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About Candice

I'm a South African expat living in the USA and traveling, well, everywhere. Obsessed diver, learner, maker, reader and writer. Follow along as I get you the inside scoop on where to dive, what to eat (and drink) and how to travel better and lighter!

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Popular This Week

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scubascribbles

A few years ago, Wild Hope magazine published an e

A few years ago, Wild Hope magazine published an essay I wrote. The essay centered around my thoughts as I investigated the tidepools on Oregon’s Seal Rock beach.

You can find it here as images (slightly edited) or find the original on my website which is a bit easier to read. It’s called Tidepool Reflections.

Though the magazine is no longer, you can still access digital copies online @wildhopemagazine . It’s a truly beautiful magazine so please consider doing so!

I’ve added pictures to the version on my site to better illustrate the text.

This was my first publication in a magazine. Very nostalgic now.

#wildhope #conservation #magazine #oceanlover #tidepools #reflection

When @scubaellie shared a photo she’d taken of m

When @scubaellie shared a photo she’d taken of me underwater, I was blown away. Not only had she used a simple @gopro to do it, but she captured something that sent a chill down my spine—the otherworldly reality of what it takes for a human to exist in an environment that is naturally hostile to us.

Read the full albeit short post on my website. Thanks to @visitloreto @divewithbuddy for support ❤️

#scubadiving #innerspace #nature #naturelovers #baja #loreto #scuba

You could stay home and wake up like this OR…

You could stay home and wake up like this

OR…

You could head to Galapagos and watch the iguanas wake up like this instead.

I choose option B 🤗

In case you didn’t know, the Galapagos marine iguana is the only lizard in the world that forages in the ocean. These fascinating creatures graze on algae and seaweed, often diving over 30 feet deep and holding their breath for up to 30 minutes! Watching them bask in the sun to warm up after a chilly dive is an unforgettable experience. 🌊🦎

Video by @scubascribbles on assignment for @scubadivingmag with @timodersch for iguana spotting company and @galaxy_diver_liveaboard for the ultimate local (and luxury) experience.

#wakeup #naptime #iguana #galapagos #scubadiving #funnyanimals

My latest feature just hit! Join me, and my family

My latest feature just hit! Join me, and my family @tracey_.xx @kelcey_devonport @keags_devon as we embark on an adventure in the Maldives aboard @aggressorliveaboards — along the way we meet some marvelous people!

After a week in and on the ocean I head to Sri Lanka, just a short flight away to explore both a beautiful country and people. Truly an unforgettable experience 🌍

Thank you to everyone who got involved in making this possible, especially the wonderful staff on the mag @d_carriere and @mo_creative407

“Hashtag dive life?” 🤷‍♀️😶 #humor

“Hashtag dive life?” 🤷‍♀️😶

#humor #friendsforever #scubadivinglife #totallynormal #um

What’s on your Galápagos must-see list? This i

What’s on your Galápagos must-see list?

This is beautiful Galápagos, just a short plane ride off Ecuador. It’s a bucket-list dive destination even if you’ll need to don a 7mm wetsuit 🤗

What can you expect to see? Hammerhead sharks (in droves), whale sharks, eagle rays, manta rays, many schools of fish, Galápagos sharks, white-tip reef sharks, all manner of birds, including frigates that draft above the boat as it sails, pelicans, the blue-footed booby, marine iguanas…the life is abundant and overwhelming!

And, who better to do the trip with than a local crew on the most gorgeous boat?! All videos taken on @galaxy_diver_liveaboard through @galagentsgalapagoscruises

🎥 @scubascribbles

#galapagos #scubadiving #instatravel #birdlovers #sharklover #bucketlist

Sometimes I am wise. 🤗 If you have an expensi

Sometimes I am wise. 🤗

If you have an expensive hobby (travel) make sure to balance it was a cheap hobby (writing).

Don’t have a cheap hobby? Wait for my next words of wisdom…

The grass is always greener when it’s astroturf as it was on the @galaxy_diver_liveaboard top deck.

#scubadiving #divelife # #lifehack #writing #scubaislife #writinglife #travelhack

What does it feel like to hang weightless in the m

What does it feel like to hang weightless in the middle of a school of Jack in one of the most iconic destinations in the world? I’ll tell you.

It’s as magical as swimming alongside a whale shark the size of a school bus.

It’s as unbelievable as seeing not two, or ten, or even twenty hammerheads drift by, but fifty.

It’s as peaceful as playing with a sea lion in a tide pool.

It’s as enrapturing as looking down my microscope wondering what I’ll find that I never knew existed.

While I suspected I’d be seeing many a shark in Galapagos, I never imagined I’d be doing safety stops in schools of fish so large and unperturbed by my presence that I’d want to use every breath of air in my tank before heading up.

I’d say you won’t want to surface but then the life above is so rich and abundant that you can’t help but not be disappointed.

Here’s to the next trip out. 2026 anyone?! @galaxy_diver_liveaboard @galagentsgalapagoscruises

#peaceful #underwater #naturelovers #galapagos #scubadivingislife

A few unedited snaps of the wildlife (and @timoder

A few unedited snaps of the wildlife (and @timodersch ) from our recent trip to the Galapagos. If there’s anything I’ll take away from this experience, it’s that life in this part of the world is still abundant. Humans have not yet totally defaced it with houses and roads and “modernization.” Half a dozen frigates fly above our liveaboard. Seals play in the enclosed rocks near shore, hammerheads and whale sharks are present on most dives, the sea is awash with fish.

It was both beautiful and a wake-up call. We have damaged so much of our world we could barely imagine what it must once have been like.

Back in Winter Park, Florida the cicadas are loud at night but that’s the dominant sound. I see a garter snake twice a year and I see squirrels and cardinals if I leave out bird seed. I do not however see the abundance of life that must once have existed here. What was it like before?

It makes me deeply sad to know that these places too — the Galapagos — are at risk.

Do what you can to minimize your footprint on our animal world, whether that be through changing your diet, purchasing less, partaking in restoration, rewilding, or anything else that will mean less destruction to the world we should be sharing.

Thank you again to @galaxy_diver_liveaboard and @galagentsgalapagoscruises for a trip I will never forget, a glimpse of a world that may rapidly be vanishing.

My baby ❤️ she did her day dives and now she’s set up for a macro dive with video lights! (Not pictured here obviously). And now she has a new friend…her Suunto Ocean dive computer! Let’s see how she performs at night. So far the stats are wicked as is visualizing my dive route in 3D 🤩

#underwaterphotography #aquaticadigital #camerasetup #obsessed #saturdaynight

Just wanted to give a big shout out to the incredi

Just wanted to give a big shout out to the incredible staff we have at @paditv — people who go out of their way to serve their dive stores, readers, followers, and territory as a whole. I am consistently inspired by the passion and hard work these people put into building meaningful and genuine relationships. There’s still something to be said for being REAL.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you to @claudiobrandileone @julioc_salvatori @shannonmurphy07 and the whole crew at @galaxy_diver_liveaboard @galagentsgalapagoscruises for making this past week in the Galapagos a learning experience I will find invaluable for months to come.

The staff at PADI work so very hard to serve. Its the servant leadership style I love ❤️

#appreciation #coworkerlove #padi #seekadventuresavetheocean #scubadiving #scubadivingmag

Just another day in Galapagos... After an incredib

Just another day in Galapagos... After an incredible hour-long dive we found Jorge’s secret pool, including this cute lil sea lion, its buddy, and a couple of baby sharks. The animal life here is just overwhelming. Will definitely be back ❤️ utterly in love.

Note: to find secret pools you’ll have to get on @galagentsgalapagoscruises with @galaxy_diver_liveaboard 😊

#sealovers #sealions #underwaterlife #animallovers #inspiring #galapagos

So this picture was really underexposed. Color bro

So this picture was really underexposed. Color brought back thanks to Adobe Lightroom but alas it wasn’t sharp enough to go in my feature in July issue of @scubadivingmag — My very first leaf fish!

And now for the David Attenborough style explanation you’ve been waiting for: In the vibrant coral reefs of the Maldives, a master of disguise lies in wait—the enigmatic Maldives leaf fish.

Resembling a decaying leaf drifting with the current (or sitting in the algae), this remarkable creature remains virtually invisible to both predators and prey. Its body, with colors ranging from earthy browns to vivid reds, sways gently, a testament to nature’s ingenuity in camouflage. An ambush predator, it silently lurks, ready to snap up unsuspecting small fish and invertebrates.

Witnessing this marvel of marine mimicry is a rare and enchanting experience, a reminder of the extraordinary adaptability of life beneath the waves.

Okay how did I do?! I’ve been watching documentaries lately so think I’ve got it down 😂

Fishy was pointed out to me by @broxiyad diving with @keags_devon and @kelcey_devonport and @mickael_legrand_

#davidattenboroughmoment #wannabeattenborough #leaffish #maldives #underwater #coralreef

@sarahsiscokid photographs an adorable frog fish o

@sarahsiscokid photographs an adorable frog fish on a dive in the Maldives.

Known for their incredible camouflage (they look like sponges), frogfish use their modified fins to ‘walk’ on the ocean floor and can change color to blend into their surroundings. Mind, before you go thinking they’re as fast at this skill as an octopus, you should know that it can take them days or weeks to do this. Crazy…

These funny-looking fish are surprisingly not as sweet as they look… They’re ambush predators, luring prey close with a worm-like appendage (rod) on their heads before striking in the blink of an eye. These little lures look different depending on the species.

#frogfish #divearmy #funnyfish #fish #maldives #aggressorliveaboards #underwaterphotography #macrophotography

This is what a manta ray cleaning station looks li

This is what a manta ray cleaning station looks like in the Maldives. Utterly mesmerizing with mantas swooping overhead while clouds of blue-stripe snapper hover in a fog in front of the camera, a few oriental sweetlips sprinkled in just to confuse. Think I’ve found my new favorite type of diving.

📸 @canonusa Canon R5 with @aquaticadigital housing
🔦 @seaandseaimaging YS-D3 II
🛥️ @aggressorliveaboards Maldives II

#maldives #maldivesislands #aggressorliveaboards #fishlover #underwater #mesmerizing #bucketlist

New blog post! ✨Head to scubascribbles.com — i

New blog post! ✨Head to scubascribbles.com — it’s the most recent one. Or use my link in bio.

Getting into underwater photography may at first glance seem an insurmountable cost. The truth is it doesn’t have to be and you can do it slowly.

Though I have @aquaticadigital to thank for helping me figure out all the underwater housing pieces I’d need to kit out my Canon R5 I began small with a GoPro and then an Olympus TG-6 and finally one of the most user-friendly mirrorless cameras.

Of course if you have the funds I’d encourage you to start with this:

📸 a camera you can grow with or into.
🏠 camera housing with a company you like.
🔦 good strobes or video lights.

Lenses can be purchased slowly and you can begin with one. I’m still learning to use my wide-angle and macro lens and to be perfectly honest I think I purchased a fish-eye too soon. I’ve still got a lot to learn. That said underwater photography is now my favorite thing to do on a dive. This is only the start.

Thank you to Blake at @aquaticadigital, to @kikidives @katejonkerphotography @brandondcole @andysallmon @brentdurand @jmondle @benzdiver @laurateslerphotography @blue.shutter @takeiteasyduxy and all the others who have chipped in to provide feedback. I’m sorry if I missed your name here!

📸 Photo credit @kikidives
🛥️ @allstarliveaboards Scuba Scene in the Red Sea

#canonr5 #aquaticadigital underwaterphotography #redsea #photographer #naturephotography #coralreef #wreckdiving

Meet the Arc-Eyed Hawkfish 🐟✨ During one of

Meet the Arc-Eyed Hawkfish 🐟✨

During one of my dives in the Maldives, I encountered this beautiful arc-eyed hawkfish (Paracirrhites arcatus) perched gracefully on a coral. Named for the distinctive bright orange semicircle around its eye, this striking feature not only adds to its allure but also serves as a form of camouflage, blending seamlessly with the vibrant coral surroundings.

What’s truly remarkable about this little fish is its behavior. Hawkfish are known for their unique perching habit, resting on coral branches as they survey their territory. This particular arc-eyed hawkfish seemed especially curious, posing for several minutes as I snapped away. Its stillness and confidence made it a perfect model (much better than most of my dive models 😉), allowing me to capture its unique patterning and intricate details.

Arc-eyed hawkfish are fascinating creatures, often found in the shallow reefs of the Indo-Pacific region. They primarily feed on small crustaceans and fish, using their keen eyesight to spot prey. Next time you dive in coral-rich waters, keep an eye out for these fellows – you might just catch one posing for its close-up!

📸 @canonusa Canon R5 @aquaticadigital
🔦 @seaandsea_official
🛥️ @aggressorliveaboards

#Maldives #ArcEyedHawkfish #hawkfish #eyepatch #UnderwaterPhotography #MarineLife #ScubaDiving #DiveLife #CoralReef #OceanExploration

Hidden among the vibrant corals of the Maldives, t

Hidden among the vibrant corals of the Maldives, the mantis shrimp, renowned for its astonishingly powerful punch, emerges from its burrow…in spite of the looming alien scuba diver with giant camera.

This strange-looking crustacean, with its intricate patterns and vivid colors, is a master of both stealth and strength, capable of striking with the force of a bullet—one of the fastest and most powerful movements in the animal kingdom.

With over 400 million years of evolution, the mantis shrimp has developed unparalleled vision, boasting 16 color-receptive cones in its eyes compared to a human’s three. This allows it to detect a vast spectrum of colors, including ultraviolet light, making it an extraordinary hunter. Do you think I looked dull by comparison?

Known for their complex social behaviors and territorial nature, mantis shrimp are both feared and revered in the underwater world, showcasing the incredible diversity and adaptation of marine life.

#marinelife #color #naturephotography #naturelovers #underwater

📸 @canonusa and @aquaticadigital
🔦 @seaandsea_official @seaandseaimaging
🛥️ @aggressorliveaboards #aquaticadigital

Sometimes, the best way to capture great photograp

Sometimes, the best way to capture great photographs is to make use of natural light as @takeiteasyduxy did in this photo of me and @kikidives in the Red Sea.

If you’re shallow this is much easier. If you go deep you’ll likely need to change your tactic and stage lights or make use of dive models who are skilled at modeling or great at taking orders underwater 😆 (believe me this is a real skill). Examples of people who set up great deep water scenes include @becky_kagan_schott and @alex_dawson_photography

🤿 @scubadivingmag
🇪🇬 @redsea.divingsafari
⌚️ @diveshearwater
🔦 @bigbluedivelights

#girlswhotechdive #scubadiving #egypt #redsea #underwaterphotography #lightpainting #cavern #divetravel

Okay but are there actually two cuter beings!? @mi

Okay but are there actually two cuter beings!? @mickael_legrand_ and bat fish friend that got a little obsessed with him. Posing or telling me to leave them be?!

📸 @canonusa with @aquaticadigital housing
🔦 @seaandseaimaging YS D3 II
🛥️ @aggressorliveaboards Maldives

#funnyanimals #cuteanimals #pose #fisharefriendsnotfood #maldives #adorable #photobomb #scubadiving

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A few years ago, Wild Hope magazine published an e

A few years ago, Wild Hope magazine published an essay I wrote. The essay centered around my thoughts as I investigated the tidepools on Oregon’s Seal Rock beach.

You can find it here as images (slightly edited) or find the original on my website which is a bit easier to read. It’s called Tidepool Reflections.

Though the magazine is no longer, you can still access digital copies online @wildhopemagazine . It’s a truly beautiful magazine so please consider doing so!

I’ve added pictures to the version on my site to better illustrate the text.

This was my first publication in a magazine. Very nostalgic now.

#wildhope #conservation #magazine #oceanlover #tidepools #reflection

When @scubaellie shared a photo she’d taken of m

When @scubaellie shared a photo she’d taken of me underwater, I was blown away. Not only had she used a simple @gopro to do it, but she captured something that sent a chill down my spine—the otherworldly reality of what it takes for a human to exist in an environment that is naturally hostile to us.

Read the full albeit short post on my website. Thanks to @visitloreto @divewithbuddy for support ❤️

#scubadiving #innerspace #nature #naturelovers #baja #loreto #scuba

You could stay home and wake up like this OR…

You could stay home and wake up like this

OR…

You could head to Galapagos and watch the iguanas wake up like this instead.

I choose option B 🤗

In case you didn’t know, the Galapagos marine iguana is the only lizard in the world that forages in the ocean. These fascinating creatures graze on algae and seaweed, often diving over 30 feet deep and holding their breath for up to 30 minutes! Watching them bask in the sun to warm up after a chilly dive is an unforgettable experience. 🌊🦎

Video by @scubascribbles on assignment for @scubadivingmag with @timodersch for iguana spotting company and @galaxy_diver_liveaboard for the ultimate local (and luxury) experience.

#wakeup #naptime #iguana #galapagos #scubadiving #funnyanimals

My latest feature just hit! Join me, and my family

My latest feature just hit! Join me, and my family @tracey_.xx @kelcey_devonport @keags_devon as we embark on an adventure in the Maldives aboard @aggressorliveaboards — along the way we meet some marvelous people!

After a week in and on the ocean I head to Sri Lanka, just a short flight away to explore both a beautiful country and people. Truly an unforgettable experience 🌍

Thank you to everyone who got involved in making this possible, especially the wonderful staff on the mag @d_carriere and @mo_creative407

“Hashtag dive life?” 🤷‍♀️😶 #humor

“Hashtag dive life?” 🤷‍♀️😶

#humor #friendsforever #scubadivinglife #totallynormal #um

What’s on your Galápagos must-see list? This i

What’s on your Galápagos must-see list?

This is beautiful Galápagos, just a short plane ride off Ecuador. It’s a bucket-list dive destination even if you’ll need to don a 7mm wetsuit 🤗

What can you expect to see? Hammerhead sharks (in droves), whale sharks, eagle rays, manta rays, many schools of fish, Galápagos sharks, white-tip reef sharks, all manner of birds, including frigates that draft above the boat as it sails, pelicans, the blue-footed booby, marine iguanas…the life is abundant and overwhelming!

And, who better to do the trip with than a local crew on the most gorgeous boat?! All videos taken on @galaxy_diver_liveaboard through @galagentsgalapagoscruises

🎥 @scubascribbles

#galapagos #scubadiving #instatravel #birdlovers #sharklover #bucketlist

Sometimes I am wise. 🤗 If you have an expensi

Sometimes I am wise. 🤗

If you have an expensive hobby (travel) make sure to balance it was a cheap hobby (writing).

Don’t have a cheap hobby? Wait for my next words of wisdom…

The grass is always greener when it’s astroturf as it was on the @galaxy_diver_liveaboard top deck.

#scubadiving #divelife # #lifehack #writing #scubaislife #writinglife #travelhack

What does it feel like to hang weightless in the m

What does it feel like to hang weightless in the middle of a school of Jack in one of the most iconic destinations in the world? I’ll tell you.

It’s as magical as swimming alongside a whale shark the size of a school bus.

It’s as unbelievable as seeing not two, or ten, or even twenty hammerheads drift by, but fifty.

It’s as peaceful as playing with a sea lion in a tide pool.

It’s as enrapturing as looking down my microscope wondering what I’ll find that I never knew existed.

While I suspected I’d be seeing many a shark in Galapagos, I never imagined I’d be doing safety stops in schools of fish so large and unperturbed by my presence that I’d want to use every breath of air in my tank before heading up.

I’d say you won’t want to surface but then the life above is so rich and abundant that you can’t help but not be disappointed.

Here’s to the next trip out. 2026 anyone?! @galaxy_diver_liveaboard @galagentsgalapagoscruises

#peaceful #underwater #naturelovers #galapagos #scubadivingislife

@scubascribbles

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