What you can expect on your undersea walk

What to expect during your Busselton Jetty Undersea Walk

A typical tour consists of:

Qualifying for the tour

• At least 12 years of age or older
• In good health or cleared by a physician to participate if you may have underlying health issues. Some medical conditions may pose a higher risk to you completing a tour safely, so potentially prevent you from taking part in an underwater activity such as helmet diving. All participants are required to complete a medical questionnaire so that any condition may be appropriately assessed. Click here to scan through the medical declaration form used
• Be comfortable in the water – you don’t need previous swimming experience, just to be comfortable in the water.

Orientation & Safety Briefing

• Listen, and participate in a tour orientation and safety briefing
• Your Guide will review the SeaTREK helmet, how to descend the ladder, ear equalization techniques, proper breathing, hand signals for underwater communication, and more at this time.

Water Entry

• You will first descend the dive ladder on the Disabled Divers Platform until just your neck and head are above the water.  . At this time, your backpack and tank will be placed on your shoulders. You will then continue to descend until just your head is above the water. Your dive helmet will be lowered onto your shoulders by a pulley system. Your Trip Leader will then connect your air supply and signal you to continue descending down the ladder onto the seabed below, remaining next to you each step of your descent.
• Your SeaTREK helmet receives a continuous supply of air (3x more than what you normally breathe), so your entire head remains dry, you can wear glasses or prescription contacts, and you’re able to breathe normally through your nose (no mouthpiece)
• Every couple steps, you will need to equalize the pressure in your ears (similar to flying in an airplane or swimming in a pool). The helmet is designed to allow you to reach your hand up inside the helmet, pinch your nose and gently blow to easily equalize your ears. If for some reason you cannot properly equalize, you can go back up the ladder several steps, and try again.

Have Fun!

• Once at the bottom of the ladder, you will join the rest of your group, each of you holding onto a central mobile handrail.
• The tour begins once the entire group is on the sea floor and holding the handrail.
• Your Trip Leader and Helmet Guide will then lead you on your Undersea Walk. You’ll walk underwater along a preset Sea Trek trail for a once-in-a-lifetime experience
• During the tour, fish of all shapes and colors, and local marine life will surround you. There may be fish-feeding during your tour too, as well as your Helmet Guide taking photos and videos of you on the seabed throughout your tour.
• Underwater tour duration from starting to descend the ladder to emerging from the water is approximately 20-25-minutes

On booking your tour, you’ll be sent a receipt and tour information, terms and conditions.  If you have any questions about your tour that aren’t answered, feel free to give our helpful booking team a ring.

On the day of your tour you’ll either :

1. either meet us at the Universal Access Platform / Disabled Divers Ramp near the deep end of the Jetty, just before you get to the Underwater Observatory

2. or catch the Jetty Train out to the Underwater Observatory at the far end of the Jetty, and then walk back 50m to where our tours operate from.  (Please note that you need to book your Train seat well as soon as you have booked your Undersea Walk to ensure there are seats available.)

For those walking out the 1.7kms to our tour platform, it takes 2-25 minutes to walk out at a reasonable pace.

The whole group then assembles at our Tour Trailer on the Jetty immediately above the Disabled Divers Platform / Universal Access Platform.  (This is located about 50m back towards shore from the Underwater Observatory where people get off the train.)  You will then be briefed up on your tour, and issued all the necessary gear to safely participate in it.  The tour brief includes everything you need to know to participate in your tour safely and enjoyably so listen carefully.

Then its away, down below, for your underwater walk.  On return to the surface, you de-gear and have the opportunity to look through the photos of your tour to see if there are any you are wanting to take away with you.