*Below is the dive report of our recent Aquarium club dive. Thanks very
much to Henry for preparing it :) *
[image: Inline image 1]
On arriving at the aquarium we were met by hoards of screaming children and
queues of British proportions. Sneaking through any gap in the walls of
people we each managed to make our way to the front desk to be redirected
to the waiting 'nook' (to call it a room would be rather grandiose).
Initial awkward conversations sprang up between newly acquainted divers and
once the customary "Where have you dived and how many dives have you done?"
spiels had concluded, everyone was the best of chums. Michelle rocked up to
wish everyone well and ensured that her inside-man was present and
accounted for and then we were off, down into the depths of the aquarium.
We were taken for our dive brief with the surface of the main aquarium tank
close by. The staff were very friendly and it was clear they were old salts
when it came to leading dives at the aquarium, no matter whether clients
were experienced or not. We were given a slide show introducing us to many
of the inhabitants of the tank next to us, a particular favourite was Mr.
G, a Queensland Grouper. I'll leave it to your imagination what his
underwater hand sign was. During our briefing a few of us got stingray
high-fives (some to the head) from an inmate of the aquarium's equivalent
to prison (quarantine), who had been moved to the nearby tank for the
benefit of the female rays in the main tank ('Tis the season apparently).
God knows how you herd a stingray?
[image: Inline image 6]
Once the brief was concluded we were sectioned off into our individual
groups and let lose in the aquarium until our respective dive time
approached. I was hesitant when our dive instructor brought out long
wetsuits, gloves and hoods but was pleasantly surprised to find the water
was a balmy 26º C. We found out that the reason for the amount of
insulation was simply because we would not be doing a great deal of active
swimming in the tank (for the safety of the inhabitants). For those of you
that have seen the film Coming to America with Eddie Murphy, the experience
is how I would imagine he would have been treated prior to his journey. We
stepped into the tank and had our fins put on for us. We were then ushered
one by one to a perch over one of the translucent pedestrian tunnels where
we got a vivid fish-eye view of what the inhabitants see on daily basis.
Excited kids hammering on the glass and having their minds BLOWN when one
or other of us would wave at them. Before we knew it our hosts were all
around us, welcoming us to their home. An enormous ray, 2.5m in diameter
came swooping by, narrowly missing my mask by mere cm's, followed by 2 or 3
of their larger sharks (spear-throwers? I forget their names). Every now
and again, there would be a lull in the procession of larger animals and we
would be ushered to another stand, whereupon pictures were taken and
schools of enormous brightly coloured fish would filter between us,
entirely without fear.
[image: Inline image 3] [image: Inline image 5]
An enduring memory which made me regard the rays as slightly akin to
puppies was when we were all lying down in a line for a photo when a ray
glided to a perfect stop and settled next to the person at the end of the
line, keen to surreptitiously get in on the photo. I can honestly say I
have never seen such an abundance of large underwater creatures on a single
dive before, if you're looking for a dive that pits you against strong
underwater currents and gives you a cardio workout this is not the
experience for you. However, if you are looking to get up close and
personal with some incredible examples of their kind (some that are
endangered and that you are unlikely to find in the wild), I would highly
recommend signing up for the next experience. The dive flew by and while I
can't speak for my dive buddies, I could have happily sat there for another
hour, mesmerised by the seemingly choreographed movements of the sharks,
rays, groupers and Maori wrasse. After the dive, we grabbed a hot shower
and were released into the aquarium to have a look around. It was a great
afternoon at a student-friendly price. Many thanks to Michelle and her
housemate for getting this organised, a very unique experience indeed!!
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