Nusa Lembongan: (Nov 1st-21st)
3 weeks into our divemaster course and we are already saying goodbye to Nusa Lembongan, for now at least, to fly onto Manado and join the two fish crew in Bunaken. What an action filled, learning curve this past 3 weeks has been!
Arriving with a massive to do list and a short 6 weeks to do it, Our instructor Paula and the Lembongan crew helped us to dive straight into it (excuse the pun)!
A Rescue Diver course had us busy to start with, counting rescue breaths in our sleep by the end, we had our scenarios encountered and our course finished, ready to begin our dive master!
Falling into the team was made easy, the boat crew and local guides had us up and helping with tanks in the morning, gear set up and boat briefings. Every day, learning and expanding our exposure to the dive world.
Drift Diving, Deep Diving, Search and rescue- Paula had her DMT’s learning and laughing, throughout the day.
Water skills and knowledge reviews made active work of our evenings but always ending with a wind down with the crew. Tino and the guys had chilled out vibes spread across site with smiles, ukuleles and sing songs at every corner!
Island food, a Bintang beer and the realisation that we couldn’t keep our eyes open past dinner time, was the perfect end to most of our days in lembongan, slow down time!!!
Bunaken: (Nov 22nd – Present)
6a.m, good morning Bunaken! After arriving the evening before and having an awesome meet and greet with the team, we were ready and briefed for the few weeks ahead.
Tanks set up, boat loaded, gear on and everyone organised for the day ahead, it was straight into Dive site set up and management for Brent and I. Dive guide Murry was our main man for the local dive site information, making our dive briefings that bit more detailed and fun. Our instructor Markus, with the help of newly certified Ben and Nicole, kept us on our feet for the next few days.
A varied routine fell quickly into place with the team! After set up, morning dives were filled with guiding, student scenarios, practical assessments and of course, the awe inducing exploration of Bunakens colourful, life filled walls and reefs.
Back to land for lunch- tanks loaded off (I can now carry two at a time, almost gracefully!!), gear hung up and the boat is ready for our afternoon divers.
Pool sessions, Knowledge reviews, tank fills and exams. Markus is always able to find a new challenge for us in our day! A 800m snorkel swim and a rather unexpected early morning equipment exchange (encountering every curve ball Markus and Ben could throw at us) had us finish our waterskills with top marks and a lot of funny stories for the rest of the crew! Haha.. Thank you guys!
Night dive specialty, practical assessments, workshops and skill development, another fun and busy week ahead here at bunaken!
Time- please slow down, I am having too much fun!! Next stop- Lembeh!
Jackie & Brent