Different Types of Recreational Scuba Diving
Ways for a Scuba Diver to Enjoy and Experience the Underwater World
Sep 5, 2009
The following is a brief summary of just some of the areas in which a recreational scuba diver can explore the underwater world.
Coral Reef Scuba Diving
One of the most enjoyable aspects of scuba diving can be a relaxing scuba dive over a coral reef. If the conditions are right, a scuba diver can see a magnificent vista all around.
Fish life coming and exploring the scuba diver, majestic fish like manta rays, huge wrasse and groper. Turtles, non-threatening sharks and tiny fish like the famous Nemo clown fish can all be seen on a coral reef dive.
Coral reef scuba diving is usually safe in that most of the marine life and colour is experienced in just thirty feet of depth. Shore scuba diving off places like Lady Elliot Island on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a great place to experience the unique aspects of coral reef scuba diving.
Exploring Sunken Wrecks Scuba Diving
Exploring sunken wrecks can be an exciting and challenging underwater activity.
In the South Pacific there are a large number of sunken wrecks from World War Two. One of the most famous is the wreck of the President Coolidge, a sunken ocean liner in the harbour at Santo in Vanuatu.
Wreck diving has risks in that a recreational scuba diver is swimming inside a sunken vessel. It can be dark, cramped and it is possible to get lost inside. So precautions like a divemaster guide and safety lines may be needed.
Another problem with scuba diving on wrecks is that many are usually in deep water requiring decompression to ensure divers don’t get the Bends. However, this type of recreational scuba diving can provide a huge adrenalin hit when a diver surfaces after exploring within the bowels of a sunken ship.
Scuba Dive Travel Trips
Scuba diving can open up the world by providing a focus on a holiday. Organising the trip, packing the scuba equipment, then heading off to some exotic location in a far part of the world to get wet underwater makes for a great holiday.
For example, a recreational scuba dive trip can combine the above relaxing coral reef diving and challenging wreck diving. This type of scuba holiday can be had at some remote locations like Truk Lagoon in Micronesia.
It is reputed that some of the best coral reef scuba diving in the world is in places like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea off Egypt and on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
Cave Scuba Diving
Like wreck diving, cave scuba diving can be an exciting and challenging underwater activity for a recreational scuba diving. Slipping into the dark waters of a cave can be a solid adrenalin hit.
And as with wreck diving, there are a range of dives that a recreational scuba diver can undertake. From deep, dark diving (after an intensive training course) in Australia’s Cocklebiddy Caves on the desert of the Nullabor Plain; to an easy dive in the Grotto de la Troisieme, a freshwater cave in New Caledonia.
Just Being Underwater
For every type of diving a recreational scuba diver wants to undertake; there are a number of scuba divers who simply enjoy the thrill of breathing underwater. That is, being at one with the fish and underwater landscape.
Whether cave diving, exploring wrecks or simply getting wet at a local scuba dive site, it is a unique experience to strap on a scuba tank and drop into the fascinating “inner space” of the underwater world.
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