Bula (Hello), and welcome to the autumn edition of Nurses Notes.
From the greeting in the opening line, you may or may not have guessed that I am in Fiji mode and will endeavour to stay that way as long as I possibly can. I have just returned home after a marvellous (and much needed) 10 day holiday at the fabulous Hideaway Resort on the coral coast of Fiji.
While at Hideaway, I refreshed my scuba diving skills with Diveaway Fiji, and went on to complete my Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver course. My passion for scuba diving was well and truly re-ignited and I plan on returning to Hideaway next year and completing my Rescue Diver course with them. The diving team at the resort were spectacular and are very passionate about showing you the magnificent treasures that await you in the underwater world. I know it sounds odd but some of the diving spots are just like they are from the movie ‘Finding Nemo’.
One site known as ‘Casbah’ was particularly like it. The diving was just wonderful and the water so lovely and warm. The lowest temperature was 29 degrees at a depth of 30 metres (diving here in Port Phillip Bay, although good, is never warm, and you are lucky to get a water temperature above 20 degrees during summer). It was lovely to come back from my dives each day and share my wonderful adventures with my family and friends who were excited to listen to my tales.
A picture from Alan Walton's dive!
The staff at Hideaway are just so beautiful and warm that they quickly become like family and you never want to leave. To give you a small glimpse of paradise, I have uploaded a link to some photos I took of the trip and the websites for Hideaway Resort and Diveaway.
1 Oct 2007
Nurses Notes
31 May 2007
Diving in your later years……
Today I had a great experience! I took Helen and her daughter on a PADI Discover Scuba Dive! Helen is a 72 year old lady who suffers from post viral fatigue syndrome. We had to make a few adjustments of our dive plan, rather than doing a backwards roll entry into the water we made a slow shore start, and then during the dive we would swim a few meters then stop kneel down and look at the fish and coral.
It was so refreshing to take our time, we were able to look at the different colours and textures of the corals, fish who dwell in different areas, a turtle who was resting in a hole came out and gently cruised around us. After a study of a sleeping puffer fish, and a small cray in a hole we came across 2 resting white tip sharks, Helen was anxious to move on but we sat quietly then moved forward (to her dismay) until we were kneeling a meter away from them! Helen couldn’t believe she was sitting with the sharks!
Moving on we passed 2 more sharks, a large school of snappers, forty minutes had passed and Helen signalled she was tyred, so we slowly moved our way up on top of the reef before surfacing. On surfacing I checked her air gauge she still had 110 bar left not bad for a beginner!!
Helen's scuba dive was the highlight of her holiday and an eye opener to me, a dive I have done 100’s times, this is one I will defiantly remember.
13 Apr 2007
PADI Media Relations Program Produces HUGE Results
Recent high-profile story placement on Away.com viewed by millions of potential scuba divers. PADI remains the only entity in the dive industry to employ a full-time in-house media relations staff. The result of this tangible commitment to new diver acquisition and scuba diving promotion is resulting in recent media placements in such diverse places as Outdoor Photographer magazine, Men’s Health/Best Life, and the Boston Globe. According to PADI Marketing Director Potential new divers are attracted to the informative pieces, colorful photos and exciting topics. In addition, the articles become long-term resource pieces for individuals seeking dive-related information through internet searches. The latest feature story placement (located at http://away.com/practical-advice/learn-to-scuba-dive-1.html) include details on getting started in scuba, equipment overviews, links to PADI’s worldwide Dive Center and Resort directory and other highly relevant information. PADI will continue to seek out feature story opportunities in coming months. Stay tuned for more exciting media exposure that PADI is bringing to the industry.
PADI is not only the leader in quality scuba diver training, it’s also the leader in quality scuba diving promotion. PADI’s media relations team recently orchestrated a major “learn to dive” feature story in Away.com, a sister website to Outside Magazine and Orbitz.com. This comprehensive feature story is available to more than 1.6 million unique visitors every day. Since being posted Feb. 2, the story remains one of the most viewed stories on the site.
