I can't believe I've been on Steemit for a month already and not posted about the thing that I'm most passionate about...........breathing underwater.
I've been taking pictures on dry land since the age of 14 but it wasn't until 2004 when I was able to combine my love of photography and the underwater world. As one of my advanced diver training modules, I took an underwater photography course and if I thought I was hooked on diving before before I'd now officially become an addict.
Over the last 13 years I've been shooting pictures and filming underwater and thought what better place to share my underwater adventures and travel tips with my fellow Steemians. In a break with tradition where you save the best 'til last I'm going to jump right in with the most mind-blowing underwater encounter I've ever had.
I'd been travelling around Africa for six months and exchanging my underwater film-making skills for free scuba diving and found myself in one of the shark diving capitals of the world. Very long story short, I'd actually gone to Shelly Beach, South Africa to do my skippers training, but ended up making life-long friends with the owner of Aqua Planet Dive Charters and ended up diving the famous Protea Banks for 6 weeks.
On a return trip to catch up with my South African diving foster family, I was filming with a group of British divers when one of them started going crazy and pointing to the surface. We were at a depth of 30m but could see two humpback whales cruising by.
We'd been hearing whale song on most of our dives, to the point where it was becoming annoying, they're really not that tuneful in real life, and had seen them from the boat most days, but on this day they decided to come check us out.
I've only cried twice underwater and this was one of the occasions. The pair stayed with us for half an hour and were so close you I was able to look straight into their eye as they swam passed. I swear you could see the curiosity in their eyes. It was hands down, with no exception, one of the most incredible like experiences I've ever had.
The humpbacks migrate the coast of South Africa on their journey from the Antarctic to calve in warmer tropical waters and the female in the video was heavily pregnant and no doubt on her way to give birth.
If a chance encounter with humpback whales isn't enough to encourage you to dive Protea Banks then keep following and I'll share some video clips of diving with 4m sharks with no cage!
#teamsouthafrica
!steemitworldmap -30.827299 lat 30.489204 long Protea Banks - Diving with Humpback Whales, South Africa D3SCR
Wow! Out of this world insane experience!!! Thank you so much for sharing something so very few of us will ever have the chance to see.
I cried when swimming with a giant turtle in Borneo a couple of years back, so I can only imagine a fraction of the emotions you must have felt while diving alongside these gentle creatures.
Thanks @osm0sis. We got back from dive and couldn't stop talking about it, once in a lifetime experience etc., etc. and then I'm not kidding you 6 days later we had a juvenile come up to us and swim around like a 'little' puppy. Where were you diving in Borneo? I dived Sipadan and have never seen so many turtles.
Lucky you... sometimes I wonder how living such intense moments doesn't just blow up our minds. Like a robot on overdrive!
I'm actually ashamed to say it but I have not yet had the guts (or the funds) to dive. I love swimming and diving where I can still see the bottom, the fish and the corals, but the emptiness of the deep blue sea below my feet scares the crap out of me! I did an initiation course to diving in Mabul, near Sipadan, for about 45 minutes. I think it was max 8 meters deep... felt more like 50!
Not sure where this fear comes from as all my friends are totally fine with it. They trust the equipment and this "unknown territory" without the slightest of apprehensions. I envy you guys!
I think you might like @kuenok's posts if you don't know him yet. He does a lot of underwater photography and tells his stories of freediving. He's been away from Steemit for a while, but hopefully he'll be back soon.
We're all just lunatics, you're a far wiser soul to not trust your life into the hands of a tank of air and some dodgy breathing apparatus!!!! When you said it was Borneo you saw the turtle I wondered if it'd be Mabul/Sipadan, so many turtles there it's crazy.
And will check out @kuenkok, thanks for the recommendation.
Haha my thoughts exactly!
Yes I saw a few turtles. Massive ones just hanging out, slowly swimming their way through the forest of multi-coloured corals. And manta rays too!
Did you have to get the permit to dive in Sipadan? What did you get to see there?
Wow incredible! I just got back from diving with whale sharks in the maldives which was amazing, but this is another level! so cool!
Thanks @fiftysixnorth and I think whale sharks are just as cool! Very envious of your Maldives trip, diving around there is simply awesome.
Its an experience I would recommend to all divers! :)
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