You are living in a time when, with a few lessons and some basic equipment, you can watch a shark being hand-fed by an expert. Or swim with a school of JackFish. Or marvel as a slow-moving octopus comes into sight. If you are a diver, you know the exhilaration of morphing, albeit temporarily, into an undersea being – if you are not, such wonder awaits you in the Bahamas.
- THE GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND: THE UNDERWATER EXPLORER SOCIETY (UNEXSO) SHARK DIVE
Nail-biting theatregoers have devoured popcorn during such films as MegaShark versus Giant Octopus, Sharknado and – yes – Jaws, promising themselves as they left the theatre and walked into the dark night that they would never again venture into deep, blue water. But the shark is a totally misunderstood creature.
Shrug off any misconceptions you may be holding, consciously or subconsciously, about these captivating fish at UNEXSO’s Shark Junction, on Grand Bahama Island. You will hang with experts in shark behaviour, who will thoroughly brief you on what to expect on the unforgettable dive.
Watching graceful sharks of various sizes move about as if performing an underwater ballet, while being offered tantalizing tidbits from practised UNEXSO divers, is as exquisite as it sounds it is.
- ANDROS ISLAND: THE OCEAN BLUE HOLE
A blue hole is nature at its most alluring, a dark blue circle surrounded by the familiar turquoise of the water of warm climes, signalling an intense depth of water that is a portal to underworld wonders. Jeff Birch, who vibrates with a passion for imaginative diving, manages Small Hope Bay Lodge where you can easily arrange a two-person dive in the iconic Ocean Blue Hole of Andros Island.
Jeff will be happy to arrange a dive to an inland blue-hole too: There are four different dives to chose from, all with intriguing names: The Guardian Blue Hole; Stargate; El Dorado and The Little Frenchman.
Link: Small Hope
- HIGHBOURNE CAY: THE WASHING MACHINE DIVE
You’ve always wanted to know how your favorite Vince t-shirt feels as it dances around in the rinse cycle, right? Well, maybe not. But you will want to dance around in the Washing Machine, just south of Highbourne Cay, where the tide grabs you by the diving suit and essentially throws you off an underwater ledge – in a good way.
Check out what you could get up to in this video: The Washing Machine at Exuma Cays.
Link: The Washing Machine at Exuma Cays
- ANDROS: THINK VERTICAL: WALL DIVING
There is diving and then, for the not easily daunted and visually hungry, there is wall diving. Floating in front of a dramatic cliff face, taking in its mesmerizing coral as Blue Angelfish, Cherubfish, Sunshinefish, Smooth Trunkfish and Midnight Parrotfish perform just for you, in an underwater ballet of motion, is sublime.
The Andros Beach Club offers wall diving, as well as wreck diving and drift diving. Oh, they also offer childcare for your wee ones, who are welcome to hang out with your instructor’s children. Nice.
- PELICAN CAYS LAND AND SEA PARK
Great Abaco Island is home to the Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park, offering a series of spectacular caves under its seas: You will feel like a new world has opened up before you, like you were somehow able to walk (well, swim) into the pages of a magical book of hidden treasures.
This 2,100 acres of precious land and water was established as a park in 1972 – way back when the world first grooved to ABBA and Eminem was a wee baby.
Link: Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park