Why You Should Add Scuba Diving & Surfing To Your Gap Year Bucketlist?
As you have decided to take a break and set out on a gap year journey abroad, you must be thrilled with all the plans that you have!
I know you’re gonna be on your own (probably for the first time) for a considerable period of time, indulging in doing something meaningful & impactful like volunteering, as well as explore the nooks & corners of the country — hopping from one place to another, making new friends on the way!
But have you given a thought about learning something new? How about giving a shot to scuba diving & surfing? Sounds really exciting, doesn’t it? Well, yeah, about 78% of gap year travelers have shown a knack to try out and learn new things and these two tops the chart.
To quote it in the words of Tec Clark, “Scuba diving is sensual. To breathe underwater is one of the most fascinating and peculiar sensations imaginable. Breathing becomes a rhythmic melody of inhalations and exhalations. The cracks and pops of fish and crustaceans harmonize with the rhythmic chiming of the bubbles as you exhale. Soon, lungs act as bellows, controlling your buoyancy as you achieve weightlessness. And, as in your dreams, you are flying. Combine these otherworldly stimuli and you surrender completely to the sanctuary of the underwater world.”
Here’s why you should also add scuba diving & surfing to your gap year travel bucket list.
1. It’s The Best Way To Get Up Close & Personal with Marine Life!
If you ask me, then I would say that there’s something absolutely surreal about scuba diving! It’s the best chance that one can get, to dive deeper and explore underwater flora and fauna. You could enjoy a closer look at colorful corals and unique underwater plants. And you’ll also get face to face with interesting fish that you’ve never even heard of before! You can sign up for a PADI Course and become an expert diver by the end of your gap year! The marine life in different parts of the world varies enormously so every time you go scuba diving during your travels, you could have the opportunity to explore an entirely new underwater world! But needless to say, the ultimate heaven for scuba diving is the Great Barrier Reef in Australia! In case you’re traveling down south, you gotta try this out! And what can be better than Oz, where you have some of the best beaches for learning surfing as well.
2. Scuba Diving Will Introduce You To A Peaceful & Quiet World!
Once you dive, all of a sudden, all the chaos would just disappear! When you’re down there, the only thing you’ll hear is the sound of your own breath, of which you’ll be conscious of. It’ll help you to block out all the other distractions of your life, and let you focus only on one thing — yourself! I personally find it to be extremely therapeutic and every time I come up, there’s an incredible gush of energy. To be honest, your gap year is the break time when you’ve to figure out a lot of things and understand what you really like to do & what you don’t, and based on that, you’ll have to take the next steps towards your career. Surely, amidst all these, learning to dive will rejuvenate you and make you feel blissful.
3. Both Surfing & Scuba Diving Will Help You To Respect Nature.
This, surely, is one of the most important things in today’s date — to be conscious and do our bit to protect the environment, With increasing global warming and plastic pollution, the water bodies of the world are suffering immensely. As you sign up for learning surfing/scuba diving, you actually sign up for spending more time with nature — either gazing at the horizon & trying to learn the moves of the waves, or by plunging into the cool blue and observing the lives blossoming there! Many surfers also get involved in environmental stewardship and organize beach cleanup activities. To say the least, surfing & scuba diving experiences will give you a whole new perspective of the natural world.
4. It’ll Immensely Boost Your Self-confidence!
It’s just that whenever we learn something new, it adds another feather to our hat, making us feel good about ourselves. But when we learn to master something as challenging as surfing or scuba diving, it definitely boosts our confidence. You’d either be riding on a fierce wave, conquering it with your balance or wondering at the colorful school of fishes as they pass by you while counting each breath of yours. Building this kind of confidence is one of the most beautiful skills that you can take out of the water into other areas of your life.
5. You’ll Be Some Interesting People From Different Parts Of The World!
As you learn something new with a bunch of other folks, you eventually end up helping each other in the process, thus becoming friends for life! This might sound a bit unnatural for those who haven’t tried it yet, but for those who have, would know exactly what I’m saying! You’ll be spending your days with these people, on the beaches! And, since you all share the same passion, you can become fast friends regardless of your nationality or culture. It’s the perfect activity for gap year solo travelers and small groups as you can join other travelers and get to know them better.
So there’s nothing much to contemplate! The more you’ll think, the more confused you’ll get. Take the leap and go — as it’s never too late to learn something new.
And as Frosty Hesson had once mentioned, “If you’re having a bad day, catch a wave!”
