These last few days have been packed full of diving! From assisting Sal in the pool with open water water courses, Discovery scuba dives and running through skill sets. Its now common for me to conduct boat briefings too. On the boat I help set up the dive equipment and assist divers get into their gear. I perform pre-dive safety checks and assist divers when needed. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many people that come through the dive shop for courses and fun dives, they’re always happy to be there and are keen to get into the water.
Diving in several spots around the Gili Islands I’ve managed to develop a few favourites. Mirko’s Reef will have to be one of these, it’s usually full of fish of all shapes and sizes. There’s not so many turtles here, though you still have a good chance of spotting one or two. Corals include the usual: vines, Fans, soft corals, foliaceous corals and a few plates here and there, these structures allow more fish to hang around and hide. The other dive site I have in my favourites list would have to be Bounty. With it’s fields of soft coral and sunken wharf hosting all sorts of life. This dive is also one of the easiest to navigate, with the wreck being the main interest of the dive. Not far from this is a large coral bombie usually hosting many fish and if you’re lucky, some Pygmy seahorses. If you enjoy night dives, I’d recommend one in Gili Air at Home Reef. It’s a completely different environment in the cover of darkness. From cute little bobtail squid to shrimp hiding in some large columnar coral. I also managed to spot a juvenile spadefish!
Today is my last day before I travel to Amed for further training, its sad to leave such a beautiful place with beautiful people. I will always remember how much fun I’ve had.
I’m amazed at how much I’ve learnt over the last two weeks. My confidence in both diving and dive theory has improved incredibly, and I can definitely see myself working within the diving industry.
A big thanks to Sal, Meg, Jen and Rozy for making my stay at Gili Air amazing!
