A Visit to Mauritius (Part 2): The sub-scooter!

One of the unforgettable experiences I had when I was in Mauritius was to dive in the sea with a sub-scooter. The first time Dr Kit told me about this, never had I imagined anything like it. I thought it would be an easy, less adventurous and simple experience.

Early in the morning, we drove north to Blue Safari Submarines in Trou-aux-Biches from Albion. It was about a 40 minute drive. When we arrived, we went to register our names and waited for the boat. While, I had some time to look at the photos and videos around the reception area. At this moment, my mind was still relaxed and I felt like there was nothing to be afraid of. Everything looked really interesting and easy.

Then the boat arrived and we walked to the jetty platform to get on board. The view from the platform was  amazing; the blue sky and blue sea. It took us about 20 minutes on a boat to ride beyond the reef to the middle of the ocean. While in the boat, I was enjoying the breeze and appreciating the view. We arrived at the sub-scooter platform and welcomed by the trainer. The previous sub-scooter rider had just finished their ride and it made me excited to see them so happy. I saw the sub-scooters at the end of the platform; colourful! The sub-scooters look quite similar to a road scooter; 2 persons to ride per 1 sub-scooter; handle; brake; engine and a bubble for breathing!

We were given diving attire to change into and then we were called to listen to short instructions. The instructions were a bit simple; still they made me feel easy and comfortable to ride. We had our chance to choose which colour of scooter to ride and we picked purple!

When the time came, we got ready and sat on the sub-scooter; Dr Kit drove the sub-scooter as I was a bit shaky already. It made me nervous! I can drive a normal scooter on the road but not this one; I was not ready to try so I was just sat at the back. We had our final instructions and were told that a diver will follow us all through the ride. Everything was ready, the bubble was shut and I could hear oxygen flowing. I am always nervous using breathing apparatus. I remember when I did my firefighter training and we needed to wear breathing apparatus! 

When the platform started to go down and bring the sub-scooter deep into the sea; we needed to control our breathing and stay calm. It hurt my head when we started to go into the water but felt better once we were inside. Your body is all exposed to the water,  except your head which is inside the bubble. The diver was behind us guiding the way. A part of me was very scared but I remained calm outside; Oh no; what have I signed up to do! Never have I imagined it would be like this. It was so quiet inside the ocean.

When the sub-scooter was ready, we started our journey. Not much happened in the beginning until we started to see fish and corals above us. Then my feelings changed. From feeling scared I was now feeling so happy and glad I had done this. The black and white striped fish followed us from behind; mainly because the diver started to bring out fish food. He gave me some to feed the fish. It was magnificent. At one point, a fish came into the tank (bubble) and I was a bit surprised! The scene was magical and so beautiful.

We finished the ride and received a certificate of achievement. Amazing moment. After the experience, we went straight to a hospital to check on Dr Kit's neck as there were a lump and he was warded for surgery! What a crazy adventure ever!

PS: Interesting how each second can make a change to our situation!