Learn to Dive: In the Adelaide Coast region of South Australia

One of the joys of Postcards is you get to see and do some pretty interesting things like snorkeling on Port Noarlunga Reef. A recent day out with Aquatic Centre instructor Mary-Anne Stacey and the local kids from Aberfoyle Park only whet the appetite for more.

And so it was back to school for me, as I caught up with local dive instructor Tony Leggatt at the Southern Diving Centre at Christies Beach.

“Alright Mark, what we have at sea level is we have one bar of pressure. As we go down to the ten-metre mark we increase that pressure to two bars. Twenty metres, three bar and so on”.

What that means is that at surface level we'll have about six litres of air in our lungs, at ten metres about twelve litres of air and so on. It’s all critical theory for anyone about to dive.

“If we stop breathing, what will happen as we come to the surface our lungs will expand. And you imagine your lungs as a bunch of grapes as we come up they will expand and then one of these grapes or air sacks will tear and air will transfer into our bloodstream which is a serious injury.”

“The upshot of that is breathe out when you're coming up?”

“Exactly. Breathe out all the time, breathe in normally. An equal inhalation and equal exhalation.”

Easier said than done when you're a little nervous about your first dive with tanks. If you're going to dive you'll need to empty your Buoyancy Control Device or BCD for the descent and soon enough I'm ready for my first tank dive.

With the dump valve expelling air from the BCD we begin our dive and on the way down we're clearing the ears much as you might do on an airplane. During the descent Tony's classroom session on barometric pressure starts to make real sense as the lesson continues.

First, the frightening prospect of releasing your regulator or oxygen supply but it's not as scary as you might think. Then a quick tip on how to clear a water filled mask using your own bubbles. Soon, I'm feeling reasonably relaxed, dreaming of those spots the guys at the Southern Diving Centre visit on their annual charters, like spectacular Pearson Island, southwest of Elliston off the coast of Eyre Peninsula.

It’s a diver's paradise where the playful New Zealand Fur Seals will have even the most traveled diver in a spin. They say places like the Barrier Reef are awash with colour but so too is Pearson Island.

South Australia's temperate waters are noted for their abundance of marine life. The waters here aren't as rich in nutrients as the waters in Northern Australia which means some marine species may have to work a little harder to exist in this pristine environment. But for divers and Australian Sea Lions alike, the water clarity makes it a remarkable place where nature is literally in your face.

The more you dive the more confidant you become. But you soon realise we'll always be mere pedestrians in the Sea Lion’s domain.

Enough dreaming. Soon its back to reality and the surface for a quick debrief on lesson one - the first of many.

‘That was fantastic.”

Southern Dive is at Roy Terrace at Christies Beach. It's in-house tank and nearby Port Noarlunga Reef make it an ideal location to learn to dive. The team also run annual charters on board The Failie to Pearson Island and many of the other top dive spots in the State. To book a lesson contact Peter Costello on 8382 1322.