"The future is not a destination, it is a never ending path of possibilities."

Friday, July 25, 2014

Down Under

#FlashBackFriday - a popular term/ "hashtag" in the social media world used to feature a past experience in life. On this beautiful Friday I thought it would be fun to share a flashback from 2011 to my time living in Australia. The 6 months I spent in Australia studying abroad was a life changing experience and I always encourage other college students to be brave and dive into a new culture through a study abroad program. There were ups and downs throughout the entire trip, but ultimately it was a were I grew as a young adult, made new friendships, learned to scuba dive and most importantly it ignited the desire to be a professional mermaid. Below is a glimpse into a few of my favorite memories. 

The University of Queensland, the most beautiful campus I've ever step foot on.

Feeding the adorable kangaroos at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.


My favorite place in the world...Heron Island. Spent 5 days on this remote island as part of a field trip for my "Australia's Marine Environment" course.




 A colorful reef from one of my first dives ever.


Peaceful sunset while taking the ferry into the city of Brisbane.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Manta Lovin

Last weekend I embarked on a mini adventure to the "Big Island" of Hawaii for a special encounter with manta rays. There is a unique feast, known as the plankton buffet, that occurs once the sun sets and an average of about 20 mantas make an appearance where they feed on the plankton. In short, lights are set up amongst the dive site which attract the plankton and ultimately attract the mantas. My friends and I signed up for a twilight dive and the infamous manta night dive. Typically, the mantas don't show up until it's night, but we lucked out on our first dive with a surprise from a few winged visitors... 

Garden Eel Cove: Max Depth - 54ft. Dive Time - 58min.



The beautiful mantas we saw throughout the evening had a an average wingspan between 10 - 14ft . Above is picture of my friend Mary Claire seeing one for the first time.  




Currently, I am working on editing the video footage from our night dive featuring the plankton buffet and hungry circling mantas. Visit my Instagram for a short clip and I should have the complete video up soon!

Enjoyed the friendly hospitality of Big Island Divers. Pictures taken with my GoPro Hero3+. 



Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Turtle Tuesday

Yesterday, I dove four different sites (Baby Barge, Spitting Cave, Koko Crater, & Turtle Canyon 3). To say I saw a lot of turtles would be an understatement...there were literally turtles everywhere I turned! In addition to all the turtles, I also saw three white tip reef sharks, eels, an octopus, a lion fish, and a frogfish. 
Here's some pics from my day...

Baby Barge: Max Depth - 80ft. Dive Time - 33min. 





Spitting Cave: Max Depth - 48ft. Dive Time - 51min.




Koko Crater: Max Depth - 40ft. Dive Time - 52min.








Turtle Canyon 3 (T3): Max Depth - 40ft. Dive Time - 58min.




Dove with Island Divers Hawaii. Pictures taken with my GoPro Hero3.




Sunday, July 6, 2014

Baby Honu

Last night I participated in the release of 30 Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles! They were released around 8:00pm at the beach across from Sea Life Park. Currently, Sea Life Park is the only active breeding colony for green sea turtles in the US. Every summer the park releases hundreds of these little guys back into the wild in hopes to increase their threatened population. 


This baby honu, whom my mom named Sparky, is about 30g in weight and about 2 inches in length. 


Have a happy Sunday :)
xox,
       DenéAlexis

p.s. "Honu" is the Hawaiin name for green sea turtle ;) 

Thursday, June 26, 2014

100ft Deep

My latest dives were a beautiful wreck dive and a shallow drift dive...enjoy! 

Kahala Barge: At this particular site the conditions were extremely rough on the surface, but once we descended 100ft down the view was spectacular! 






Angler's Reef: This was our drift dive. Not as scenic as the first, and not nearly as deep, but still beautiful! 



Dove with Island Divers Hawaii. Pictures taken with my GoPro Hero3.


xox,
       DenéAlexis


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Galapagos Sharks on North Shore


Here's a glimpse into my morning yesterday. Hopped in the car with some friends and drove up the North Shore coast to Hale'iwa where we swam with Galapagos Sharks! We encountered about ten 8-10ft males curiously circling our cage ;) 


Thanks to Hawaii Shark Encounters for the unforgettable experience! 
More pictures coming soon :) 


xox,
        DenéAlexis