Kevin & Lisa(30)

Lisa and I met during a PADI course in Egypt. We were both hooked — not just on each other but also on diving. In Arnhem we both worked "regular" jobs (me in logistics, Lisa as an admin) and dreamed of a life underwater. When we decided to get our PADI Divemaster and later Instructor certification, everything changed.

We came to Australia on the WHV (Subclass 417) planning to travel and dive for a year. In Cairns we found work with a dive operator that sails to the Great Barrier Reef daily. Pay as a dive instructor on WHV isn't great — AUD 200-250 per day — but you live, eat and dive on a boat. Overhead is minimal.

After our first WHV year we wanted to stay. We did our 88 days of regional work on a sugarcane farm in Innisfail — six weeks of getting up at 4:30 and cutting cane. Then we had the right to a second year. And for the third year (yes, that now exists) we did another six months of regional work in North Queensland.

The big step came when our employer offered to sponsor us. Dive instructors aren't standardly on the skilled occupation list, but through a DAMA (Designated Area Migration Agreement) for Far North Queensland we could still qualify. DAMAs are regional agreements that add occupations the region needs. The process took eight months.

Cairns is tropical, relaxed and completely oriented toward tourism and nature. We rent an apartment in the Northern Beaches for AUD 400 per week with views of the Coral Sea. The community of divers, backpackers and locals is a melting pot. There's a growing Dutch community — we counted fifteen Dutchies at a recent barbecue.

The Great Barrier Reef isn't a workplace — it's a wonder. Every day I see sea turtles, manta rays, reef sharks and coral formations that take your breath away. Yes, the reef has problems with climate change and coral bleaching, but that makes our work as instructors important too: we teach people to appreciate and protect the reef. From an office job in Arnhem to the most beautiful office in the world.