I have dreamed of dropping everything, packing my bag, and running away to Bali to become a Scuba Dive instructor for years—who hasn't—but for my friend Shannon, it isn't a dream, it's his reality.

*Shannon on dry land–a rare occurrence these days!*

VITAL STATS:

Name – Shannon Brian Screaigh
Age – 27
Born – York, Western Australia. 150km inland from Perth, population 4000
How We Met – In a bar in Hoi An, Vietnam in 2008 and have kept in touch ever since

The Anthrotorian (A) : Where was the first place that you scuba dived?
Shannon (S) : In Nah Trang, Vietnam

A: When did you know that you wanted to become an instructor?
S: I never wanted to be an instructor actually, but the first time I dived in Nah Trang I knew that i had to find a job where I could do this and make a living.

A: How long did in take you to become certified?
S: Open water, advanced, and rescue courses took about 40 dives and I did them in Nah Trang, Vietnam; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; and Koh Tao, Thailand, respectively. Then it took 2-3 months to take the Dive Master (DM) course. I worked as a DM for the first year, and it seemed to be a good diving job. I had to take the next step and become an instructor. This was a 3 week course.

A: Was it easy to find a job?
S: There are a lot of jobs in the diving industry. If you are certified, and willing to relocate, it is not hard to find one. Most of the jobs are seasonal however.

A: Realistically how much can you make as a scuba diver?
S: A good job would pay about $2000 per month and will often include room and board. Of course, there are exceptions.

A: Walk me through a day in your life.
S: Wake up, eat breakfast, dive, morning tea, dive, lunch, sleep, dive, afternoon tea, enjoy a beer with another beautiful sunset, dinner, some small talk about the days diving, and sleep again... very stressful...

A: What is the craziest thing you have seen?
S: Craziest.... hmmmm.... Dugong (sea cow) or mola mola (sun fish). Maybe humpback whales or the sun rising from the top of Mt Kilimanjaro — I can't answer this one!!! Lembai Pygmy sea dragon was special too.

A: Where is the most amazing place you have dived?
S: Another difficult question! South pinnacles, Protea banks, South Africa are up there! Seeing over 1000 hammerhead sharks in 1 single dive. But Castle rock, Komodo, Indonesia, has the healthiest corals and the most fish I have ever seen! When they all started to eat each other it was like being in the Blue Planet series!

A: Scariest thing you have ever seen or done
S: Getting caught in a down current while diving, bungee jumping in South Africa, skydiving at home when I was 14, and crossing the road in Hanoi, Vietnam!

A: Will you do this forever?
S: I would think not, but would like to think i'll always be around water, or living next the sea if I ever should "settle down" — whatever that means.

A: If you weren't a scuba instructor what would you be doing?
S: Most probably still living back in Australia, headed towards running my own electrical and refrigeration contracting business, 2 1/2 kids and a white picket fence.

A: Worst part of the job?
S: The day of the charter starting and the chaos of having to get food, supplies, and guest together in time to leave.

A: Best part of the job?
S: Easy! When I see that look in a guests eyes, almost like they want to cry with joy, and they tell you "that was my best dive ever!"

RAPID FIRE:

A: Favorite breakfast food?
S: Fruit salad with muesli, yogurt and honey.

A: What is the last book you read?
S: Shantaram

A: Tea or coffee?
S: Coffee for the brain, tea for a hangover

A: Where is the last place you travelled?
S: Africa was the last big trip

A: Blue or Green?
S: Blue, when the water's green the visibility is bad!

A: If you could meet anyone alive in the world who would it be?
S: David Attenborough

A: Where do you feel most like yourself?
S: Can't decide yet, when I find it, that's where I'll stay. For sure it's nice below the sea!

You can find Shannon in Komodo, Indonesia where he operates a unique diving business called Current Junkies. It is a new and original concept in diving, that specializes in drift diving and strong current diving. Guests stay on his outfitted boat for 5 days which allows them to do dives further out in the ocean. The aim is to find Blue Planet-like dives for all of his guests!

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If you plan on travelling during the winter months, and you live somewhere cold, you are usually headed straight for sand, sun and Pina Coladas.

But, just because temperatures have dropped well below the freezing mark, requiring down-filled jackets and large insulated boots, does not necessarily mean that you should head to the summer skies in the south — especially if you are looking for a unique, tourist-free experience.

The Maligne Canyon in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada is one of the Rocky Mountains' most impressive limestone canyons. During the summer months, its hiking trails and bridges are overrun with tourists taking in the stunning views of the smooth, steep walls and the river below.

As soon as the snow falls however, everything changes.

The trails are covered with snow and ice and, for the most part, visitors to the park stay on the ski hills or next to the warm fire in their hotels, leaving the canyon relatively deserted and quiet.

The cold mountain temperatures freeze the Maligne river, that flows through the canyon, and the waterfalls that cascade down its edge forming breathtaking natural ice sculptures.

With some winter boots or crampons (spikes that attach to the bottom of your boots for walking on ice), you can walk right on the river and to a place that few humans get a chance to visit — inside the canyon.

Swirling, churning water has worn the layers of limestone rock to more than 50 meters deep in places, making the sky seem very far away when standing on the frozen river.

Because the canyon is narrow, less than a meter wide in some places, and full of small waterfalls, rapids and caves, it is not a place that a boat can safely navigate and so a view at this level is only possible during the coldest months of winter.