A Journey with the Gentle Giants
Last summer, I finally completed my PADI open water scuba license training in one of the most beautiful places that exists in this world: the Australian Great Barrier Reef. I say "finally," because I probably should have done it a decade ago, as my life has always revolved around water. Since I was born I have craved being in the water--it is where I feel the most comfortable and alive! My Mom always said I must have been a fish in a past life. Even my favorite Disney movie was The Little Mermaid. Around the age of 12, I became a serious competitive swimmer; swimming sometimes 3-4 hours a day. Every vacation involved the beach and when I was not at the beach I was dreaming of the beach. I specifically chose to attend the College of Charleston, because it was acceptable to wear a bikini to class, so that we could head straight to the ocean once class was over.
Me post-dive in Cairns, Australia.
After being scuba certified, now I can not help but want to plan every vacation around diving. I truly believe that there is no place more magical than under the water (okay, maybe up in space would compete). Unfortunately, I live in a city that is land-locked, otherwise I would be diving all of the time.
So, when I discovered that you could dive in the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, a city less than 4 hours away, I just HAD to do it! My parents generously bought me my dive as my Christmas present. Although, the soonest available opening was for Easter day. Previously, I had dived in the Melbourne Aquarium in Australia and had the time of my life doing it, thus I knew this was going to be one hell of an experience.
Me inside the Melbourne Aquarium.
The Georgia Aquarium is an extraordinary place to say the least! I could have easily spent all day in there marveling over all of the exotic marine life. I did not know which exhibit to go to first?
The fish that greeted me on my way into the aquarium.
I love this photo.
My favorite was definitely the sea dragons from Australia. They are simply gorgeous little creatures!
And even though while I was diving in Jamaica last December I was painfully stung by a bunch of jelly fish, I am still completely fascinated by them.
The beluga whales were pretty lovely too!
But, of course, the main attraction, was the whale sharks. UPS helped the aquarium rescue the 6 of them off the coast of Japan, before the Japanese could kill them. It was the heaviest flight in the history of aviation. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in existence; some are as large as 40 feet long and can weigh up to 20 tons!
The tank they cohabit contains 6.3 million gallons of water, is the size of about a football field, and reaches a depth of 33feet. It also houses thousands of other fish including: zebra sharks, nurse sharks, saw fish, leopard whip rays, bowmouths, guitar fish, hump headwrasses, and schools of tarpon, pompano, and cow nose rays.
While the dive is on the pricey side, it is nice to know that the proceeds from this adventure go to the whale shark conservation mission. Trust me, it is worth every penny. There is also an option to swim with the whales, in case you do not have your scuba license. I want to try this in the future, since the whales tend to stay on the surface of the tank, which means you would be closer to them.
My family was supposed to come with me, however due to other circumstances they were no longer able to make it. I was saddened that no one was going to be able to take pictures of me from outside the tank. As good luck would have it, my dive buddy that I was paired with graciously offered to have her family take pictures of me.
One of the many benefits of doing the dive is that you get to go behind the scenes. It really is mind blowing to see firsthand what it takes to run this gigantic aquarium. On our way to change into our wet suits a whale came up to the side of tank just in time for me to get a photo with it!
I was so excited once I got into my wet suit. It really hit me that this is an experience that very few in the world will ever have the opportunity to do and I felt blessed.
The water was not as cold as I thought it would be; it was about 75 degrees. I was the first to descend and I just chilled out at the bottom for about 5 minutes admiring everything floating around me. Thankfully, I have never had a problem with equalizing my ears.
The dive lasted about 30 minutes (though it felt like 10 minutes). We did a couple of laps around the tank. It was touching to see all of the children get excited and wave to us whenever we would swim past the windows.
Me and my dive buddy with a whale right behind us!
When the dive was finished I did not want to get out of the water. The only comforting thing was the knowledge that I would be diving again in 1 week in Belize at the Blue Hole! The whales will always have a special place in my heart...
After being scuba certified, now I can not help but want to plan every vacation around diving. I truly believe that there is no place more magical than under the water (okay, maybe up in space would compete). Unfortunately, I live in a city that is land-locked, otherwise I would be diving all of the time.
So, when I discovered that you could dive in the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, a city less than 4 hours away, I just HAD to do it! My parents generously bought me my dive as my Christmas present. Although, the soonest available opening was for Easter day. Previously, I had dived in the Melbourne Aquarium in Australia and had the time of my life doing it, thus I knew this was going to be one hell of an experience.
The Georgia Aquarium is an extraordinary place to say the least! I could have easily spent all day in there marveling over all of the exotic marine life. I did not know which exhibit to go to first?
And even though while I was diving in Jamaica last December I was painfully stung by a bunch of jelly fish, I am still completely fascinated by them.
The beluga whales were pretty lovely too!
But, of course, the main attraction, was the whale sharks. UPS helped the aquarium rescue the 6 of them off the coast of Japan, before the Japanese could kill them. It was the heaviest flight in the history of aviation. Whale sharks are the biggest fish in existence; some are as large as 40 feet long and can weigh up to 20 tons!
My family was supposed to come with me, however due to other circumstances they were no longer able to make it. I was saddened that no one was going to be able to take pictures of me from outside the tank. As good luck would have it, my dive buddy that I was paired with graciously offered to have her family take pictures of me.
One of the many benefits of doing the dive is that you get to go behind the scenes. It really is mind blowing to see firsthand what it takes to run this gigantic aquarium. On our way to change into our wet suits a whale came up to the side of tank just in time for me to get a photo with it!
I was so excited once I got into my wet suit. It really hit me that this is an experience that very few in the world will ever have the opportunity to do and I felt blessed.
The water was not as cold as I thought it would be; it was about 75 degrees. I was the first to descend and I just chilled out at the bottom for about 5 minutes admiring everything floating around me. Thankfully, I have never had a problem with equalizing my ears.
The dive lasted about 30 minutes (though it felt like 10 minutes). We did a couple of laps around the tank. It was touching to see all of the children get excited and wave to us whenever we would swim past the windows.
When the dive was finished I did not want to get out of the water. The only comforting thing was the knowledge that I would be diving again in 1 week in Belize at the Blue Hole! The whales will always have a special place in my heart...
SO COOL. Did you ever see my post about the beluga at the Georgia Aquarium who flashed us his willy? Teeheehee. It was funny. But I LOVE that place!
And so funny that now, after just 18 months of diving and, prior to that, being TERRIFIED of the ocean, I not only plan my vacations around diving, but my work assignments, too! (Though, let's be honest, they're usually one and the same! I don't travel for fun these days--it's all on assignment!)
Glad you posted this!
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nice
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