Diving the Great Barrier Reef

Queensland's magnificent Great Barrier Reef attracts 1.6million visitors each year, many of whom come for the diving. Scuba novice Kate Crockett describes what it is like to take the plunge in the world's largest aquarium.

It looks like the sharks are going to be the least of my worries: first I have to remember how to put together all the dive equipment I’ve been learning about for the last two days, before I can go anywhere near the water.

It is 8am on a hot, cloudless morning and I am heading out by boat from Cairns, in Australia’s far north Queensland, to do the necessary dives to become a Padi qualified Open Water diver. Having spent the last two days preparing for this in the classroom and pool at the Pro Dive training center, the pressure is on. Not that I am complaining: I am about to get my first glimpse of the wondrous Great Barrier Reef.

For many people, a trip to Australia isn’t complete without a visit out to the Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for 2000km along Queensland’s coast. Even if you don’t want to get your feet wet, the excellent visibility and abundance of life on it mean there’s plenty to see even from a glass-bottomed boat. However, with the Coral Sea an inviting 22-28 degrees Celsius year-round, most people do venture into the water for a close encounter with the Reef’s rainbow of colors and creatures with April to October being the most popular months.

For many people, scuba diving is the way to experience the reef… which is why I am here. On this five-day Padi course I’m learning a whole new vocabulary — from alternate air source to split fins — and a raft of new skills, including learning to breathe all over again. The first two days are spent mastering the basic theory of scuba diving, through a few hours spent in the classroom, and getting comfortable with the equipment, at the bottom of the training pool. We practice skills we will need, such as clearing our masks of water while under-water, and emergency scenarios, such as removing our equipment underwater or breathing from our partner’s — our buddy’s — air source. It’s a lot to take in, but, by home-time on the second day, everyone is excited about trying everything out for real on the Reef the next day.

At 10.30am, I take a giant stride into the balmy waters of the Coral Sea at Milln Reef. Five other students, myself and our diving instructor regroup in the water and, one-by-one, descend down the anchor rope into the deep. It’s an exciting moment. Scores of large fish, including an impressive Giant Wrasse, are circling under the boat, in anticipation of scraps thrown overboard. We leave them behind as we edge our way down.

On the bottom at 12 meters everyone gives the “OK” signal and we follow our instructor on an underwater tour — our first real glimpse of the Reef. The sea floor slopes down and the sand is replaced by life and we are swimming over coral beds. We hover above the colorful, craggy mass and gaze into the nooks and crannies that are home to everything from tiny fish and shrimps to sea cucumbers, eels and all manners of strange creatures. Orange and white clown fish dart in and out of the sea anemones and Christmas tree worms throw their feeders out in bloom, before sinking back into the coral as our shadows fall upon them.

There’s something everywhere you look. Batfish here, butterfly fish there. Listen carefully and you can hear the parrot fish biting chunks out of the coral. Crunch, crunch. My heart’s beating fast with the adrenaline. I am trying to take it all in — while at the same time attempting to control my buoyancy and keep an eye on my team. I know I’m breathing too fast and drinking the air in my tank, but I can't concentrate on everything!

Back on the surface, everyone is excitedly comparing what they’ve seen —between gulps of seawater. The euphoria continues through lunch and until we’re back in the water that afternoon, running through the skills necessary for our diving qualification. My buddy and I practice towing and pulling each other through the water, we flood and clear our masks underwater and practice a controlled emergency swimming ascent to the surface.

Exhausted, we clamber back on board the dive boat to enjoy a relaxing, exertion-free afternoon on deck. That evening we watch with nervous excitement as the advanced group of learner’s head out on their night dive: their torch beams slowly swimming away from the boat into the black ocean. Tomorrow that will be us.
With two qualifying dives down and two to go, the following day we are back in the water at 6.30am for our deepest dive so far — to 17.5 meters.

It’s back on board for breakfast and then back down at 11am, for our final qualifying dive, at a new site called Flynn Reef. We have five more skills to perform successfully for the instructor, including compass navigation and hovering on the seabed, and we ascend as qualified open water divers — exhausted but ecstatic.

It’s finally time to relax and enjoy the reef and, on the swim back to the boat I spot my first biggie of the trip: a white tip reef shark. I spin my head around to my buddy, to see if she has spotted it too, but by the time I get her attention, it’s long gone. No worries (as the Aussie’s say), we’ll be back in the water tomorrow for another look.

Text & Photos: Kate Crockett