What Is Sea Walking?
Photo: Great Adventures
If you have little to no ocean experience, sea walking might just be the activity for you! Sea walking is an underwater activity which involves wearing a helmet connected to fresh air while walking along the bottom of the seafloor.
Sea walking, also known as helmet diving, is the perfect opportunity for those who aren't confident in the water, don't know how to swim or aren't certified to scuba dive. The activity still allows for those people to get a taste of what the marine world is all about. If you are visiting Cairns and want to try out the unique water activity on the Great Barrier Reef, read below to find out how you can do so!
How do you sea walk?
Photo: Great Adventures
Sea walking is simple! Your astronaut-looking helmet is fed fresh air from the surface above you which allows you to breathe normally, as you would above the water. Although there are a few technical aspects to it, you don't actually need to know how to swim to be able to participate! The only thing you'll need to learn is how to equalise, a task you have to do when you scuba dive.
It's pretty straight forward though. To equalise, you just reach up into your helmet, hold your nose and softly blow to unblock your ears (very similar to what you do on a plane). It's easier than it looks as the bottom of the helmet is open (the water doesn't seep in due to the pressure) which allows for you to hold your nose - or to scratch that itch!
A perk about sea walking is that you can still wear your prescription glasses, keep your makeup looking fresh, and save your hair from getting wet!
Where can you sea walk?
Photo: Great Adventures
If you're on your dream holiday to the tropical paradise we like to call Cairns, then why not give this unique activity a go? If you book a trip to Green Island with Great Adventures, you can opt to include helmet diving. Not only do you have the opportunity to explore a tropical island, but you can experience the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef too on your sea walking experience. Meet green sea turtles, tropical fish, giant clams, sting rays, reef sharks (friendly ones), and more!
Another tour that offers a sea walking experience in Cairns is Quicksilver. You can spend a day on a pontoon on the Great Barrier Reef. The pontoon offers snorkelling, semi-submersible boat tours, helicopter rides, and of course, sea walking (or what they call ocean walking). For both the Great Adventures and Quicksilver tours, there will be additional charges for the activity but we believe it's totally worth it! Where else can you say you walked on the sea floor without even getting your hair or makeup wet!
