Stoic statues embrace under the sea and abundant wildlife swim at play around your goggles...this is the underwater world of the Gili Islands in Indonesia.
"Nest" by Jason deCaires Taylor
If you're invited to this artist's gallery opening, then you better get your flippers and wet suit, because you're going under!
This artist has underwater sculpture museums all around the world! From Spain to the Maldives, Australia, France, Cyprus, Mexico and more, Taylor's humanoid sculptures cover the globe.
Featured in this video is the piece "Nest," an underwater sculpture exhibit off the coast of Gili Meno commissioned by the Indonesian BASK resort in 2017. “Nest” is not only beautiful but it is also eco-friendly! These sculptures are made from pH neutral, environmental-grade cement. They are anchored into the seabed which provides a home for soft corals and sponges, which in turn encourages marine life to grow. The exhibit represents the circle of life and a reminder of how interconnected we truly are. (Here's Jason deCaires Taylor's website if you'd like to learn more about his other work.)
Beware if you see these under the sea
Here are some fascinating species we saw while scuba diving around Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan. If you keep your eyes open and remain quiet, you might see them too!
White Tip Reef Shark: Don't be scared, this is not a great white! These little guys are curious creatures and will often inspect scuba divers, just don't get too close. This small shark rarely grows larger than five feet and is one of the most common sharks found on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. So if you're scuba diving here, there's a high probability you'll see one!
Mostly harmless, but don't get too close! This is a white tip reef shark!
Trigger fish: These strange fish pack a punch! They can actually knock out scuba divers if they feel like it by charging at full force into people's heads! Guess I what I did? Followed it around and pointed at it. LOL. Keep your distance when observing these strange buck-toothed fish!
This large fish looks goofy but it can knock out scuba divers with the force of his swim! This one is building a nest for his future wife.
Lionfish: Another fish to keep your distance from is the Lionfish. Although beautiful and ornate, this scaley critter is the porcupine of the sea, except their spikes are venomous! A lionfish sting isn't deadly but it can cause extreme pain and nausea, convulsions, dizziness, fever and numbness.
These fish have quills that are poisonous to humans! A stab could make your neaseous or dizzy!
How to prepare for this watery world!
Here's what licenses we received and what we brought:
Scuba Diving License: We received our open water eighteen meter scuba diving license in Phu Quoc, Vietnam in 2017 from the Rainbow Divers dive center. Since then we have dived in many places around Southeast Asia. Comment on the latest video if you'd like to see more of our underwater adventures!
GoPro Hero 4: Having your own underwater camera is amazing for both snorkeling and scuba diving! You never know what you'll see under the sea. In this video, we used a GoPro Hero 4. I actually won a GoPro Hero 5 at a travel conference which I will use for my upcoming watery-vlogs in Europe!
Hohem Mic-01: Although these mics can't go with you while exploring the watery worlds, it can help you describe your adventure over your amazing footage after you get back to land! GoPro's are notorious for poor sound quality above and below water. The Hohem Mic-01 mic set is perfect for voiceovers! It connects easily to your iPhone. Just plug the RX transmitter into your receiver and you're automatically connected. This set is also compatible with other phones and DSLR or vlogging cameras. 48 KHZ of lossless sampling, omnidirectional pickup, DSP noise cancellation and 20 hours of battery life! If you want to hear how it sounds, just watch this underwater video and you'll see it's crisp, clear and smooth! Get one for yourself with this link and coupon code for 5% off!
Product name: hohem MIC-01
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKZ7RTQG
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Would you love snorkeling and scuba diving amongst art and sea creatures? Leave a comment on the video and tell me your favorite wildlife experience. Also check out my other animal videos here!
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