amazing!

I loved every second of my time with Gili Shark Conservation. I had been searching for some volunteering to do in my summer after my first year of university, which would challenge me and would also make a genuine positive impact on the world, and this was perfect! It combined my love for diving and biology (my degree subject), perfectly. I didn't really know what to expect, as this was the first time I'd really done anything by myself, but I flew over from England to Bali, and easily made my way to Gili Air. Zara is so helpful in organising transport for you to make sure you get there safely. We dived 5 days a week, 9 dives a week. My favourite were the dives against debris, which involved picking up litter from the ocean, its a good feeling!! While I was there I completed my PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, AWARE Shark Conservation Diver and Scientific Diver. We also learnt a lot about shark, ray and turtle ID, which is actually really cool, and a little bit about their coral restoration project. If I was there for longer I think I would've had the chance to help more on this, but even just learning about what they did was interesting!! The staff there and the locals on the island are some of the friendliest most welcoming people I've ever met, and I really did meet some people I'll never forget.
The dive shop right next door is Oceans5. The instructors are all really cool and their number one priority is safety, which I really liked. I never felt scared, even when we saw sharks!
I really admire the genuine passion and enthusiasm for all the work that the Sharkies and Oceans 5 did, and I really can not thank them enough for such a wonderful experience!!