Lahir dan besar di Negara tropis, saya
terbiasa dimanjakan kenyamanan perairan hangat. Wetsuit 3mm sudah cukup menahan
suhu tubuh saya di kala menyelam, terumbu karang beraneka warna jadi hal yang
biasa saat menikmati perairan di Indonesia.
Born and raised in a tropical country, I’m used to being pampered with the comfort of warm waters. A three-millimeter wetsuit is enough to contain my body temperature when I dive. Vibrant coral reefs are a common sight when scuba diving in Indonesian waters.
Bayangkan berendam di air dengan suhu 15 hingga 17°C. Sebagai makhluk yang tidak tahan dingin bisa-bisa saya membeku dalam waktu setengah jam saja di suhu tersebut. Namun saya tidak menolak kesempatan menyelam di perairan dingin saat berada di Selandia Baru, kapan lagi saya dapat merasakan kondisi penyelaman yang benar-benar berbeda dengan biasanya ini.
Imagine diving in 15°C-17°C waters. As someone that cannot withstand cold temperatures, I may freeze in just 30 minutes. But I’ve never refused the opportunity to go diving in cold waters when I was in New Iceland, as I will never again get the opportunity to experience the diving conditions that is very different from what I’m used to.
Born and raised in a tropical country, I’m used to being pampered with the comfort of warm waters. A three-millimeter wetsuit is enough to contain my body temperature when I dive. Vibrant coral reefs are a common sight when scuba diving in Indonesian waters.
Bayangkan berendam di air dengan suhu 15 hingga 17°C. Sebagai makhluk yang tidak tahan dingin bisa-bisa saya membeku dalam waktu setengah jam saja di suhu tersebut. Namun saya tidak menolak kesempatan menyelam di perairan dingin saat berada di Selandia Baru, kapan lagi saya dapat merasakan kondisi penyelaman yang benar-benar berbeda dengan biasanya ini.
Imagine diving in 15°C-17°C waters. As someone that cannot withstand cold temperatures, I may freeze in just 30 minutes. But I’ve never refused the opportunity to go diving in cold waters when I was in New Iceland, as I will never again get the opportunity to experience the diving conditions that is very different from what I’m used to.
Titik penyelaman kami adalah di Bay Of
Islands, Selandia Baru, dengan gugusan pulau bagaikan batu besar menjulang tinggi. Selain
Canterbury Wreck yang sudah saya ceritakan sebelumnya, titik penyelaman kami
yang lain adalah Big Eyes Lair.
Our diving point was at Bay of Islands, New Zealand, with an array of islands that look like large and tall rocks. Aside from Canterbury Wreck that I’ve mentioned previously, our other diving point is Big Eyes Lair.
Our diving point was at Bay of Islands, New Zealand, with an array of islands that look like large and tall rocks. Aside from Canterbury Wreck that I’ve mentioned previously, our other diving point is Big Eyes Lair.
Untuk menahan suhu yang dingin kami
menggunakan wetsuit setebal 7mm. Bagi saya bagian paling menghabiskan kalori
saat menyelam adalah saat menggunakan wetsuit, apalagi dengan ketebalan 7mm.
Namun tebal yang lebih dari 2 kali lipat wetsuit yang biasa saya gunakan itu
tidak terasa saat saya menceburkan diri ke dinginnya perairan Bay Of Islands.
Wetsuit dan hood muka menahan saya dari membeku, menahan air di sela antara
tubuh dan wetsuit yang kemudian menghangat karena panas tubuh.
To withstand cold weather, we used a thick seven-millimeter wetsuit. For myself, the most calorie-burning part while diving was putting on the wetsuit – especially with its seven-millimeter thickness. But I as I dove into the cold waters of Bay of Islands, I didn’t even feel as if I’m wearing the wetsuit (that’s more than twice as thick from what I’m used to). The wetsuit and hood saved me from freezing up. They prevented the water from having contact with my skin, of which started to warm up because of my body temperature.
To withstand cold weather, we used a thick seven-millimeter wetsuit. For myself, the most calorie-burning part while diving was putting on the wetsuit – especially with its seven-millimeter thickness. But I as I dove into the cold waters of Bay of Islands, I didn’t even feel as if I’m wearing the wetsuit (that’s more than twice as thick from what I’m used to). The wetsuit and hood saved me from freezing up. They prevented the water from having contact with my skin, of which started to warm up because of my body temperature.
Sejak turun suasana sudah terasa sangat
berbeda. Tidak ada koral beraneka warna, tidak ada clown fish yang menari-nari
di anemon. Keheningan dan suara bubble dari tabung oksigen dan “hutan” di
hadapan kami. Dasar area Big Eyes Lair dipenuhi batuan besar yang ditumbuhi
tanaman laut di sela-selanya. Tanaman ini cukup tinggi namun padat sehingga
kami tidak bisa terlalu menelusup ke dalam sela-sela tanaman. Saya merasa
bagaikan di sekeliling hutan bawah laut, sangat seru!
Since diving in, the surroundings felt quite different. There are no colorful corals, no clownfish dancing around sea anemones. There was only silence, the sound of bubbles from oxygen tanks and the ‘forest’ in front of us. The base of Big Eyes Lair is full of giant stones, with aquatic plants growing in between. The plants are quite tall and thick, making us not being able to pass between the plants. I feel as if I am in an underwater forest. So much fun!
Since diving in, the surroundings felt quite different. There are no colorful corals, no clownfish dancing around sea anemones. There was only silence, the sound of bubbles from oxygen tanks and the ‘forest’ in front of us. The base of Big Eyes Lair is full of giant stones, with aquatic plants growing in between. The plants are quite tall and thick, making us not being able to pass between the plants. I feel as if I am in an underwater forest. So much fun!
Shane dan Sam dari Northland Dive yang
menemani kami langsung mengajak saya dan Ferry memasuki gua. Celah gua ini
cukup besar sehingga kami tidak khawatir sama sekali, panjang gua ini sekitar
17 meter dengan kontur bawah yang rata, sangat mudah untuk pemula dan kami yang
masih menyesuaikan buoyancy (keseimbangan)
dengan wetsuit 7mm ini.
Shane and Sam from Northland Dive whom accompanied us immediately asked Ferry and I to enter a cave. The crevice in the cave is large enough, so we weren’t worried at all. The length of the cave was around 17 meters with a flat bottom – very easy for beginners, especially ourselves who are still adapting to the buoyancy in a seven-millimeter wetsuit.
Shane and Sam from Northland Dive whom accompanied us immediately asked Ferry and I to enter a cave. The crevice in the cave is large enough, so we weren’t worried at all. The length of the cave was around 17 meters with a flat bottom – very easy for beginners, especially ourselves who are still adapting to the buoyancy in a seven-millimeter wetsuit.
Memang tidak banyak yang kami temukan di gua
ini, hanya ikan-ikan kecil, di sisi luar kami bertemu pari yang tampak sedih
karena luka di bagian depannya.
There isn’t much to find in the cave. There are only small fish, and at the outside we found a stingray whom seemed sad because of a wound located at its front side.
There isn’t much to find in the cave. There are only small fish, and at the outside we found a stingray whom seemed sad because of a wound located at its front side.
Diving bukan sekadar masuk ke perairan,
menyelam adalah pintu gerbang ke berbagai pengalaman baru dan pengalaman
berbeda ini membuat saya semakin ketagihan menyelam! :)
Scuba diving is not just entering the waters. Diving is the gate to various new experiences, and this different experience has made myself to be even more addicted to scuba diving! :)
Scuba diving is not just entering the waters. Diving is the gate to various new experiences, and this different experience has made myself to be even more addicted to scuba diving! :)
@marischkaprue – a warm blooded diver
Photo by Shane Housam & Ferry Rusli
To see what it feels like diving in Big Eyes Lair, see our video here:
