Diving had always been something out of bound to asthmatic personnel and there were no exceptions this time round. There were many difficulties and obstacles throughout the course.
The first obstacle was to swim 6 laps which may sound like "chicken feet" to many people, but not to this guy who had not been swimming for more than a lap during the last 4 years. I was struggling during my 2nd lap and was about to give up. The instructor was kind enough to give me an exemption of 1 lap, hence I only did 5 laps. Thank God for His favour!
Next was the need for a doctor certification on my asthmatic condition. Yet time was pressing against me and I couldn't afford the time to see a doctor for it. The instructor was pretty hard on it initially but relented in the end after I told him that I am confident of going through it.
The last obstacle was of course a result of the open water dive itself. I was having difficulties equalizing during my first dive and the instructor was about to give up on me. He suggested that some people are just not meant to dive.. :(
Nevertheless, I was determined and wanted to give it a try again. Thanks to Sarah's tip on equalizing, I finally managed to do it during my 2nd dive. This time round, I felt like I am part of the ocean.. Hehehe. Even though I may suffer from panic attacks during the dive, the sea life seemingly reminded me of God's control over each and everyone of us. The fishes work not for their food, yet the Lord feeds and look after them, what more about me. Praises started to pour out within my heart as I swim past His creations.
All in all, the dive was pretty good and I have learnt throughout the 2 days in Bicheno. Sorry guys for not being able to post any photos on my underwater adventure as I don't have the appropriate gear for it.
Apart from diving, we also visited Red Bill Beach. The dusk lighted skies were simply amazing. Don't you agree?
Fishing was next in line. I was hoping to catch some squids as that was the exact location where I caught my squids last November. However, it seems that it isn't the right season for squiding. Since there were no squids to be caught, I threw in my plastic lures and caught a mackerel within 3 seconds. Yes... It was within 3 seconds and that ended up as part of our dinner for the night. The fish was so delicious that Sarah asked whether I added any sugar to it. Hahaha..
The first dive during the 2nd day was fantastic. I saw a huge eagle ray with a wing span of approximately 2m long. It was swimming right infront of us. Apart from that, there were also many shoaling fish and smaller stingrays. Our instructor picked up 2 abalones and had them for his dinner. We were actually hoping that he could give us one (cause we spotted the second one and told him about it) but he did not. :P
The 2nd dive was at Pirate's Cove, Cole's bay. Sadly, the water was way too cold for us, forcing us to end our dive much earlier. Nevertheless, the three of us were very willing to do so due to over-exhaustion from the previous dives.
Most importantly of all, I am a certified open water diver now.. Yipee.. ! Not that I will go diving any time soon but rather being able to achieve something through Christ who strengthens me.. :)
Last but not least, the three of us in our cuckoo diving suits. Wahaha...
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