Journal archives for February 2018

February 4, 2018

Snorkeling with a Perforated Hole in the Eardrum

Just because someone has a hole in the ear drum does not mean that they will never be able to experience snorkelling. After alot of trial and error over the years, and trying different things (including blue tack which does sort of work) @pipi_kiwi finally found these earplugs that work.

You will see by the shape of them that one part goes into the ear. They do not have to be pushed in hard, in fact they just sit comfortably on the ear.

Once the head goes into the water and they are covered, this creates the pressure that pushes in the inside of the "cup" part, thus sealing the ear and therefore the ear drum.

Here it is fitted into the ear.

Of course there are still limitations, like depth, but even just being able to float around on the top will open a new world :)

So if you or someone you know has not been able to snorkel before because of a hole in the eardrum, you have just found a way to be able to give it a go :) Enjoy :)

Posted on February 4, 2018 11:10 PM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 3 comments | Leave a comment

February 17, 2018

Feeding the Whai (Stingrays) at Hamlin Bay, WA

Hamlin Bay is about a 4 hour drive from Perth, and @pipi_kiwi and I headed down to see the whai close up and to give them a feed.

There are 2 main species that lurk around the old jetty, hoping that someone will come along with fish. We were the only ones there that had bought fish for the whai. Seeing these magnificent creatures up close was truly amazing. They also come in quite fast and if they do not break fast enough you can nearly get pushed over - as I found out! LOL They also seem to like my dive boots that I was wearing as they kept on heading to them, giving me a nudge, then pipi_kiwi would give them a kai.

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) are opportunistic, swimming around then seeing if they can beat the whai to the fish.

All in all a great time!

Posted on February 17, 2018 06:52 AM by tangatawhenua tangatawhenua | 6 observations | 3 comments | Leave a comment