Scuba diving is an unmissable experience for any tourist

Getting your diving licence is not cheap but the idea of swimming with turtles was just too alluring.

Picture: Michel Bega

Ask anybody who has travelled and most will say one of their highlights of their trips is doing something they have never done before.

There is something about being abroad that makes it okay to splurge on expensive activities or excursions. You are on holiday after all. There is a notion that you probably won’t be coming back to the place you are visiting so while you have the opportunity, do it.

The world beneath sea level has become increasingly intriguing to me thanks to the many boat and snorkelling trips I’ve been on. I wanted to go deeper and see more of this underwater world that we seem to know so little about.

I’ve noticed that there are many South Africans who fear the ocean and what wades beneath it. I blame Jaws.

After much research I discovered that the Philippines is one of the best scuba diving destinations and one of the cheapest places to get your PADI licence. I decided to go for it on the small island of Coron.

With its clear azure water I could not wait to discover the ocean. The promise of a dive through a World War II Japanese shipwreck just amped up the appeal. Watching too much Indiana Jones had clearly sparked the explorer in me.

Getting your diving licence is not cheap but the idea of swimming with turtles was just too alluring.

So there I was in the ocean with gear strapped on me feeling odd. The brochures said there was something magic about plunging under the water for the very first time and there is. You realise how insignificant you feel in a world with so much going on below.

Even when I spotted an underwater snake on one of my first dives I didn’t freak out. I’m petrified of snakes but there was something calming about seeing it effortlessly weave through the ocean.

It was on this first dive that I had the biggest scare of my life. Once you’ve dived you realise that boats and divers don’t go together. You can’t have boats hovering about you and try to keep track of where they are while you are concentrating on your breathing.

So, as Murphy’s Law goes, there I was on my first dive ascending and unbeknown to me a boat was hovering above. Just as I was about to reach the surface the boat was directly on top of me.

I felt something scratch my tank and looked back to see the boat. Awash with panic the tail end of the boat hooked on to my tank. I was being dragged along and pushed towards the propeller!

I watched as the propeller came menacing closer to me and had visions of something awful happening. Then, just like, that the boat stopped and I managed to wriggle free.

I quickly surfaced to find my German instructor white from panic and fear and my partner equally out of breath.

Turns out you are supposed to leave a balloon-like marker floating on the surface so boats can see there are divers below. Needless to say the marker was deployed for the rest of my time qualifying to dive.

I still like diving.