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Home Hunting in Labuan Bajo

It’s my Birthday! Today we’ve started the day with squishy cornflakes (strangely but enjoyably foam like) and a view across the water with the Komodo National Park in the distance – it’s a nice way to begin the end of my twenties, no doubt. Aaron and I plan the day ahead whilst we enjoy a local coffee (think filter coffee without the filtering bit.. mmm, nice, I know but you do get used to it).

First thing is first today, we need a home. We’re back on the bike and taking a look more locally to see what we can find that includes a western toilet, a double bed (not a mattress on the floor) and a solid door and roof… Not too much to ask?

Well, around here these commodities are few and far between from what we learnt on our first day here. We want to be local, that’s one thing we know so we’ve parked up at the start of town and head up the side roads to ask about home-stays and rooms as best we can.

Not long into our search and we’ve come across a room in a hotel – Solid door, check! Double bed, check! Western Toilet, check! Not to mention, A/C – check! The owner is happy to rent out to us for long stay with breakfast and daily room service included. We’re staring at each other in disbelief. All this for a small percentage more than some of the other awful places we’d seen without the perks of wi-fi, breakfast or dry ceilings. We decide to go and mull over it with a mojito at a local restaurant.. yes, it is only 10.30am but it is also my Birthday though we’re secretly really excited about this place, it’s rude not to!

It’s difficult to decide what you want to pay for accommodation when travelling and what you need from it, there’s always an initial expectation of cost from locals, and standards really vary from place to place as do people’s budgets and necessities from their lodgings- so regardless of advice you have to make your own mind up on what you need and how much you think it’s worth. We decided that for us, it was worth spending a little more, being just a three minutes walk away way from the main strip was neither too close nor too far and the accommodation being off ground level makes us feel more secure as individuals staying here. It’s never easy to commit to a place so early on without really knowing a place but It was clear to us, having seen a large variation of locations and standards of accommodation that we’d struck a great deal here and we are happy to pay for it. So we shake hands, sign papers and get excited about moving in.

We’re not exaggerating when we say it really and truly brightened up our day… (warning: you may need your sunglasses)

(Oh wow – we know!)

The excitement increases tenfold, because now we have it sorted we can go diving! Time to see the Dive Shop, drop-off our gear and sign up for some fun dives tomorrow!

The afternoon is spent blogging and editing through a massive thunderstorm, chatting with family and friends and a quick shower before we head out for a birthday meal.

Dinner is at a little place which looks like a big boat sticking out of the ground, we’ve reserved a spot upstairs on the end of the plank that extends out of the restaurant and into the night over the harbour. Small issue which we didn’t consider, is that it’s extremely busy tonight and we’re in the furthest most isolated location in the entire place, romantic, yes – buuut, we may find ourselves pushed overboard before we eat. Thankfully the food arrives, along with our drinks and the whole evening is a delicious, open aired celebration; up and away from the dusty roads and lit by the glow of the World Cup being played on a big screen inside, we’ve got the bets of both world’s here. We think about how far we’ve come and what we might be doing on any given Tuesday night in London.. Certainly not this. What an Epic birthday.

WD.x

Travel

Welcome to Labuan Bajo & Komodo National Park

Well, to say that one should always be prepared to be unprepared and expect the unexpected seems to be a valid point, well, in my case at least. Here’s a few things that happened since arrival that took me by surprise but was not so much of a shock to Aaron – mostly down to our differences in experience with travelling thus far.

So, a little history before we begin, in 2016 I left the UK to travel Australia with my partner in ‘avoidance of real life’, Rachel. How did that go? Well, I made it to Sydney (the plane did that hard bit for me there), then over to Perth and after that I took three stops on a coach up the West Coast and found myself in Coral Bay, a tiny settlement on the edge of the coast sat alongside the Ningaloo Reef, and there I stayed for the remaining nine months of my visa, along with both Rach and Aaron; who incidentally I met out on the boat he was working on, on the Ningaloo Reef. So, here we arrive back in current time in Labuan Bajo…

… and it must be said that I have found it a slight struggle to deal with, well, any of the situations thrown at us so far. The uprooting of our life and full throttle pace at which this journey has begun and maintained over the five days so far has been rather exhausting and, though I claim to be a carefree soul who wants to spread wings and fly, I genuinely struggle with getting off the ground with no home comforts for a the first part.. Like a little fledgling, mustering up the courage to jump out from the nest. But there’s a quiet confidence within me that I will soar when I do it. After all the last time I did it I had the best time of my life! Whereas Aaron, he definitely knows he can fly, that dude was born ‘falling with style’ and has evolved to be an Eddie the Eagle kinda guy.

So, we arrived in Labuan Bajo and found that our double room had been allocated and ours was a twin room, *cue melt down*. Just push them together, I hear you say. Yes, I’d have said that to me too.. That was, me before we moved all our stuff, flew across the world, spent three days doing endlessly awesome things and didn’t sleep all that well – yes, that is exactly what that me, rational me, would say because it’s not a drama. But, ladies and gentleman, this is an exhausted, overheated and PMT situation now, so on that account you’ll excuse the dramatics, right? Because I did, eventually rearrange the beds and then obviously complain about the gap – just to make a bigger point. As you can tell, there’s a lot of flapping and not flying at this point.

But fast forward a day and here we find ourselves, we’re sat in our hotel room, two twin beds pushed together after a day of bewildering and incredibly genuine kindness from a man we bumped into, whilst staring through a closed shop window in hope of answers!

Introducing Talise, a middle aged, friendly faced man who tells us the shop is most certainly, closed but that the good news is, much like a lot of the shops nearby – he has a bike to rent! It just so happens we are in the market for a bike, we’ve been asking around to get an idea of prices and it seems we have found that the price is variable depending on the size and state of the vehicle. Well, long story short, we took the bike because this man wanted to show us not only the bike but houses and rooms for us to rent in the village. We had been reliably informed that the place was basically filled up, so we couldn’t just potter around – we needed to get to know the area, so it sounded like the perfect opportunity.

We took to the road, the one main, extremely dusty road that runs one-way straight through the middle of the town from the airport. There’s a couple of ring roads that loop around and off to local houses and one that runs you through the centre of the Island of Flores for over 13 hours before you reach the next stop. But otherwise, there’s a whole bunch of mopeds, vans, trucks and a few cars that run the dust dry all day and night from what we’ve seen so far.

From 10am to 2pm we drove from home to home, house-stay to house-stay, with Talise introducing us and explaining our situation at each stop. Luckily for us, because few locals speak more than a few words of English – we saw a huge variety of accommodation on offer. Unnervingly though, with the nicer, higher standard of accommodation being full we were left to get to grips with the idea of squat toilets, fan only rooms with a mattress on the floor – no bedding, no furniture and rarely a dry ceiling or solid door. Disaster.

During our visits the locals were incredibly welcoming and kind to us, we were asked to sit and have some food or tea at a lot of the houses (green bananas are delicious here) . But, asides from the lack of western toilets, we decided later on that the reality of driving up the hill away from town when it is pitch black here by 7pm wasn’t entirely enthralling for either of us. So, we bid farewell and thanks to Talise for the day and we came back to our now very luxury looking hotel to rehydrate, reconsider and rest a bit after what had seemed a very long and very unsuccessful morning of home hunting.

To shake off the frustrations of home hunting we decide to head over to introduce ourselves to the dive shop teams and get an idea of what the plan of action might be for the Advanced and Rescue courses and Divemaster Training and see if anyone else had any bright ideas for accommodation. It’s exciting to start to think about getting in the water here, one morning of being around the town has made us feel dusty and excited to jump into the main event – the entire reason we packed up our jobs and lives in London – to dive here, in the Komodo National Park!

What we hadn’t anticipated in doing so, is how developing Labuan Bajo is; the construction work is either ongoing or abandoned on many buildings whilst others lay vacant and disused. The pavements are halfway complete with huge holes and big drops to the drain network simply left uncovered and unmarked – pretty smelly. There’s essentially pot holes and death traps everywhere so you have to keep an eye on your footing and quite frankly I don’t envisage myself getting legless here without the potential of actually becoming legless.

The bizarre nature of this place is that it feels safer to be on a moped than your feet – the driving system works with toots and a respectful awareness of mopeds as the locals will have their entire family balanced on one at any one time. So, as long as you’re not fast, flashy or too reactive with the breaks and obviously wear your helmet.. it’s generally a safe bet . So we had decided by the end of our few hours with Talise to rent the bike from him, if nothing more than for his kindness during the day. And so we had finished the day with one strong accomplishment – transport! Tomorrow is a new day and more specifically – my birthday! So we shall see what gift fate brings along for me, hopefully a decent home for us for the next few months!

WD.x

Travel

The Gates of Heaven at Gambar Pura Lempuyang, Bali

Day three in Tulamben and with only one full day left here we’ve decided that we will let our dive kit dry out and instead go to see some of the local sights on land. It’s a hot day and instantly we realise how glad we are to have hired a driver for the day. OK, I know what you’re thinking – not the most authentic travel experience but, the roads here are busy and ruthless, the drivers have a tooting language of their own and neither of us are blessed with any directional skill whatsoever…. So after taking one look at a map of the local area we both opted that this would be the more productive (life prolonging) course of action – don’t’ judge us! #tofftravellers

8am pick-up means another early morning, but not without breakfast to set us up for the day; we’ve got five sites to see and a long day ahead. Big bottle of water packed, breakfast devoured we’re out on the road and feeling comfortable in a rather large, rather bright yellow interiored white car with tinted windows. Looking around at the other local cars, all I can think is that ‘Pimp My Ride’ must’ve made it to Bali. Our driver, NiangNiag is full of chat and has us pulling up alongside the main road on the edge of the winding cliff that we took on the way here in the dark – it’s now a clear view of the rice terraces in the valley, with farmers cutting and whipping the grass against boards, rows of perfectly planted seedlings and as Niang Niang informs us, some sweet potato fields too. It’s stunning and with the early morning mist still rising up it’s a moment of realisation of just how far from home we are and how beautiful this place is.

The next stop takes us to the famous temple site, Pura Lempuyang. It’s more likely you would recognise the photos of this temple than the name, as it draws a frenzy of visitors to pose between the gates for a perfectly framed photo with the volcano in the distance. We pay a donation fee and a small amount each to hire a sarong and make our way to see just one of the many temples in this one area. Our tour guide has informed us that due to the schedule for the day we only have an hour to spare. I mentioned we have no sense of direction, right?

Just a little note here: if you plan on visiting temples you can save yourself a small charge by ensuring you cover yourself from the waist to below the knee and ladies, be sure that you have your shoulders and chest covered too.

Back to it then, where are we? Well, we’re standing in front of some locked gated wondering how on earth we make it to where all the people are on the other side – nothing too unusual for a couple with less directional sense than, say… a zebra on ice. Thankfully there’s a group of tourists behind these zebras slip-sliding everywhere and they seem to know better than us, so we take to following them around the corner and thankfully we find ourselves entering the huge stone gates of the temple. Well, actually it’s more like we find ourselves photo-bombing one of the many who have come here to stand between said gates and have their ‘instagram gold’ photo taken. Whilst people politely queue for their turn at looking regal and in awe in front of the volcano we take a little look around. In front of us is a courtyard and at the opposite end stand three ornate stairways up to the second temple. It is here I will admit we don’t get beyond the first temple, and why? Because we spent a good portion of the time trying to get ‘that’ Instagram post – guilty as charged, it’s beautiful to stand there and look out on it all.

The second stop takes us to Tirta Ganga, the lily and coi carp water garden, another unexpected entry fee here – be wary of day tours with this little detail; they may tell you what they’ll take you to see for a cost, but they won’t necessarily pay for you to see it. The tour cost is for driving only and slightly confusing; it seems cheeky but it’s best to clarify what you’re paying for before handing over the cash and to be sure it’s worth it before you presume it’s all included. We had gone in there blind, asked no real questions and allowed them to mostly dictate the best sites to see – do the research, don’t make the mistakes we did! As much as we went on to see a few more things we saw more man made attractions than we wanted, paid more than we’d have like to for them and somehow our tour which was supposed to be from 8am to 5 or 6pm ended at 2pm with a forty minute drive back to our hotel.

Now, had we known we had to pay the entry fees it might have been less begrudging on arrival and we may have also considered more fully exactly where we wanted our driver to take us for the IDR 700,000 we paid rather than IDR 60,000 we could have spent renting a bike for the day and taking our own route and time schedule (but I did mention the directional issues, didn’t I?). The driver and car was definitely a good idea for us but be sure you know what you want to see, have an idea of the time scale between each location and don’t be rushed out of a place before you’re ready, but do agree a time schedule with your driver before you go in and stick to it.

So Tirta Ganga and the Ujung Water Palace (another man-made attraction with culturally interesting structures, somewhat blemished by the big plastic animal pedalos floating around in the shape of a giant seahorse and a pink swan…) were nice enough, and it seemed plenty of people were enjoying the photo opportunities on the stepping stones between the fountains in Tirta Ganga. Others were using a speedboat around the floating platform for food and shade in the Ujung water palace, but it felt a bit too man made and for us a little uninspiring. Nevertheless, we spent our time finding the little beautiful sparks of nature inside and enjoying a little time sat in the shade – occasionally joined by a few locals who wanted to join us for a photo.

Now, let’s just have a think about what we mean when we say ‘man made’, there’s the temples and palaces and water gardens category and then there’s ‘The Tree House’ category, in this category we include a multi-storey network of tree houses joined by bamboo and rope bridges and crow’s nests… Once again we find ourselves in the situation, having paid the money without quite knowing what we were walking into or in this case, on to, there wasn’t any chance we could walk straight out of this bizarre local attraction.

Stepping in it seemed we were the only foreign tourists there, something that came to my attention instantly as I find myself surrounded with camera phones flashing and children being pushed towards me for a photo. A good five cheek aching minutes later and I may have become a small Instagram celeb in the Tulamben, Bali realms. Aaron has missed the whole thing whilst I’m left slightly bewildered wandering amongst bamboo swings, birds cages and wondering which of the stairs upwards looks less rickety. Safe to say we only had one photo opportunity here, the rest was spent clinging on for dear life whilst kids happily strolled along the rope bridges and adults took no notice of the number of person restrictions per platform… Yes, I was saying my final goodbyes whilst wishing I felt more like Indiana Jones and little less like Donkey in the volcano scene.

Next stop was for lunch, we headed to Virgin Beach, another must see and what with it being a beach we weren’t adverse to the idea. You wouldn’t anticipate a beach would involve an entrance fee, well my friends, surprise – this ones does! So, once again, hands in pockets and we’ve been given a one and a half hour time slot to see the place and grab a bite to eat. We spent the time in the second beach-side restaurant we came across and watched as two local girls spent the hour (and a half) swinging their hair around and perfecting poses for Instagram… running in fear as soon as the water touched their toes mind you. The food here was the worst we’d had since arriving and it wasn’t the most affordable either. Beware that tourist traps will have a guaranteed influx of new customers so there’s no real drive for them to improve beyond the basics, the general rule of thumb is to keep it simple or head elsewhere, funnily enough the western food looked much more appealing than our rice and curry tasted.

After making our way back to the car for 2pm we were stunned to hear our driver ask us what to do now, because he didn’t want to drive 40 minutes to the coffee plantation as we didn’t want to buy any – instead he asked if we wanted to buy silver or just go back to the hotel. It’s a shame to think that he was keen to take us places to potentially engineer a profit and a cut for himself but it felt like that was the situation. We would have happily seen the plantation and taken some photos and learnt how it was farmed and planted as initially offered and no doubt been back before 5pm, but once again as we were not interested in spending money he didn’t really care. Beware of this too, we were wrongly informed of how long we could spend in places and how long the day would last, a day trip from 8am – 2pm is long enough if you expect that but to be cut short by at least three hours with no alternative is a bit frustrating.

Ultimately, we live to tell the tale and though perhaps with a few more hours to spare and few IDR less to spare than expected, we put it all down to experience and all in all it was a culturally exciting and different day out! Never be afraid to try something new and out of your comfort zone (even if it’s from an AC car).

WD.x

Scuba Diving

Diving in Tulamben, Bali: USAT Liberty Wreck & Coral…

(First thing’s first… If you’re feeling lazy there’s a video at the bottom.)

Today we’ve woken up to real a wreck, well, The USAT Liberty wreck that is. It’s a beautiful 30 degrees and breezy outside and we’re off to see if we can’t find a few more shipmates… Though the water is a moderate 29 degrees I opt for a wetsuit today, but as I feel the sweat running down my cheek as we suit up at the shore I’m starting to wonder if it was necessary. The tide is in this morning so we have no problem entering the water over the rocky shore and we’re making our merry way down to the seabed, it’s great vis today – the sun is still low and the wreck is bought back to life by the bright corals and busy bustle of marine life that surrounds them. Heading through the same route as yesterday, we’ve made it further this time; more relaxed our air is spent less quickly and we come to see a whole new aspect to this dive. Bubbles float upwards tickling my face as they roll over and emerge at the surface above. We’ve reached the deeper end of the wreck and whilst I stay at 18m there are plenty of divers exploring the greater depths and nooks in the sunken vessel. With so many bubbles rolling up and along the side of the ship through the corals and shoals of little fish, I’d suspect this place must be where the local marine life come for a little pamper. Scuba-diver-powered jacuzzi anyone?

Spa days aside, the star of this dive has to be a pygmy sea horse, hanging out on a fan coral and arguably it would have been impossible to spot were it not for Komang and his knowledge of the site, plus he bought his torch along and – Bingo! There it is, no bigger than my little fingernail and so perfectly camouflaged that if I blink I find myself searching for it again, but there it is just bobbing around its home and wondering who turned on the flood lights. Making our way back to the dive shop and we’ve decided today is a three dive sort of day; it’s our last day for diving in Tulamben so we’re up for making the most of it!

New dive spot at the ready, we’re headed to the Coral Garden for a stroll through the park. Busily tending to their beds is an abundance of fish varieties, whilst we spot lionfish of various species and sizes across the site. The Garden is brimming with fertility and life and it’s a wonder to see. As we pass through the garden around the concrete temples, spirit houses and Buddha effigies that have been placed there to support new coral growth, we find what was once previously ordained in gold leaf and rich throws are now beautifully dressed with feathered sea stars. Nudibranch eggs wrap poles in beautiful pink veils of adornment; delicately dressed, this underwater temple’s worship now comes from its new residents of the underwater variety.

We spotted a few of the more celebrity status residents as we passed through the neighbourhood, a mantis shrimp was spotted scuttling hurriedly from rock club to rock club (party animal that one) whilst a juvenile lionfish was seen skipping school behind the boulders.. We’re not judging, but we’re sure we saw a puff of smoke emanating from the area; Oh little Lionfish is that seagrass we smell?

The coral garden phased into an anemone forest filled with clown fish, the soft anemones swayed in the tide in such a mesmerising manner that we found ourselves sat here for quite some time. Personally I’d never seen more than one small anemone by itself let alone over a hundred large ones sitting so closely together, it felt somewhat like the scene from Bedknobs and Broomsticks where they enter the jazz bar; why weren’t these clown fish holding cocktails from their softly lit seating areas and swaying to the brass trio? The nudibranchs were everywhere on this dive site too, sitting on and under rocks they seemed to be hastily moving themselves around unlike I’ve ever seen, tiny ones, big globules of neon patterned ones – can you ever tire of seeing their vivid colours and patterns – they’re certainly more exciting than the slugs on land.

Back on shore and two dives in, we’re in need of a little boost so stop to enjoy some local food for lunch, we’ve eaten at our resort every time since we arrived and for good reason – it’s cheap and delicious and we know from experience that when you have a good thing, enjoy it – plus the convenience of just popping downstairs from your room after a long day’s diving never goes a miss.

The third dive takes us to the wall, the location we visited yesterday and it’s safe to say we enjoyed it as much this time as the last. On returning to shore we agreed that we could happily dive those sites a multitude of times and not get bored, especially The USAT Liberty.

With a long day of diving done and our log books stamped we spent the evening looking at photos, writing this blog and enjoying a wonderful meal with a very cold Bintang each, before shortly after passing out on the bed – we certainly made the most of our time diving in Tulamben and look forward to hopefully visiting here once again.

WD.x

Scuba Diving

Wandering Deeper in Bali: Diving the USAT Liberty

It’s a nervous, adrenaline filled excitement as we head out for our first dive in over a year, having travelled out of the main Bali tourist spots to the small fishing village of Tulamben, a two hour journey by car from the airport.

Arriving at 2.30 in the morning leaves a lot to the imagination, as the darkness in the remote area of Tulamben is thick and heavy. It’s broken only by a few local lights and the dazzling night sky, though the vague outlines of mountain valleys and the winding roads up and down to our destination promised it was going to be breath-taking in the sunshine. Staying at Bali Reef Divers Resort, we were thrilled to find our clean, beautifully furnished double room equipped with a fridge full of cold drinks and aircon tempering the muggy heat outside. A quick shower and we set the alarm for the following morning to make the most of our four day stay here.

Day one has arrived and well, it looks very different in the morning. The double balcony windows flood sunlight and flickering shadows of palm trees on to the balcony and the sounds of mopeds speeding along the single main road, along with the chatter from business-as-usual in dive shop below fills the room as soon as the doors are opened. We head down to introduce ourselves to our hosts, explore the local area and to meet our dive guide, Komang. A little exploration, a purchase of some water and Bintangs for the fridge and a freshly cooked breakfast in the restaurant and we’re ready to grab our gear and get into the ocean!

Our three tanks are sent balanced on a moped down to the shore as we follow on foot; BCDs and regs on our back, fins, mask and camera in hand. Across the little through road we make our way down to a coal black coast line, it’s a drastic contrast against the clear blue of the water and vibrant greens of the trees that frame it. Our tanks are here waiting for us so, time to kit up, buddy check and take ourselves somewhat haphazardly to the water – oh open water, how we’ve missed you! With the gentle tide pulling us to and fro as we awkwardly secure fins and masks, we take no time in signalling the ‘OK’ to our descent to the peaceful depths beneath the waves.

Arriving at the wall of The Wall dive site it’s a wonder, it’s a flourishing abundance of life in vertical, as jam-packed as any city high rise, but arguably the residents are far friendlier. We’re moving at a gentle pace, getting our dive mojo back, the enjoyment of the sensation would’ve been enough for us at this point but with an abundance of locals waiting to say hello, we are in for a real treat. Komang must know each of them by name with the precision in which he points them out to us. He shows us a tiny Whip Coral Shrimp, far smaller than your little fingernail and perfectly camouflaged, it moves almost invisibly along the coral. It’s just minutes later and we’re looking at a mantis shrimp, brightly coloured and certainly not shy, it scurries across the seabed and underneath us to hang for a little while in plain sight.

The Wall of coral and it’s inhabitants reaches a depth of 45m but we aren’t going that deep today, staying within Cassie’s Open Water qualification to 18m is proving to be exciting enough; a leaf scorpion fish and another incredibly large scorpion fish sit quietly as if digesting a rather generous lunch. A yellow margin trigger fish works tirelessly to get his share, creating clouds of dust and sand up into the water as he searches. Looking closer there are nudibranchs in abundance, two common mollusca slid along one atop the other and a few others we’re not confident to ID just yet caught our eye, hopefully when we head out tomorrow we can get a better idea. It’s been an enchanting dive and whilst hanging out for our safety stop we spot a trio of lion fish either side of a rock, looks like there’s trouble in the Pride, Simba. Moments later we’ve been joined by schooling oxeye scad; what a way to end our first dive of the trip and start our next journey together in the water.

It’s a quick return back to base and we’re both buzzing from the dive, a quick hour break and we’re agreed to meet for dive two at the famous USAT Liberty. We rehydrate, review our spots from the first dive and we’re back in the water. The USAT Liberty is a world renowned wreck dive and the reason we decided to first come to Tulamben, so as our Aussie friends would say, we’re frothin’! Another shore entry, the wreck is suitable to snorkel and free dive if you’ve got the confidence and skills to do so. We wanted to really see it from a depth so, once more we find ourselves teetering down the ever slightly more drastic descent to the water’s edge and the tide has picked up its pace slightly since last we met! Here we go, again it’s unsurprisingly not quite the demure entry we’re striving for, but we find ourselves peaceful below surface in no time and a short fin kick away a huge shape looms in the distance, all aboard the USAT Liberty!

The dive is another simple route but the landscape of the wreck is mesmerising and intriguing, for me the first question has to be, “I wonder where the bar is?” ..Your question would now be, do US army transport ships have a bar? ..Do any army ships have a bar? I’m clearly thinking of the Titanic, never mind me. 50 years down here, covered in a wide array of corals the structure still remains very visible and this vessel now seems to be harbouring Davey Jones and his sea scoundrel crew. We watch as a large hawksbill turtle sits among the brig, plundering the sea grass whilst the dastardly Napoleon Wrasse is clearly captain of the ship – this a one huge fish and he’s relaxing in what could be have been the Captain’s quarters once upon a time. He’s a dark character though and gives us the slip within moments. As we find ourselves diving through the corridors and past the various broken parts of the wreck, the site feels like a playground. We gently move through the holes and up through the gaps, past stairways and the helm, our bubbles roll up along the sides of the hull and fill air holes meters below the surface whilst the portholes, framed with coral shine amongst the dark underside of the wreck.

Disembarking at the shore from the USAT Liberty is, well, a challenge, we’re fighting the current and the rocks underfoot, (please note, diving boots come in incredibly handy on both shore entries) with the help of Komang, I struggle my way up with Aaron’s camera in hand, please Captain Napoleon-Wrasse don’t let me fall! Aaron’s still swishing around in the waves trying to kick off his fins without getting concussion and eventually we’re both out! What a day. *Insert two incredibly happy smiling faces and two extra cold Bintangs here*

WD.x

Travel

Adventure Awaits…

So, we made it. Fourteen months after returning home to our friends and family in London we are on a flight heading 14 hours and five minutes to Jakarta, where we connect for our final destination, Bali. Though, we then have to embrace a two hour taxi to Tulamben, our final, final destination – a little fishing village in the East coast of Bali. Currently flying somewhere over the Indian Ocean we are ten hours, two meals and three uncomfortable attempts at sleeping into our flight as I write this. It’s still more than a little surreal to think that we have once again packed up our lives into bags and boxes, put it away for an unknown amount of time and left with 30kg of belongings each, a dream of making something more akin to a lifestyle from our hobbies, and of course, each other.

OK, OK… Closer to 50kg each if you count our dainty hand luggage – jeez, don’t be so judgy.

So, as I was saying, we’re flying to live for five months in a country neither of us have ever visited before, not to mention I’m gluten free and partial to bouts of vegetarianism – which is never an easy option when you’re not even sure how to pronounce ‘Thank you’ in the native tongue – please God, tell me the avocado smash craze has made it to Indonesia.

Surreal? Yes, completely, and not just since we got to the airport but the week spent at home trying to figure out insurances should the worst happen. It’s something I think we all take for granted, but quite frankly I would like it to be known know that all insurances are confusing, exhausting and have way too much small print, of which I cannot fathom. Even when I tried to figure out what would happen if I twisted my ankle in an ill turn of fate it seemed hopeless, insurance reads (in snooty man from Chelsea voice): well, the thing is, you were wearing yellow socks, it was actually raining in the UK and it was the third Sunday of the month between 12.00 – 15.00 – sorry, your policy doesn’t cover it. Then there’s the clothes and the diving gear, not to mention the all the photography gear and our new DJI Spark. It’s a lot, and it’s hard to rationalise between what you want to bring and need to bring. How do you fit your life into a bag?

Well, our friends, you don’t. Life is not made of things. Though undoubtedly they can spark memories and feelings, ultimately, they don’t own them. So for me, it was a case of clearing out and without being wasteful, starting a fresh – new adventures, new perspectives and nothing to hold on to, well – aside from the 8 boxes in storage, don’t look at me like that, I couldn’t throw away everything.

Belongings are not what make our home, it’s the people we love who make our lives whole and saying goodbye to them was incomparable to that of an old faithful pair of jeans. So much so, that I couldn’t allow myself to think about not seeing them for so long. When you have a gorgeous 14 year old sister and mischievous 7 year old brother time is precious because they change so incredibly quickly in a few months and well, your mum is your mum and in my case, a best friend. Not to mention that there are babies due and big birthdays we will miss. Friends who have been the framework of our social lives in London for the past 14 months. Where there were many, now there are two.

But don’t go crying just yet, it’s not for long, we will have a social group soon enough and only so much as physically there are two of us, we have phones and we’re not venturing too deep into the wilderness that we can’t catch-up over video calls and messages. Best not to think on it too hard, else I truly don’t think we could’ve left. The point is, we are only ever a plane journey away and life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.

We owe it to ourselves to embrace the unknown, dive in to our passions as if we were still fearless children and take a few risks, very few things in life are for certain even if you decide to play the safe card. Allowing ourselves to plunge into the unknown allows us to grow, to learn about our limits, our skills and our passions. And if we believe that because we are fully grown adults that we have reached our maximum potential, that we have definitively decided on what we do and don’t like, then we leave little hope for us to understand each other better, the world better and reconnect with the possibility and potential of anything. I’m not talking grand gestures like packing up your life and heading to the other side of the world per say, but jump on a trampoline, get on a rollercoaster, try a different dish on the menu or go totally wild with a new cuisine all together – connect with the world around you, don’t limit yourself to what you are comfortable knowing. (Now, brace yourself for another cheesy-but-we-all-know-it’s-true kinda quote, wait for it, here it comes…) Life is on the other side of fear and good things never came from comfort zones. (ok, that was two but they were both totally relevant).

WD.x

Scuba Diving

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Scuba Diving

So, you’re interested in scuba diving? Fantastic, we couldn’t recommend it more! Take it from two divers with very different amounts of experience. One of us is a certified divemaster and underwater photographer with close to 1000 dives under their (weight) belt and years of experience (how else do you think we have such wonderful underwater photography?). Whilst, the other achieved their open water certification in 2016 and has logged just over twenty dives. We’ve got the complete lowdown on diving, including what it’s like to get your open water scuba certification and the opportunities scuba diving can present!

First things, first – it doesn’t really matter if you can or can’t swim, what matters is, do you want to be under the sea!?

Scuba diving is for everyone and anyone that is fit enough to lift a tank and intuitive enough to remember to breathe. Let’s be honest, most of us have been successfully completing the latter requirement rather well since birth. The extent to which you progress with your diving skills is up to you, but during an open water course, you’ll learn all the basic diving techniques, etiquette, communication, safety and survival skills. You’ll do this under the supervision of an expert dive instructor, who will instruct and support your development from the classroom to the pool and finally to your initial descent into the open water.

Scuba diving opens you up to the world beneath the waves – the communities of fish, corals, crustaceans, mammals, nudibranchs, cephalopods, zooplankton to name but a few. As they thrive in all their beautiful patterns, colours, shapes, sizes and all move, hunt, survive and interact differently within their habitats. Then there’s the experience of diving, the peaceful harmony in which you float weightlessly amidst a busy ocean or intrepidly through caves and wrecks. Caught in moments where you can become so immersed that you forget yourself, allowing yourself to be utterly entranced by a moment of complete awe and childlike curiosity.

So, what are the steps to taking your first giant stride into the ocean?

Well, for those who aren’t sure if they are going to enjoy the scuba diving experience there’s a Discover Scuba Dive option. This forgoes the training and in turn the qualification as a scuba diver, but offers you an initial experience with full supervision and guidance for one or perhaps two dives. This option gives you the basic guidance on how to use your scuba diving gear and allows you to experience the sensation of diving.
The next step if you enjoy this, or perhaps you’re already confident you’ll enjoy it and want to invest that money and energy straight into getting your qualification, is to take your Open Water Course. There are many recreational scuba diving agencies with which you can complete your first initial diving courses. However, we have both competed ours with PADI, which is recognised worldwide and is one of the largest accrediting authorities. Completing the open water course with PADI means you’ll be able to dive in locations across the world with a buddy up to 18 meters. SSI is another highly recognised agency and is a popular choice due to its electronic-based learning system, which can make the course materials a little cheaper. There are many other options too, depending on where you are in the world, that essentially offer the same thing. The important thing is to go with a recognised agency that follows the strict safety standards, with the end goal of enabling you to go diving anywhere in the world!

What should you expect on your Open Water Diving Course?

Your initial perspective of the diving world is very much dependant on where in the world you complete your course. Half of Wander Deeper completed theirs in Thailand and the other in Western Australia, both rather incredible places to begin – no wonder we’re hooked! But you can complete your Open Water Course in so many places right here in the UK, one of our very best friends started her course in the UK but completed her qualifying dives in Malta.

First you have to get the theory down, so there will be initial teaching in the classroom and pool sessions, this is where you’ll crunch the numbers, get to grips with depths and descents and get your head around the principals of diving and safety – this isn’t as head scratching as it sounds, it’s enjoyable and involves a few good acronyms you’ll enjoy and in the pool you’ll get to grips with your kit and practice your skills, such as understanding the purpose of all elements of your dive kit and how to assemble them, kit up and complete pre-dive safety checks (remember: Bruce Willis Ruins All Films – that puts you one acronym ahead of the rest already!). In the pool sessions, you’ll be able to get used to the sensation of breathing underwater for the first time! You’ll practice controlling your buoyancy, clearing your mask, emergency scenarios, and basic rescue tows.

Your qualifying open water dives will be in actual open water, relaying back everything you’ve learnt in and out of the pool in practical application with full supervision and hopefully, success! It may all seem rather daunting but it’s not anywhere near as unnatural as it sounds. If the sound of it excites you then no doubt you’ll be like a fish to water! We recommend the open water course to anybody that has an interest in nature and the underwater world, anybody that loves snorkelling and anyone with a sense of adventure the is up for a challenge! It is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable and memorable few days you will ever have. The best thing about it all? At the end of the course you’ll be free to go diving anywhere in the world up to a maximum depth of 18 metres! And it doesn’t end there, the Open Water Course opens up a world of potential and opportunities for those that want to expand further into the world of diving. It has certainly changed our lives for the better!

If you’re not convinced enough to go take the plunge? Well, there’s always a Discover Scuba Dive option for those who aren’t 100% comfortable or confident about the idea of scuba diving, but beware – you may end up a scuba addict!

WD.x

Useful links:

PADI website: https://www.padi.com

SSI Website: https://www.divessi.com/en/home/

All images and content are our own, please contact us if you’d like to know more!

Travel

The Giant Red Tingle Tree

So often when travelling, we find ourselves in a place or situation so unique and humbling that it feels impossible to capture it in a mere photograph or video. But we try nonetheless! We’ll be putting together a series of short posts, showcasing a particular place and memory we’ve tried to capture in a photograph, each with a little back story and tips on how the images were created:

First up is this photo of us standing inside the Giant Red Tingle Tree in Walpole, WA. Estimated to be over 400 years old, its entire bottom half has been hollowed out by numerous forest fires and insects, yet despite this the tree still stands strong and at an incredible 30m tall:

It was one of those moments that seemed impossible to capture on camera, due to the sheer scale of the tree itself. We wanted to show the tree in its entirety within its environment; we also wanted to capture the humbling insignificance we felt looking up in awe at this incredible work of nature that has survived through the elements for 400 years.

There wasn’t anywhere near enough space to stand back and fit the tree in one shot, especially with the Sony RX100 that it was taken with. The photo actually consists of 3 images, stitched together in Lightroom. They were taken with the camera mounted horizontally on the tripod (allowing more space around the tree to avoid losing the edges when cropped after stitching), starting from the bottom. The first was taken on a 10 second timer, so we could run into position and strike a pose in the frame, and then the camera was carefully tilted up each time for the other two shots.

We had no idea whether or not the stitch would work, as the camera was so close to the subject, there was the possibility that it could end up with a weird perspective. The resulting image however, is one that we are very pleased with, showcasing the immensity of this natural wonder. Having us inside the tree gives a human element that the viewer can relate to. It gives a sense of scale that would not be possible otherwise. It also gives us a great memory to look back on! The angle of view gives a perspective that makes it appear to have been shot with an ultra-wide lens – although even with a wide lens it probably still would have required two images stitched to get the same effect. This final image turned out exactly as we’d hoped and definitely captures the grandiosity of the tree and the way we felt standing there that day!

How do you manage to capture your breath taking memories?

WD.x

All images and content are our own, please contact us if you’d like to know more!

Scuba Diving

Snorkelling: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

So, you’ve booked your holiday of a lifetime, there’s beautiful beaches, clear waters and perhaps even a reef – this is the perfect time to grab your snorkelling gear and go exploring! But you’ve never snorkelled before…

There’s a very simple art to snorkelling but nonetheless, it is an art, so for anyone that is yet to take their first snorkelling plunge (and we will presume that you are as you as you’ve wisely decided to read this post) don’t fear! We’ve created The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Snorkelling just for you.

This snorkelling guide will have you effortlessly snorkelling and exploring reefs like a fish (or a mermaid/man if you’d rather) in no time!

First thing’s first – can you swim?

Yes? Good, okay. Then next let’s determine how strong a swimmer you are.*

Those who are less experienced or confident swimmers, such a children, elderly or those who can’t remember the last time they last dipped a toe in some water (aside from the bath) this might include you too.

The general setting for a good snorkel is the open ocean. This can be a short swim out into a quiet bay just offshore or it can be a beautiful spot in the middle of the ocean with a tour boat. Both of these locations can have currents, waves and potentially sticky situations! Meaning you should never go out alone, always ensure you have a buddy or a guide.

If you’ve classed yourself as a strong or confident swimmer then skip right ahead! However, if you’re being totally honest with yourself and you aren’t sure, consider the following – how much are you willing to spend on a tour that you might struggle to enjoy? Instead, why not get to grips with the basics before you head offshore, renting equipment is usually very affordable and practicing with the snorkelling gear near shore before going out into the middle of the ocean is a much better idea. Should you then decide, after a few short swims in the shallows with your new snorkelling gear, that you’re ready for the plunge – that’s fantastic. You’ll be all the more confident to do so.

However, boat trips usually cater for a range of capabilities and they may expect you to swim a considerable distance, so it might be advisable to ask for a float to aid you. Even if you do think it’s excessive it won’t deter from your experience and will ensure that you enjoy it comfortably and confidently with that bit of extra support. Having worked daily on these tour boats you can take it from us that a lot of people use them and have an equally fulfilling experience – more so than they would have without it!

*If the answer is no and you can’t swim we’d advise that, although you can use a float to stop you from sinking, the currents can be strong and this could potentially be more dangerous than no float. We met many people that decided to learn how to swim and snorkel in one boat trip and it wasn’t much fun – for them or us! So, what we’re kindly suggesting is – don’t go snorkelling if you can’t swim and always be careful when using inflatables in open water.. you might find yourself out of your depth far more quickly than you’d think.

Now that we’ve decided you’re ready to snorkel, let’s get down to the details which, if you get them right will make the experience all the more enjoyable!

Choosing the right snorkelling equipment:

To buy or to hire?

We all love to own our own gear and look the part on holiday; well, this is your time to shine after all. You may, however want to consider hiring some gear initially, to test out whether you like the experience before you invest in your own equipment. For those who see this as a once in a lifetime experience – in the literal sense – then hiring gear is the perfect option for you (even though we’ve no doubt you’ll be hooked by the end of it).

Finding the right fit and putting your snorkelling gear on correctly is pretty vital if you’re going to have a good time out there; trust us when we say there’s nothing worse than having a leaky mask.

To get the right size and shape mask for your face follow these steps:

Sweep away or pull back any hairs from your forehead.
Take the mask and place it on your face without putting the strap over the back of your head.
Once you’ve got the eye piece against your face, just make sure it’s not dropping below your top lip, but sits on the bit between the bottom of your nose and your top lip – it needs to create a seal. Guys, if you have a moustache or stubble you’ll need to either put vaseline on it to create a seal or, have a shave.
Then inhale gently through your nose and briefly hold your breath whilst you let go of the mask with your hands – remember the strap should be loose and not on your head.
If the mask suctions to your face when you let go, BINGO! It fits – you’re basically a snorkelling Cinderella – now off you pop to find Prince Charming in the ocean! Don’t forget to start breathing again please and catch your mask as it drops off your face!
If your mask doesn’t stay on your face, try again making sure no hair was caught in the mask and you took a big inhale through your nose to vacuum the seal onto your face. If you still have no luck, try a different size or style of mask.
When you put your mask on properly for the water, be sure not to over tighten it – this will only cause the rubber to warp around your face and create ridges which will let water in, it should simply fit comfortably; the pressure of the water on your face will secure it more tightly once you’re in. Ideally you shouldn’t end up with goggle marks when you take your mask off, if you do, it’s too tight.

What about getting the correct snorkel?

When it comes to your snorkel, they generally come in an adult or child size and there’s not much more to it. Sure there’s ones with fancy valves and they come in different colours, but the key to these is simply knowing how to use it properly, which we will get to shortly.

Fins – does one size fit all?

The trick is simply getting your fins in the right size, they may seem slightly tight on land but bear in mind you’ll be in the water and you don’t want them slipping off or rubbing if they’re too loose.

A trick here is to pop the fin on your foot and stand up, then keeping the ball of your foot on the floor, bend your knee and raise your heel off the floor, if your heel stays in the fin – you’re good to go! If it comes off, you need to try again with a smaller size. At the same time, the foot should be comfortable in the fin pocket. If it’s too tight you could end up with foot cramps or blisters.

Bear in mind that foot sizes don’t translate exactly across countries and different brands of fins.

To Wetsuit or Not to Wetsuit?

Depending on where you are in the world, you may or may not need a wetsuit or exposure protection. This depends mostly on the temperature of the water and how susceptible you are to the cold. Bear in mind that you’ll be in the water for a while – half an hour or longer, and you’ll be moving very slowly. Water conducts heat away from the body much faster than air does, meaning that you become cold more quickly. Find out the temperature of the water where you are by asking local guides and whether or not they would recommend wearing a wetsuit, rash vest or just your swim suit. If you’re on a tour and a wetsuit is required, they’ll most likely have them available to hire. A proper fit is required in order for the wetsuit to be more effective, it should be tight so that when you enter the water, a thin layer of water is held between your skin and the inner layer of the wetsuit. This layer of water is then warmed by your body heat, and this in turn insulates and keeps you warm in the water. if the wetsuit is too loose, it won’t hold in that layer of water and you won’t stay insulated! The sizes of hired wetsuits are generally pretty simple – S, M, L etc. so start by picking one that coincides with the size of clothing you usually wear.

Where to snorkel:

If you are new to an area, which is most likely the situation you find yourself in on holiday, the local information centre will be able to provide you with the best snorkelling spots and recommendations for tours. This is the smartest and safest approach to venturing into open water you’re unfamiliar with – whether you’re a novice or not.

How to use your snorkel to swim like a fish (or a mermaid/man if you’d rather!):

Firstly, your snorkel should be attached to your mask with a clip, which hooks on to the strap of your mask. Once you’ve got you mask on and correctly fitted, pop your snorkel in. Get used to it in your mouth, the plastic bit should sit between your teeth but your shouldn’t need to bite onto it – it’s simply there to stop the mouth piece falling out, not as a pacifier! Your lips should be around the mouth piece – intuitively you’ll probably do all this without the need for those instructions. Breathe in and out of your mouth a couple of times and then – in you go!

It’s a good idea to slide into the water in any situation as with a big splash you’re likely to scare away lots of the marine life, this also keeps you in control over when you put your head in the water – avoiding any water going into your snorkel. Then you simply need to pop your face in the water and breathe through your mouth.

Getting used to the snorkel:

The key thing to remember is that it really isn’t as difficult as you might anticipate, simply remember to breathe in and out of your mouth (not hard to master because you’ll soon realise there’s no way of breathing through your nose even if you try) and keep you head face down in the water. As long as the snorkel is above the water you’re going to breathe easily.

It’s likely, however, that in your excitement, you might twist your head, or duck your head a little further down into the water than you realise and get some water in your snorkel. This could be a little or a lot of water, either way don’t panic – you’re in control.

If it’s a lot of water, at this point it’s advisable to simply raise your head out of the water and take the snorkel out of your mouth to drain it. If you’re choking slightly or feel a bit panicked or out of breath just simply float on your back until you’ve regained your ocean chi!

Perhaps it’s just a little bit of water annoyingly gurgling around at the bottom of your snorkel. If so, then you can either do as advised prior or, if you’re happy to keep your head in the water, simply exhale sharply between your teeth with pursed lips making a ‘T’ (TUH!) noise. This should force the water out of the valve at the bottom of the snorkel or out of the top. Once you’ve practiced this you’ll be able to clear your snorkel at any point with this technique meaning you’ll never need to miss a moment under the water!

Getting used to your fins:

Another tip is to try and make sure your fins are below the water as much as possible. Fin slapping on the top and splashing as your swim will probably scare a lot wildlife away or cause it to seek shelter. This can be hard to master initially, but if you’re aware of it you’ll soon figure out how to minimise the splashing! The best way to snorkel is to go SLOWLY, this isn’t the Olympics! The main objective is to see and take in as much marine life as possible whilst causing the least amount of disturbance to the environment.

Being Ocean Smart:

A good idea, where possible is to initially stay near the boat or shore as you need to get used to your fins and snorkel. A lot of people can get a cramp after a minute, this can be because the water is a bit chilly or the fins can cause them to use muscles they wouldn’t usually.

Also make sure to get your bearings before you go snorkelling away from shore or your boat, find a reference point you can keep track of and it’s advisable to keep popping your head up and checking where you are in reference to where you started. If you are on a guided tour, it is best to listen to your guide’s briefing and stay with the group! You don’t want to miss out on any of the action, as the tour guide is most likely to see and spot way more things than you will initially, more so you don’t want to find yourself disorientated. If you’re on your own use your common sense, find yourself a buddy and don’t drift too far away from the boat, we have had brilliant snorkels simply off the back of the boat and swimming around it. If the conditions are rough make sure you stay near the boat and get out of the water if you should feel uncomfortable, if there’s a big swell or rough weather it’s unlikely the visibility will be very good in any area, so it’s definitely not worth taking the risk for.

Being Ocean Friendly:

For your protection and the protection of the ocean and all its inhabitants, look and don’t touch the wildlife. It’s all there for your viewing pleasure but it is vital not to disturb the environment. It surprises people and it surprised us too, that we would visit the same fish in the same spots almost every time we snorkelled a location – fish have their homes and communities, much like we do. Touching them could transfer bacteria that they can’t cope with and most likely stress them out. Coral is also a living organism, one that is vital for the protection of its inhabitants; allowing reef ecosystems to flourish and remain balanced. All these beautiful living things have a home and much like us, they’d prefer visitors not to come through and disturb them. Also, there are many types of coral that can sting on contact with human skin, causing rashes, infection or worse. Coral is also very sharp and can cut skin very easily, so it’s best not to touch anything! Always be aware of where your limbs and fins are to avoid contact with the coral and marine life to avoid damaging it and yourself. Coral is extremely fragile and one clumsy fin kick can destroy years of growth!

With conservation in mind, it’s worth noting that any good tour operator will also respect these restrictions and look to protect and preserve the ocean and its inhabitants. It is wholly possible to have as much of an engaging and astonishing interaction whilst still protecting the wonders of the ocean. It’s important not to support tour operators who encourage tourists to hassle or handle wildlife, or disturb or damage any habitats for their own gain. With a small amount of research prior to your trip, you can have a once in a lifetime experience and support the conservation and protection of these wondrous environments, so they may thrive and be enjoyed for centuries to come.

We’d love to hear if our Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Snorkelling has helped you or if you’ve got any other great tips for snorkelling!

WD.x

All images and content are Copyright, please contact Wander Deeper if you’d like to know more!

Travel

Why you need to swim with Sea Lions

As our time in Coral Bay came to a close, we decided that we needed to go on a much recommended camping trip of the Southern part of Western Australia. We had very few things planned, other than having a rough idea of the places we intended to visit on our whistle-stop 12-day tour. One thing we did know however was that we needed to swim with Sea Lions in Greenhead. Having had so many recommendations from people and having seen their pictures, we decided it was an unmissable experience. So why was it so special?

Having picked up our camper van from Perth (following a 17 hour coach trip down from Coral Bay) we headed back north to Greenhead, which is around a 3 hour drive (a pop down the road in Australian terms). We found a camping spot around a 20 minute drive from the meeting point that we were scheduled to be at the following morning and got ourselves a much needed sleep. We arrived at the meeting point with plenty of time to spare and met the crew and other customers on the pier. The approach was really relaxed from the start; the crew gave us a bit of info on the sea lions and their colony during the short boat trip from the pier. They told us that there was no limit on how much time we could spend with the sea lions… Although this would be dictated by the amount of energy we had! We geared up and were ready to enter the water by the time we arrived at the spot. We brought along our own gear (always recommended of course) but they had all equipment available to those that needed it.

As we approached the small island, home to the sea lions, we could see their dark shapes lazing on the sand as they basked in the morning sunlight. As the boat neared the mooring point, their relaxed state shifted to a state of excitement… The humans are coming!!! Enthusiastic little whiskered faces peered up towards the boat and one by one the sea lions shuffled themselves into the water. The young pups were first in, swiftly followed by the adults. Gleeful, childlike noises could be heard emanating from everybody on the boat eager to swim with them. This was clearly about to be the highlight of everybody’s day! Within seconds of our arrival at the colony, the boat was surrounded by those eager little whiskered faces. Cat and I were first in the water…

Woah, that was a little colder than we were used to…! We found ourselves a group of sea lions to play with and began tumbling around in the water with them. It quickly became very apparent who the boss of this interaction was – we weren’t playing with the sea lions, they were playing with us! Their agility in the water was just amazing; they danced around us, zipping through the water in all directions, all the while their eyes locked on us as their bodies twisted and turned in all manner of contortion. In my excitement I realised I had been focussing a lot of my attention on my camera, trying in vain to get some shots in the less than perfect visibility and greenish water. I then noticed that I had become separated from Cat, and having initially been surrounded by so many sea lions, my number had dwindled. It turns out that, as excited as they were initially to see us, sea lions also get bored VERY quickly! I lifted my head out of the water and scanned across to see Cat’s red fins dipping beneath the surface. As the last sea lion that was playing with me moved off to find somebody more fun, I noticed how Cat was being mobbed by excited sea lions – I needed to raise my game a bit if I wanted any attention! I swam over in Cat’s direction and noticed that the water was becoming a little shallower and there was more kelp, a favourite hang-out for the sea lions.

As Cat saw me swimming over she headed towards me, bringing with her a small army of furry friends; like a kind of sea lion pied piper. As quickly as I had discovered that sea lions have short attention spans, I just as quickly discovered that they don’t hold grudges; they were willing to give me another shot. I ignored my camera this time for a while, focusing more on keeping their attention by trying my best to mimic their moves (albeit clumsily in comparison). Being confident in the water was definitely a benefit in this situation! As I became more comfortable and had gained their interest I then began taking shots. This was no easy task as they darted around me, towards then away, up for a breath of air then straight back down again. I began diving down into the kelp as they were doing – playing kelp peek-a-boo! They seemed to love their reflection in my camera’s dome port, occasionally swimming right up and making contact before darting away again. The pups were more energetic and curious than the adults, who now seemed to be taking it in shifts, occasionally heading back to the beach to tag out. We decided it could be a good idea to do the same, seeing as we seemed to be hogging a lot of attention away from the other customers!

After a short breather and a battery change, we decided to re-enter the water; it was warmer and more fun in there anyway! Having worked out the best ways to interact with them we managed to this time work together to keep their attention in order to get some better photos. We swapped the camera between us and took turns taking shots of each other. After a while I felt that I had achieved some decent shots of us with the sea lions, as well as some shots of the sea lions alone, despite the visibility. In my excitement however, I had completely forgotten to take any video footage, so quickly switched to video mode. Filming was quite challenging due to their unpredictable movements very close to the camera, also with so many around it was tough to know who to focus on at times. Again though, I think I managed to get some shots of them darting around playfully and swimming straight at the camera. Watching them interacting with one another was just as much fun as interacting with them ourselves. These animals clearly have real personalities and form bonds with one another. We watched them biting and gnawing playfully at each other, blowing bubbles through their nostrils. It really was like being in the water with a load of excitable puppies. After a while longer we noticed that we were the only people left in the water, our energy levels were dropping along with our body temperature and many of the sea lions had begun to retire back to shore. Unfortunately it looked like it was time to leave.

We returned to shore having had the best in-water interaction with some amazing animals in their natural habitat. We can’t recommend this trip strongly enough; whether or not you are an experienced diver/swimmer/snorkeler this is an unmissable experience! If this post hasn’t made you want to swim with sea lions I don’t know what will.

Apart from this video we made of swimming with sea lions…

WD.x

All images and content are our own, please contact us if you’d like to know more!