reef. Nasty story short, I managed to get extremely seasick. As such, my Introductory Scuba-dive was a flat-out fail. I did, however, manage to soak in some of the sights... all the while fearing I'd throw up into my snorkel mask. Here are a few of my best shots:
Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself. Even though I felt like shyte the entire day, I still got into the water and attempted to take photos. No, I didn't see Nemo, nor any sharks. But hey, I saw some beautiful coral and held this massive living orange thingy in my hand! To my knowledge, this squishy orange thingy is called a Pineapple Cucumber. Rad, no? The best shot of fish I could get can be seen below. Disgusting but true: the fish only came close to me because I had just vomited my brekky into the water. I'd never seen fish fight so eagerly over regurgitated cereal!
I had rented an underwater camera from a local camera shop in Cairns, and when I returned the camera at the end of my Reef-y experience, the lady at the shop gave me some seasickness tips. Shoutouts to Bec, ya heard?! Here's what Bec recommends: Do not drink milk/dairy or pineapple/orange juice on the morning of the dive. Have a solid breakfast the day of the dive, but make sure it isn't greasy. To further prevent seasickness, Bec recommends the brand Kwells over Travel Calm. I'll definitely be keeping these tips in mind when I get my PADI Certification somewhere in Asia next year, hehe. I hear the diving is dope in Thailand, who's down?!
