Diving in the Agincourt Reef with DiversDen
Diving in the Agincourt Reef with DiversDen
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Hey guys! I am so happy I can tell you about our diving experience in the Agincourt Reef – Great Barrier Reef!
The beautiful Marina harbor in Port Douglas
Early in the morning, we drove to the Marina harbor in Port Douglas, where we booked a diving day tour with DiversDen on the “Aqua Quest” boat. The white building of the harbor is beautiful, inside we found a lovely passage with all the operators as well as some nice cafés and restaurants. Everything opens at 8 am. We quickly found the DiversDen counter and checked in. We paid 300 AUS Dollar in total because we got a discount from our diving tour in Cairns.
A warmly welcome to the Aqua Quest
We had been warmly welcomed by the crew and the photographer from New Zealand took a few pictures. On the boat we had to fill out some survey for the dives. In due time we managed to take our travel tablets against seasickness, because the water was pretty rough. I highly recommend to take along some sickness tablets, the ocean between the mainland and the reef can be really rough and there´s nothing worse than diving with seasickness. With the tablets, we didn´t feel sick at all and we could enjoy the boat ride.
The dive briefing
The procedure was pretty similar to the diving tour in Cairns to the Norman and Saxon Reef. No wonder because it was the same company. At first, we got a safety briefing. While the boat drove to the reef we had a few welcome snacks and got all the dive information and exercises. At first, they showed us all the dangerous animals and the reef. Afterward, we learned about the diving gear. We had to remember three exercises which we had to demonstrate afterward in the 1-meter deep water next to the boat. Only after completing these exercises we went deeper to at least 12 meters under the surface. Tip: If you like to know more about what to expect of the exercises and the diving gear and how to do a pressure equalization, read my first dive blog post.
The first reef: Agincourt Reef Botanic Gardens
Our first diving spot with DiversDen was the “Agincourt Reef Botanic Gardens”, it is located in the east towards the open ocean. At first, we had time for a little snorkeling. The reef was absolutely stunning! I cannot find the right words for the beauty of nature and the colorful corals I`ve seen there. Huge and high coral reef towers, the most colorful fish and turquoise water. While snorkeling the crew had an eye on us all the time.
We then started our first dive of this day with a nice Asian dive instructor. Because we did our first dive 2 days before in Cairns, we managed the exercise pretty fast. We were able to dive deeper, we did pressure equalization meter for meter until we reached 12 meters depth. The best thing was that there weren´t many passengers on the boat. The diving tour in Cairns was pretty crowded and a little bit hectic, but with our small group in Port Douglas, it felt a lot more relaxed! We even got a dive instructor for only the two of us. We saw 6 big blue fishes with a big horn on the forehead, I think they are called Napoleon fishes. They are very trusting and you have to be careful they don´t bite you :).
It felt amazing diving in the calm and depth of the ocean again. Everything acts more slowly and calmer under water. If you are moving too fast the fishes will disappear. I wasn´t afraid of the meters of water above my body. I felt absolutely free! Our dive instructor moved her hand back and forth over the corals and the corals reacted with something that looked like a breathing movement. After our wonderful dive, we got lunch.
Our second reef: Agincourt reef No.3 – the reef of the movie “Open Water”
The Aqua Quest moved to our second reef in the west of all the Agincourt reefs: Agincourt Reef No.3. Afterward, our dive instructor told us, that this is the exact place where they made the movie “Open Water”. The story is about a couple left on the reef in the open ocean in 1998. Yayyy! It is true, in the past they forgot some people on the reef, but don´t panic, they improved their system! After every dive and after snorkeling you have to sign different papers two times and tell them your security number, with this double check they can be sure you came out of the water. But the idea of being left behind is extremely scary – especially because we were the only one on the rough reef, as in the movie. For our second dive, we had a dive instructor from Italy. Because we already did two dives under water, we were allowed to dive without holding our dive instructor. He was next to us all the time or he only held our air bottles above us. Don´t forget, there is a great drift at the reefs and if you have any problems with the equipment the dive instructor must be able to help you immediately. To let the people dive on their own would be grossly negligent. Apart from that, you are always diving together with your dive buddy.:)
Our dive instructor was pretty cool, sometimes he dived in front of us and we followed him. To float absolutely free in the big ocean is an incredible feeling you have to experience! Our second dive was very long and most of the time we dived near the ground at 12 meters along beautiful corals and colorful fishes. Suddenly we saw a big reef shark and a Barracuda in front of us. Unbelievable! This calm and peaceful atmosphere under water, absolutely relaxing! I didn´t hear the equipment anymore and I felt comfy with the pressure equalization. Again and again, the instructor checked our air display. Slowly we dived back up.
Another snorkel session
Afterward, we had the time to snorkel again. The coral towers on this side of the reef were beautiful as well. There was so much to discover. In a cave, we saw a hidden reef shark and we found an extremely big orange fish. The photographer took some pictures underwater and we could buy them afterward. However, I highly recommend to bring your own underwater camera as well or to rent one on the boat.
Our dive instructor
I have to tell you the story of our Italian dive instructor: He worked for a few months on the Aqua Quest, unfortunately, his Australian visa expires in 1 month. He told us that he probably go to Vietnam or to the Maldives or to South Africa, to work as a dive instructor. 🙂 How cool is that? But at first, he planned a road trip from Broome to Perth :). Yayy the Australian people are much more relaxed!
What´s next?
Now I have to do my Open Water PADI certification! Because I want to dive without a teacher. I could have done the Open Water course with DiversDen directly because I had one dive in Cairns and two dives in Port Douglas. For the total prize, you can buy an Open Water course as well. But you have to be sure that you like diving and you need about five days including the theory. Just try a one day dive tour to see if you like it. You can stop at any time! The feeling underwater is incredible and I am sure you will love it! I would highly recommend booking a diving tour from Port Douglas. There are less people who wants to learn diving, therefore the crew was not as hectic as in Cairns. In my opinion, you need to be in a relaxed atmosphere for your first dive. DiversDen did a great job! They were very professional and made you feel safe all the time. We had very good dive instructors as well! On our way back we got some signed certificates for our dive :).
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