Scuba diving off Elephant Beach :)

I had booked the excursion through Barefoot Scuba and found them to be knowledgeable, professional and welcoming. The boat ride to Elephant Beach takes about 40 mins from beach no.3 but is worth the trip as you arrive at an isolated spot with just a few other boats for company. You are able to snorkel or dive at the site and I was fortunate to be able to be part of the diving group…

After a quick safety introduction we were introduced to the kit and the correct methods of use including practice drills in clearing masks and dealing with pressure changes as you descend. The expert advise gave me confidence that I knew what I was doing and that there would be someone on hand at all times while we descended to 10m below the surface :)

The dive seemed to last 10mins but in fact went on for 65mins!! I was enjoying myself that much ;) it is a world in which we clearly don’t really belong, but the beauty of it is staggering (no photos as my camera does not operate under water!!)… The coral although bleached is still a wonderful structure with the odd area of brain and branch coral still full of rainbow colour and life. The fish here are plentiful and come in a huge range of shapes and sizes, as we descended they became larger and it was no surprise to turn around and find large gropers and other more colourful fish just behind you!! They seem almost as interested in you as you are in them - A bit like swimming in an aquarium. My favourite part however has to be swimming down to clown fish, who although small, playfully show great gusto in popping in and out of their sea anenomi forts like a game of peek-a-boo J This was just magical to watch from several different angles and was just like you can see in the animation ‘Finding Nemo’, they had it sooo spot on…

All to soon it was time to come to the surface, but it is an experience to treasure. Highly recommended and comes with a certificate :)