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Why Try Freediving?
Ever wanted to dive deeper?
Free diving helps to calm your mind
The most relaxed while being the most extreme
Mind body soul wellbeing
Freediving has helped high level athletes who want to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into their practice
Are you in love with the water? Are you interested in experiencing the enchantment of the sea using only your fin kicks and a single breath?
Then let us introduce you to the captivating wonder that only comes with freediving. From clear freshwater lakes to warm tropical oceans, Freediving offers something for everyone!
Our staff, having been in the diving/snorkeling/freediving industry for over 15 years, have compiled a unique personalized course that encompasses the Rainforest to Reef locations as well as obtaining an international certificate.
The main focal point is self development and wellbeing, in a non competitive environment. Learning about Freedive specific nutrition, Yoga/Meditation and safe freediving practices will allow you to continue further development and perfect your skills in the future.
Introduction
Experience the World Heritage Listed Wet Tropical Rainforest while freediving in a Volcanic Crater lake!
This is a unique way of freediving that allows you to take in the sights and sounds of the rainforest while deepening your breath and concentrating on reaching your freedive potential!
As our course is conducted in an enclosed crater lake we don’t need to worry about extreme weather conditions and high winds.
We can concentrate all of our energy on becoming more in tune with nature, listening to the sounds of the birds and taking in the beauty around you. This will inevitably help with your relaxation for free diving!
The course includes theory sessions about freediving breathing techniques for before and after diving, a dry breath hold, relaxation, physiology and safety procedures.
On day one, we start off with fresh local rainforest fruit, coffee and tea and talk about the theory behind freediving.
We then conduct the pool session right on site and include dynamic apnea (horizontal UW swimming) and depth skills. This is where you will progressively learn about techniques including adequate finning, body positioning and being more streamlined.
Course Description
The SSI Level 1 Freediving course is an introductory course with no previous experience required!
This program provides you with the training and knowledge required to safely freedive with a buddy in open water environments to depths of 20 metres. You will earn the SSI Level 1 Freediving certification after completing this program.
Freediving is an increasingly popular sport worldwide, and for good reason. It will test your limits, teach you about control and relaxation and unlock a whole new aspect of underwater exploration.
The following day you go out into open water, up into the tablelands to the volcanic crater, Lake Eacham. Lake Eacham is situated in the incredible world heritage listed wet tropics of Queensland.
This crater lake has a maximum depth of 65 metres and is surrounded by dense, lush rainforest. This makes our location for the open water portion of the course perfect as the serenity around you will keep you relaxed and ready to reach your potential.
You will practice pull down and duck dive descents, equalizing techniques and see how far you can go before being issued your freediving certification.
The course then finishes at a 90 year old tea house surrounded by lush rainforest with serene lake views. We will write our final exam and have some tasty lunch (VG options available) plus free time to explore around the lake.
Highlights
- Dive to a depth of 20m
- Increase your static breath hold
- Freediving in the tropical rainforest
- Eating fresh local fruit and vegetables
- Snacks and tea/coffee
- Lunch in a historical tea house
Prerequisites
- Must be able to swim
- Minimum 18 years of age
Inclusions
- 1 Morning stretching session
- 1 Theory session
- 1 Static breath hold pool session
- 1 Dynamic freediving pool session
- Open water free diving session in volcanic crater lake
- Certification fees
- Digital manuals
- Lunch on the first day
Medical
A dive medical is only required if you fall into one or more of the following categories:
Those with an at-risk medical condition; or are over 45 years of age; or have a body mass index (BMI) over 30 AND a waist circumference greater than 102cm for males and 88cm for females
If you fall into one or more of these categories you will need to obtain a diving medical (AS4005.1) The cost is roughly $100AUD and takes about 45 minutes to complete with a registered diving doctor.
If you are unsure please refer to our SSI Medical Waiver prior to booking.
Schedule
Day 1
- 8am - Meet in the Scubabo shop, sign paperwork, tea, coffee and fruit
- 8:30am -10:30am - Theory of Freediving
- 10:30am - 12 noon - Static practice in the pool on site
- 1pm - 4pm - Move to larger pool for dynamics practice
- 4pm - Day 1 complete!
Day 2
- 6:45am - Meet in the shop
- 7am- Depart Cairns for Atherton tablelands
- 8:30am - Arrive at Lake Eacham/Lake Barrine
- 8:45am -11:30am - Open water sessions
- 12pm - Lunch at historic tea house at the crater lake
- 1pm-2pm - Final Exam and free time
- 2:30pm -Depart for Cairns
- 4pm- Arrive in Cairns and the course is finished!
Equipment Required
- Mask and Snorkel
- Fins (long fins preferred)
- 3mm wetsuit
- Socks or booties
FINS AND WETSUIT ARE PROVIDED
Introduction
Take your freediving to the next level! In this SSI level freediving 2 course we learn more about the theory behind freediving, practice longer breath holds and dive deeper than you have before!
Experience the world’s oldest rainforest while discovering the depths of a volcanic crater lake. Experience the sights and sounds of a tropical rainforest as we continue to deepen our practice by learning new techniques to improve our freediving skills.
The following day you go out into open water, up into the tablelands to the volcanic crater, Lake Eacham. Lake Eacham is situated in the incredible world heritage listed wet tropics of Queensland.
This crater lake has a maximum depth of 65 metres and is surrounded by dense, lush rainforest. This makes our location for the open water portion of the course perfect as the serenity around you will keep you relaxed and ready to reach your potential.
Course Description
This course takes your freediving even further. It is a similar schedule to the level 1 course but we dive deeper into the theory behind freediving and push ourselves to be even better freed divers!
This is where you will progressively learn about techniques including adequate finning, body positioning and being more streamlined.
This is where you will progressively learn about techniques including adequate finning, body positioning and being more streamlined.
You will practice pull down and duck dive descents, equalizing techniques and see how far you can go before being issued your freediving certification.
The course then finishes at a 90 year old tea house surrounded by lush rainforest with serene lake views. We will write our final exam and have some tasty lunch (VG options available) plus free time to explore around the lake.
Highlights
- Dive to a depth of 30m
- Increase your static breath hold
- Freediving in the tropical rainforest
- Eating fresh local fruit and vegetables
- Snacks and tea/coffee
- Lunch in a historical tea house
Prerequisites
- Must be able to swim
- Minimum 18 years of age
- Level 1 freediver
Inclusions
- 1 Morning stretching session
- 1 Theory session
- 1 Static breath hold pool session
- 1 Dynamic freediving pool session
- Open water free diving session in volcanic crater lake
- Certification fees
- Digital manuals
- Lunch on the first day
Medical
A dive medical is only required if you fall into one or more of the following categories:
Those with an at-risk medical condition; or are over 45 years of age; or have a body mass index (BMI) over 30 AND a waist circumference greater than 102cm for males and 88cm for females
If you fall into one or more of these categories you will need to obtain a diving medical (AS4005.1) The cost is roughly $100AUD and takes about 45 minutes to complete with a registered diving doctor.
If you are unsure please refer to our SSI Medical Waiver prior to booking.
Schedule
Day 1
8am - Meet in the Scubabo shop, sign paperwork, tea, coffee and fruit
8:30am -10:30am - Theory of Freediving
10:30am - 12 noon - Static practice in the pool on site
1pm - 4pm - Move to larger pool for dynamics practice
4pm - Day 1 complete!
Day 2
6:45am - Meet in the shop
7am- Depart Cairns for Atherton tablelands
8:30am - Arrive at Lake Eacham/Lake Barrine
8:45am -11:30am - Open water sessions
12pm - Lunch at historic tea house at the crater lake
1pm-2pm - Final Exam and free time
2:30pm -Depart for Cairns
4pm- Arrive in Cairns and the course is finished!
Equipment Required
- Mask and Snorkel
- Fins (long fins preferred)
- 3mm wetsuit
- Socks or booties
FINS AND WETSUIT ARE PROVIDED
We run weekly training sessions with an international freediver and one of the official freediving judges in Australia. These sessions are open to the public for anyone!
Whether you have never tried freediving before or you would like to improve your techniques and breatholds, everyone is welcome!
Training session fees: $20.00 per person for a 2 hour training session. Can be paid by cash or bank transfer on the date of your training session.
Private chartered trips out to the beautiful Great Barrier Reef can be organized by Scubabo. We run fun day trips out from Port Douglas to the outer Great Barrier Reef.
Inclusions:
- Full day out on the reef departing at 8am to 3pm
- Certified Scubabo Freediving guide
- Hire gear available upon request
- Training equipment available upon request
- Lunch and water included on board
Price: $2000.00
Email us for more information!
cairns@scubabo.com
Free diving is when you hold your breath and dive down below the surface of the water without using any breathing apparatus underwater. One free dive usually lasts between 1- 5 minutes, level one free diving will take you to depths of 10-20 meters.
Scuba diving uses special equipment to breath underwater including air tanks, regulators, and other specific equipment and training. One scuba dive usually lasts between 30-60 minutes, and the entry level open water scuba certification can take you to depths up to 18 meters.
Yes! You’ll need a mask, snorkel, fins, weight belt, and depending on the temperature of the water you are diving in, you may need a wetsuit. If you are just getting started with free diving, you can use the equipment you might already have, but once you decide you’d like to free dive more often, you will probably want to invest in some equipment that is specifically designed for freediving.
You’ll probably want some free diving fins, which are longer and more flexible than scuba fins and usually made of plastic or carbon fiber. A low volume mask which makes equalization easier, and a flexible streamlined snorkel. As you get more into freediving, you might also want to get a two piece wetsuit and a dive computer with an apnea setting.
Ideally you should free dive on an empty stomach, or eat a light healthy snack before freediving. Eat mostly fruits and vegetables; avoid dairy, caffeine, and anything that will take a long time to digest.
It’s not a good idea to eat a big meal before freediving, this is because the blood in your body will go to your stomach to digest the food, which means that your body will have a more difficult time carrying oxygen to the rest of your body. It just means you won’t be able to hold your breath for as long.
No! When you scuba dive, you absorb nitrogen into your bloodstream and soft tissues.
If you free dive with a high level of nitrogen saturation in your body, it is possible for the nitrogen to compress on descent and expand on ascent and could put you at risk for decompression sickness.
If you have any issues with your ears or sinuses you might not be able to equalize properly. If you have a cold or any congestion, you should not free dive.
If you have any issues with fainting, or seizures, you should get a medical check before freediving. If you are pregnant you should consult a doctor before freediving, and you should not push your limits.
- Mask, Snorkel, Fins, Wetsuit, Water bottle
- Light healthy snack such as fruit, or a green smoothie
- If you have one, also bring a weight belt and yoga mat
- Positive attitude and a relaxed mindset
- You can interact with marine life in its natural setting, marine life tends to get closer to free divers than scuba divers because there aren’t any loud noisy bubbles.
- Freediving is almost like a form of meditation, you need to enter a relaxed state of mind and body. Many people enjoy the mental relaxation of freediving
- Challenging opportunity to push your mental and physical limits, try something new, and feel the triumph of setting and achieving new goals
- Experience diving in a volcanic crater lake in the oldest rainforest in the world!
- Fresh fruit and vegetables from our local produce market (farm to table)
- Internationally renowned organization -SSI
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