When it comes to the factors influencing the completion of your advanced course, it really comes down to you. Which conditions you would like to learn in, which specialties you would like to complete and where you’re looking to complete them. I’m going to run you through we believe the South West of Australia is the best place to complete your Advanced Adventurer course and why you should do it with Swan Dive. 

Dive Sites

The Busselton Jetty

The Busselton Jetty is a 160 year old international icon. The famous jetty is the longest in the Southern hemisphere and stretches just over 1.8km out to sea. Towards the end of the jetty there is a 150-meter sanctuary zone which allows life to flourish and sprawl. There are over 300 marine species that call these waters home and 13 locally made sculptures. With depths of 9 meters, this site fosters the perfect environment to practice and perfect skills as well as see some awesome, colourful wildlife!

4 Mile Reef

The 4 Mile Reef is an underwater oasis for both small critters and larger pelagic animals. Located 4 nautical miles offshore, running between Bunbury and Dunsborough, there is just so much to explore. Luckily, our staff have been diving on this reef for over 20 years and therefore have managed to find the best spots for you. With huge plate corals and massive schools of football sweeps, this site hosts a kaleidoscope of life. The bottom lays in 17-19 meters worth of water with a 1 meter drop off that homes cuttlefish, octopus, nudibranchs and uncountable coral species. 

HMAS Swan 

The HMAS Swan is an ex-naval destroyer ship which was launched in 1970 and scuttled in 1997 for the purpose of recreational diving. Therefore, making for an extremely accessible wreck penetration dive. The Swan is 113 meters in length by 12.5 meters wide and lies in 32 meters worth of water. The crows nest sits at 8 meters, the top deck at 18 and under the stern is where you will find a 32 meter sump that you can actually swim under!

Image: Emma Burdett

Specialties here at Swan Dive

When it comes to the Swan Dive Advanced Adventurer course, there is room to both personalize and customize. The mandatory 2 specialties are Deep and Navigation. As a standard, we also do buoyancy and the wreck specialty as it just makes sense to dive one of Australia’s best wrecks whilst on your course (and do it with an experienced professional that knows it like the back of their hand)! We also often complete the night dive specialty on our course. This is because the Busselton jetty explodes with life at night and not only that of what we see throughout the day, but critters that come out of their holes after dark! The octopus come out to feed, pyjama squid create a visual spectacle and cuttlefish are roaming free. We also believe that completing your first night dive with a professional is the safest and most relaxing way to do so.  If you have a burning desire to learn about a specific area of diving, let us know! We are more than happy to look into alternative speciality dives on our courses! 

How long should I wait after my Open Water course to go Advanced? 

This is a topic that is up for discussion and is completely personal as to what you would like to get out of your course. There are a few options, both with pros and cons; 

Option 1: Complete your Advanced course directly after your Open Water course. 

Option 2: Get a few dives under your belt and then complete your Advanced course. 

When you complete your Open Water course, you have just learnt SO MUCH information that your brain is trying to retain. We always recommend doing a few more dives after your course with a professional for safety and comfort.

Your advanced course expands on certain skills that you learnt on your open water course in greater detail with more practical application. For example, navigation. If you’re wanting to go for a dive with your buddy without a professional, you’re going to want to be familiar and confident with navigation.

In conclusion, if you’re going to be diving with a buddy and not a professional, whether that be off a boat or shore, we would recommend completing your advanced course before heading off on an adventure just so you have an extra few dives and expand on your skill set.  If you are just cruising, still getting comfortable with your skills and diving with a professional, you should wait until you feel like you are ready to take in new skills and advance yourself as a diver. 

Written by Meg.