The life of a scuba instructor on the GBR

 In my job as scuba instructor on Seastar I get to go out to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) almost every day. Off course that is great and I’m enjoying every minute of it. And yes, you can already feel it coming there is a but. The only thing I do is introductory dives with first time divers. I’m especially fond of Chinese or Indian guests who can’t swim, but all sign up for scuba. They’re not comfortable on top of the water let alone under the water. And most Chinese guests can hardly understand me or have trouble following instructions. I absolutely love those days (these last sentences are covered with sarcasm if you haven’t understood that already). But sometimes the day is just perfect and I get reminded why I love this job and diving so much.

Last Thursday I had only one person sighed up for scuba. He was absolutely perfect in the water. It was like having a certified divers with me. To be honest, I’ve seen certified divers that weren’t even close to this guy’s skills in the water. We did the first dive at Mickelmas Cay, which was nice but nothing special. And a second dive at Hastings reef. This dive was off the hook. It is by far the most enjoyable and one of the best dives I’ve done in Australia.

It was a calm day and the visibility was endless. We slowly went down the mooring line to a sandy patch in around 8 meters of water. We swam by this huge anemone occupied by some orange anemone fish. I come her more often to show my students and then turn back to go a shallow area called the ‘fish bowl’. Not today. I spotted a narrow trench and decided to check it out. It turned out to be a wicked swim through. High walls on either side covered in lunar and plate corals. The soft elephant ear coral lined the edges at the top. It was so narrow I could barely fit through. My student swam through like a seasoned pro and absolutely loved it. The trench led to a wall an about 15 meter high wall which we followed for a while.
Once in a while I turned on my back to looked up to just marvel at the site of a big rock outcropping sticking out above us. The sun beating down on the clear light blue water, showing the silhouette of feather stars and sea fans.
The wall ran wasn’t straight. It ran in and out. Creating little grottos and dead end trenches. The ever colorful parrot fish, bird wrasse and angel fish patrolling there territories. Butterfly fish and foxface rabbit fish cruising the reef in pairs as couples in love strolling through a beautiful park. The bigger sweet lips and red bass hiding underneath big plate corals, looking at us wearily.

I can go on for pages and pages using adjective after adjective and still not capture the beauty and serenity that emits from the reef. You’re in wonderland and in that moment there is nothing else in the world but you and a weightless world of unparalleled diversity, ingenuity and wonder. It was a short dive but absolutely amazing. More please…

Diving the Great Barrier Reef

I arrived in Cairns 3 weeks before I got a job as a scuba instructor on one of the boats that go out to the reef. Australia is an expensive country and the money I had in my bank account evaporated as the little puddles of water on the Cairns Esplanade under the tropical North Queensland sun.

Since I had no income I had to prevent spending money and started working for my accommodation in one of the hostels. I got free breakfast (2 slices of toast), free dinner (a $3 crappy pasta) and a free room at Nomads Serpents bar hostel in exchange for 21 hours of work a week. 3 hours a day I cleaned rooms. “Housekeeping”, I would say before entering a room full of smelly backpackers, cursing me because 11 in the morning was still too early for them to be woken by a upbeat Dutchie.

I did have a good time in Nomads serpents. I met loads of new people and the facilities where not too bad. But I wouldn’t stay there again. The manager was horrible. Only 22 years old she was power tripping like crazy. Erin was super strict, rude and more often than not flat out unprofessional. You can’t be uptight if you run a backpackers hostel and 90% of your staff consists out of travelling youngsters.

Well enough about that. With only $75 dollars left in my bank account and despair reaching for my throat I got the call. At the time I was having an interview for some shitty job I didn’t want but needed urgently. It was Pete from Seastar Cruises, if I still needed a job and would come on a trail day. Finally going past all the dive shops and dive boats in town every other day paid off. He told me I needed a dive medical and an in Australia recognized first aid. The later pissed me off a bit since I am a First Aid instructor and the course I had to take and pay $225 for was the exact same one I am authorized to teach. There was no way around it so I got everything done in the 2 days after I got the call and went for my trail. I passed with flying colours and three days later I was part of the crew.
Seastar is a somewhat smaller boat compared to other operators in town. With a maximum of 35 people on board it is not too crowded and makes sure there is still that personal feel to the whole trip. We go out to Michaelmas Cay (http://www.seastarcruises.com.au/where-we-go/michaelmas-cay) and Hastings reef (http://www.seastarcruises.com.au/where-we-go/hastings-reef). Two beautiful sites which offer a completely different underwater experience. I am the only instructor on board and doing introductory dives is pretty much my job description. I get a decent day rate but also get a commission on every dive I sell on board. My very first day I made $275 dollars while having the time of my life discovering the Great Barrier Reef. Species of fish and corals I’ve never seen before. Coral heads almost as big as the boat I came on. (Toto where not in Curacao anymore).

Michealmas Cay is a relatively shallow (7 meters) sandy area with big ‘bommies’ covered in hard and soft corals. Blue spotted stingrays hide out under the sand, little ‘Nemo’ anemone fish look at you wearily when you point them out to the guests. Big bat fish and Giant Trevally hide underneath the boat as soon as we arrive. Sea plumes, spaghetti coral and other soft corals wave gently in the currents. Epaullete sharks hide underneath rock outcroppings and green and hawksbill turtles come say hello. It is an amazing world and a bit weird taking students under in a world where everything is as new to me as it is to them.

Hastings reef is on the ‘outer reef’. In the distance you can see waves breaking where the continental shelve drops down to 1000 meters+. This site is a bit deeper than Michaelmas and has a beautiful wall to dive along. Schools of Hump head parrot fish big enough to ride patrol the shallower parts, white tip reef sharks take of as soon as they catch a glimpse of you. Moorish Idols, unicorn fish and big Maori wrasse bring the colour to the reef. It is absolute delight to call this my office.

After the dive I start cleaning up, chat with customers or drive the glass bottom boat over the reef I just up close and personal.

I feel I still know too little about the marine life in the GBR and can’t wait to learn about these new species or just to learn the different names they use here for the same fish I know from the Caribbean. I plan on staying here for a few months so enough time to get educated.

Life is heading the right direction again. No more hostels infested with Germans, no more sharing rooms, no more shoes or jeans. I’ve got a cool job, live in a cool house filled with other divers, make good money and call the Great Barrier Reef my office. Good times!