March 16, 2011
7 days…. That is all we have left of Pacific Challenge!!! I cannot believe that it has gone by this fast!! Absolutely crazy! That means 9 days until student teaching! Super exciting!!!
We are currently in Byron Bay (ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!) We are staying in bungalow houses on the beach… they are like little cabins. So surreal. We have just a short walk to the ocean, which is lovely! Byron bay is where Scuba Diving and Surfing happened!!!
Scuba diving…. was incredible! When we got into the boat, I was nervous of getting sea sick like I did when we swam with the dolphins. The swells were large, and our skipper was a bit concerned about launching the boat. We finally made it past the break of the waves, and luckily we didn’t have to travel far to our destination, otherwise I probably would have been sick! When we got there, we had a short instruction time where we recapped what we learnt the previous day at the scuba dive shop. Then, it was time. Looking into the open ocean, I was definitely scared. It was so huge, and I felt like anything could be in the water, or I could get swept out to sea because of the current, and then what?! The ocean is just so huge, I felt like the possibilities were endless!
Putting on the gear (which included flippers, weight belt, goggles, snorkel, and oxygen tank) really got me nervous, but I knew I was going to do it. When I was all set in my gear, and the skipper did the final check, it was time for me to put my regulator in, hold onto my mask, and roll backwards off the boat into the ocean! As soon as I got into the water I could feel the current, and I was scared. It felt nearly impossible to swim to the buoy where we were going to use a rope to get to the bottom of the ocean. With a little help from our dive master, Sue, I reached the rope, and had to wait for the rest of our group. Being in the swells, trying to hold onto the rope while being pulled in all directions really got me nervous. I was having difficulty calming my breathing in my regulator, but with motivation from our instructor, Ross, I quickly got it figured out and we were on our way…
The second that my mask went underwater, it was like I was in a whole new world. The reef was stunning! There were fish of all sizes swimming around; bright colors caught my eye in all directions. Even though there were 7 other people in the water, I felt like it was just me. All I could hear was the sound of my regulator, my own breath. The fish acted as though we were one with them, they didn’t scatter in all directions, they just continued on their way, some stopping, curious as to what we were. We saw multiple species of fish, I am not even sure what we all saw. I know for sure we did see quite a few leopard sharks! They were pretty neat! Luckily for me, I saw a sea turtle! I ended up behind our group because I did not have enough weight on my belt, so I kept floating up. Sue came by and got a weight out of her pocket and put it in mine, and as she did that she pointed up. I looked and there it was, the beautiful, graceful sea turtle. It was such an amazing moment, as it slowly swam along, opening its mouth to eat whatever was in its path.
After swimming around, our instructor Ross gave us the signal that it was time to surface. I honestly felt like I was only underwater for maybe 10 minutes, when in fact it had been 25-30. It was absolutely amazing! When we got back into the boat, the waves were definitely getting to me, and I wasn’t feeling too well. I wasn’t the only one on the boat not feeling well though; there were a few of us. No one got sick, thankfully, but it definitely wasn’t a fun ride.
When we arrived back at the dive shop, it was time to head to our surfing lessons. I was already worn out, but I had a very new perspective of the ocean; a deeper respect, so I was excited to get back into it with this new view.
We had to put on a rash guard, and board shorts, and off we went. Back to the same beach that we had put our scuba boat in earlier in the day! We learned the technique of surfing, warmed up, and headed out to hit the waves….
I would be lying if I said surfing was easy…. It was nearly impossible! There were a few of us who got the hang of it fairly quickly, and were able to stand up on their boards, but for me, it was not like that! I fell off my board every time I tried to stand up, but it really didn’t matter, it was so much fun to try to learn how to surf with our group! We all had a great time; lots of laughs were had. After about two hours of surfing, I was so exhausted! As soon as we got back to out bungalows, I was out cold! I took my regular 3-hour nap! It was well worth it though!!!
After participating in scuba diving and surfing, I noticed that the people here in Australia are so nice. The instructors were so welcoming, and just made you feel like you have known them your whole life! The scuba instructor was nice enough to give us all a ride back to our bungalows, and offered us a few ideas of things to check out in town. We ran into our surf instructor a few times since the lesson, and each time he chats with us, asking how things are going, if we have been back out to surf, etc. It is just so nice to be in a town where you just feel at home with everyone. I really appreciate the hospitality that they have here. It is so nice. Thanks Australia for creating such a friendly atmosphere for us visitors! It is nice to be in a totally random town, and feel safe, and feel like you can chat with anyone! I am definitely hoping to be as open and welcoming as the scuba and surf instructors we had.
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