Saturday 29th November. 7am. Dive centre…
Open water dives 1 and 2…
This was it… The moment I had been dreading for weeks now. Appreciation at its peak, we were heading towards two open water dives at Leigh, about an hour north of Auckland.
After my additional pool sessions my confidence under the water had increased, and the instructors I had were amazing at keeping me calm, therefore I completed all the necessary skills needed for the course.
Flooding and clearing my mask was now a doddle!
Once all the gear was packed up we left the dive centre and headed north to Leigh where a marine reserve awaited. The coast line was stunning, the sea was calm and inviting and I felt almost excited to get started!…Almost!
Dives 1 and 2 went well, It actually felt slightly easier in the open water, less claustrophobic. When we descended down the anchor line to approximately 10m, I needed a moment to collect my thoughts… This was INCREDIBLE!
I tried to withdraw the fact we were so deep from my mind, and as we swam deeper still it’s a strange feeling to remind yourself to breathe. A few underwater skills were completed and after about 30 minutes we surfaced and returned to shore.
Sunday 30th November. 7am. Dive centre…
Open water dives 3 and 4…
Day 2 of open water dives I felt my confidence was much improved once again. I knew I could achieve this if I just stayed calm and repeat the process of the previous day.
30th November 2014 would turn out to be a day I would never…ever forget.
On our way out for our first dive of the day, two boats crossed our path and shouted out that there were dolphins about 500m away. Naturally our instructor drove over to them on our way out so we could see these incredible creatures in their natural environment. They jumped around the boat and swam up and down, and we all oohed and aaahed in amazement.
Little did we know that 20 minutes later we would all be swimming with these magnificent creatures before our decent.
As we entered the water and completed our buddy checks we began to notice the ever looming presence of dolphins around us, more and more appeared and the curiosity of these dolphins was amazing. Their smiling faces above and below the water made the whole group burst with excitement.
The dive went smoothly and as if the first encounter wasn’t good enough the pod of 12 dolphins decided to join us up close and personal 14 meters under the surface!
Turning around to witness 3 smiling dolphins sat side by side just watching about 2 metres from my reach is a standout highlight from not only my time in New Zealand but from my 26 years of life so far.
I will never forget that image…
Needless to say everyone was buzzing from the excitement of the day and I was so proud to say I was now PADI qualified!!
This is now something I hope to continue not just during my time here in New Zealand but for the rest of my life… X
lifeupsidedown2014 