Cabbage Tree Bay Up Close: Learning to Dive Right on ICMS‘s Doorstep
Diving 20 metres into the depths of the ocean sounds fascinating, but also a little spooky. But do you really need to be afraid of it?
I‘ve been fascinated by the underwater world my whole life and by the fact that around 80% of the deep sea is still unexplored. As a kid I already loved watching fish, corals, and other marine life while snorkelling. The tranquillity beneath the surface and the chance to come within arm‘s length of animals and plants finally pushed me to go for my diving licence.
With these thoughts I wasn‘t alone, and together with two other ICMS students I completed the Open Water licence in scuba diving during the semester. From now on we‘re allowed to dive down to 20 metres. That brought me a big step closer to my dream of diving at the Great Barrier Reef. And the best part? A walk of not even 10 minutes from ICMS takes you to one of the most beautiful dive spots around Sydney: Shelly Beach. Even though I have already been to this beach countless times, I had no idea what an incredible underwater world awaited me. Small sharks, large groupers, and sea turtles are just a few examples of the astonishing variety in this Cabbage Tree Bay Reserve.
How does it work?
We did our licence with Pro Dive Manly and the process looked like this: Before the course even started, we had to complete about 4-6 hours of online theory covering general knowledge about the ocean, scuba equipment, and hand signals for communication under water. On Friday evening the time had come: we briefly reviewed the theory content and then successfully passed our written exam. Early on Saturday we headed to a swimming pool in Sydney, where we completed our swim tests – staying in the water for 10 minutes without touching the edge and a 200-metre swim. After passing, we had our first practice sessions in the dive pool. Not long after, we were ready and prepared for our first real dive at Shelly Beach. We were a bit nervous for sure, but it was an unbelievable feeling to breathe under water for the first time and experience the richness of animals and plants up close. On Sunday, after passing the practical exam, we completed a total of four dives successfully. But this is only the beginning. Because we all loved it so much, we wanted to do more dives, including from boats, to see not only the beautiful beaches around Sydney but also what‘s hidden out at sea. For me, it was the first step towards fulfilling my dream of diving at the Great Barrier Reef later this year.
If you‘re just as fascinated by the underwater world but still have a little respect for diving, I can only recommend giving it a try. You won‘t regret it!
