Australia Day 4: Land Ho

Hello everyone,

I can’t believe this was my last day of my dive trip. My last day. 😦 That left me with three dives and then I would be reaching land for the first time in three days. I woke up refreshed regardless and was ready for an early dive at 6:30 am.

Hello from The Great Barrier Reef!

Our last first dive (wahhh) was at Flynn Little Tracy’s Reef and saw a ton of parrot fish. They are so so derpy… 😛 Our only troubles for this dive was getting each others’ attention. It’s hard to make noise underwater and obviously you cannot talk to each other, so you always have to be aware of your surroundings. Later on we learned a new trick where you create a hole with your fist and then hit it against your other hand.

Hello from, just below the surface!

Giant clams!

Beautiful.

Parrot fish.

Dive two was at a different location called Flynn Tracy’s Bommie which was absolutely beautiful. We did more swimming during this dive and are quite confident at this point. Unfortunately we didn’t see Nemo but we saw so much more coral. They were vivid and vast. I loved every moment at this site.

Our last dive (wowow) was at the same site but this time we were more familiar with the area to venture out and have more specific goals. WE FOUND NEMO! 😀 We were also able to increase our bottom time to 40 minutes (averaging around 30 mins) and just in general see more. It was an amazing end to our dive trip.

Found Nemo!

Hello!

Coral.

I don’t want this trip to be the last time I go scuba diving, so I am finding other ways to make an opportunity to go again. I’m hoping to try diving maybe in the Philippines? Or Malaysia? We will see! Overall, I am so happy I took the leap to do this trip, even completely solo. Strangely enough, I didn’t feel lonely at all. I actually discovered more of what I’ve been missing and neglecting through trying a new challenge / hobby and socializing with new friends and fresh faces. I highly recommend diving at least once in your life! Not many people do it, surprisingly. I hope to make more dive friends in the future. 🙂

Thank you, Prodive Cairns for an unforgettable experience.

Anyways, back to Day 4, we reached land (after managing to NOT get seasick; woo!) and it was a strange sensation. I could use internet again, see civilization, and play Pokemon Go. 😛 The worst part was something I had never even heard of: land sickness. Oh no no no. What is land sickness? Well, basically, it’s when you’ve spent time on a rocking boat of some sort and then touch land again only with that ‘rocking feeling’ like you’re still on the boat. It wasn’t painful, just rather annoying and I couldn’t feel relaxed. Luckily, it passed after 2 days but it was still a strange experience. I learned & experienced something new I guess!

I reached my hostel and met with some dive friends from the trip for dinner. It was nice and relaxing. We had some Bavarian food, beers, ice cream, and then it was an early night for me. I would need to be packed up and ready to go tomorrow morning back to Sydney. My time in Cairns was ending, but I was still excited to see more of Sydney as I only got a little tease when I reached Australia.

My day was filled with many adventures and new experiences. I came out relaxed (despite the land sickness), honest within myself, and refreshed. This trip was exactly what I needed and I didn’t even know it.

Until next time,

Jess