The last couple of days in Cairns have been really nice. The first night after arriving in Cairns we all went out for a few drinks downtown Cairns. The next day was one of the last nights of two girls we’ve been traveling with. We went out to a mexican place for dinner and afterwards we went to the movies to see the new Shrek 3. Afterwards I went out for a few drinks in town, but I didn’t stay up too long as the next day I was starting my scuba diving course. The course is a 4-day course which consists of 2 days in classroom and swimming-pool practice and the last 2 days on a big cruiseboat on the Great Barrier Reef. After completing the course I’ll receive my open-water certificate which enables me to dive anywhere in the world with any diving company, as it’s an internationally recognised certificate.
The first day was quite straight-forward. After the payment of the course and filling out some forms we went to the training center right here in Cairns. There we got to watch a few videos about the theory we had to study. After the videos we had lunch. After lunch we had to do some swimming excercises to proof we were enable to swim at least 200 meters and whether we were able to float on the surface for at least 10 minutes. We then grabbed some snorkeling gear and did some snorkeling tests. After those tests we went on to the scuba diving gear. We learned how to prepare all the gear and equipment and how to get into the water with all the stuff on your back. After jumping into the pool we did some first skill tests which included the clearing of water out of your mask underwater and helping out a fellow diver who’s tired or out of air. That night I had to do some reading and answer a few questions as we had to do some homework for the exam we were having the next day. At 7:10 we were picked up from the hostel to the training center. After watching two more theoritical videos we grabbed our diving gear again and hopped into the pool again. We did some more skill tests including putting off gear and putting it back on under water. Later on we descended to 3 meters in the swimming pool and did some more skill tests. After completing the tests we had lunch and a medical examination by a doctor. The medical examination only took a few minutes and thankfully I received the medical certificate to dive. Afterwards we watched another video about what to expect the coming 2 days on the boat in the great barrier reef. We then went through the theory and the questions we had to answer the day before. After we had been through the whole theory, we had to do the exam. The exam consisted out of 50 multiple choice questions and wasn’t all that difficult if you’d been paying attention to the videos and the talks by our instructor. I had 2 errors out of 50, so that wasn’t too bad, and now I’m able to do the final practical exam on the boat in 2 days.
Judging by the video about the great barrier reef which I’ve seen earlier, this has got to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done in my life. I’m truly excited and can’t wait to start padding the turtles and have a look at the sharks, lobsters, crabs, coral reef and the many sub-tropical fish down there. With the open water certificate we’re allowed to dive down to 18 meters, which is quite an amount. It will be a great experience. I’ll report back soon with the whole story on the boattrip!
I’ll report back in a few days when I’ve completed the scuba diving course!!
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