Thought taking your trimix course was thrilling? Why not experience a real challenge this spooky season by learning how to survive a zombie apocalypse, master magic or become a CSI diver…
By Ally Wybrew
Looking for fun things to do this Hallowe’en? Perhaps it’s time to swat up and branch out with these eccentric PADI specialities, which are set to liven up your diving repertoire.
All these courses count towards the PADI Master Scuba Diver certification, so if you’re looking to earn PADI’s top recreational dive certification, carving pumpkins, diving into volcanoes and spotting seahorses (and ridding the underwater world of zombies) could help get you there.
Zombie Apocalypse Diver
The brainchild of Connecticut-based zombie fanatic Woodrow Tinsley, this specialty course is all about surviving a horde of flesh-eating undead, underwater. While the course prioritises fun (yes, the instructors wear zombie masks), it’s also a great option for improving or refreshing skills that might be a bit rusty.
To dodge zombie attacks, avoid contamination and recover precious life-saving items requires spot-on buoyancy, great situational awareness, and numerous technical skills. Exact experiences will differ depending on where you take the course, but practical diving challenges such as locating ‘zombie gas’ tanks and recovering missing divers are sure to feature.
Dive in here: Zombie Apocalypse Diver
Psychological Diver
Every diver knows how important it is to keep a cool head underwater, most of us having had our calm tested on an occasion or two. The online course, devised by clinical psychologist and avid scuba diver, Dr Laura Walton, helps divers understand how their mind works while submerged, promoting better self-control and safety during a dive.
By proxy, it helps inform students about other divers’ behaviours too, meaning potentially dangerous situations can be identified and avoided sooner. Once qualified, divers will have enhanced their decision-making ability and self-awareness, creating a safer environment for both themselves and their dive buddies.
Dive in here: Psychology for scuba divers
Underwater CSI Diver
If you’ve got a penchant for binge-watching crime documentaries and re-reading Sherlock Holmes novels, this is the course for you. Whether or not you’re not looking to become a professional forensic crime scene diver, this course is a super way of expanding your skillset – and is pretty fun to boot.
Working as an introduction to underwater crime scene investigation, this course features scene safety evaluations, lessons in how to conduct various search patterns, and locating, preserving and recovering evidence. Try heading to Al Boom Diving in Dubai to kick off.
Dive in here: PADI underwater CSI Diver course
Underwater Pumpkin Carving
What better way to spend Hallowe’en than by embarking on one of its longest running traditions, underwater? But beware: this isn’t as easy as it sounds. Maintaining buoyancy, managing task loading, using a knife with precision under pressure and ending up with a well-carved, oversized fruit is a hefty challenge.
Gourds are usually carved over two dives, and the course is often accompanied by fancy dress competitions and Hallowe’en-themed feasting. It’s a popular specialty which is now offered at a wide range of dive centres, so give it a Google to find your nearest one.
Dive in here: Underwater Pumpkin Carving
Scuba Magician Instructor Distinctive Specialty
Magic can be pretty mesmerising at the best of times, so imagine how spellbinding it is underwater. This is exactly what Chef Anton, a Master Instructor and award-winning magician based in Canyon Lake, California, set out to demonstrate. He established the course to help instructors find new ways to engage their students, but anyone older than 10 with an Open Water certification can partake.
The one-day certification is conducted through a series of online videos followed by a pool session and two open water dives, and is ideal for non-magicians looking to liven up their teaching techniques or budding magic users to wow their buddies during a safety stop.
Dive in here: Scubamagician.com
Underwater Archaeology Diver
Some of the most exciting dive sites are protected archaeological locations, most of which are off-limits to recreational divers. For those interested in exploring some of these historic areas, the Underwater Archeology Course may just help you get there.
As well as providing you with a greater understanding of how to navigate these ancient areas, earning this qualification means you’re more likely to be able to assist accredited Archeologists with field work – getting you closer to the good stuff.
The course consists of knowledge development, a dry session, a confined water dive and two open water dives.
Dive in here: Underwater archaeology at Dive Sicily or PADI underwater archaeology diver course at Al Boom diving, Dubai
Frogfish Specialist
A wide array of captivating species inhabit the Earth’s oceans, and there are distinctive PADI speciality courses for a lot of them – mola molas, mobula rays, every shark under the sea – but sometimes it’s the smaller creatures that catch our eye (who doesn’t love a nudi?)
Frogfish are certainly one of the more intriguing. This one-day course available at Atmosphere Resorts & Spa in the Philippines aims to teach curious divers all about these magical creatures, with a focus on identification.
During two dives, students are likely to see at least 10 of the roughly 50 different species of frogfish, as well as learn about their behaviours and lifestyle. Book in February for 20 per cent off.
Dive in here: Atmosphere Resorts frogfish specialist
Zenobia Diver Distinctive Specialty
We all know that no one wreck is like another, and while marvelling at coral-covered hulls and rusty rudders is all well and good, to truly appreciate a sunken vessel you have to get to know it. Cyprus’ Zenobia wreck is world famous for its multi-level recreational diving opportunities, from shallow starboard swims to car deck and engine room penetrations.
Experience it on a new level with this one-day, two-dive, distinctive speciality. The course educates students on the history of the wreck (which sank on its maiden voyage) and hones in on key wreck diving techniques and dive planning.
Dive in here: Cydive PADI Zenobia diver distinctive specialty
Volcano Diver
At first, volcanoes might not seem like the most driver-friendly destinations, but more than one of these geological phenomena welcomes the scuba enthusiast. In honeymoon hotspot Santorini Greece, divers can take an underwater tour of the iconic volcano, swimming through chimneys, passing fossilised lava and finning alongside steep, jagged walls.
As well as offering some invigorating dives, students will learn about various submerged formations, the difference between lava layers and the history of the volcano itself, including its prehistoric eruption in the 17th century.
Dive in here: Scuba Santorini volcano diver
Seahorse Specialty
The diver that spots a seahorse is one to stick by. The creatively camouflaged, elusive creatures are one of the ocean’s most fascinating critters, and learning about them (and how to spot them) is an invaluable skill to add to your diving array.
Swat up on your basic seahorse knowledge – learning about their behaviour, diet and predators – and become a specialist seahorse spotter after just two dives. There are a few versions of this course around the world so find the location that suits you best and dive in.
Dive in here: Jupiter Dive Center (Florida) Seahorse Distinctive Specialty
Ally Wybrew is a freelance travel writer and former editor of British Airways High Life magazine. She has also written for The Telegraph, Womens’ Health, Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, Euronews and Time Out – wybrewally.journoportfolio.com
