Historically, in southern Belgium, especially in the 19th century, the extraction of various types of rock from the subsurface was an important industry. In particular, marble and slate were brought to the surface by thousands of workers from numerous mines. It was a flourishing industry, which provided work for entire villages. The slate was used for various purposes but mainly for roofing. It was hard labour bringing the stones to the surface, sometimes from over 100m deep, and there were often accidents.

On one hand, we locals highlight the return of iconic species such as salmon—indicating an improvement in water quality—on the other hand, we denounce the pollution—PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls)—found in the river. Moreover, because of this pollution, eating  fish from this river has been prohibited since 2007.

Personally, my real passion is diving deep wrecks; however, due to weather, most wreck expeditions only take place between May and October. So, some years ago, I came up with the idea of pursuing cave diving. It’s pretty nice, but for me, in the long run, it’s too boring. For me, there’s just too few scraps of things to discover in caves.

Grübl See

At a depth of 9m, the water is clear and remains so, as divers gently descend. Even from the surface, you can see many curious fish, which show up as soon as you begin your dive. They approach fearlessly and swim among your bubbles, while searching for food that is normally found along the shore. There is a ban on fishing but controlled feeding is allowed.

When the sun shines from a clear blue sky and the thermometer reaches a simmering 34°C, there is not really much else to do than to get into the water as soon as possible. So, we were in the middle of Austria, more accurately by the River Traun in Upper Austria—eight people, neoprene dressed and full of expectations, standing on a cliff about three meters above the River Traun, getting ready to jump. This was the spectacular start of a 1.5-hour snorkeling trip in refreshing crystal clear water.

If ever there was a dive location worth mentioning, with a house reef in a lake far from the ocean, it would be the one found in Austria’s Salzkammergut region—more precisely, in the picturesque town of Traunkirchen, on the west shore of Traunsee (Lake Traun).

It is an insider’s tip that found this location where tourism has grown very slowly. There is barely any industry, and there are no congested roads, no large concrete tourist centers and just one small supermarket. Quiet and contemplative, the area is characterized by traditional crafts, agriculture and tourism. The region is frequented by scientists and mountaineers, hikers, base jumpers, speleologists, bat researchers and cave divers.

One small side street away from the old port in Golfe-Juan is Diamond Diving. In operation since 2006 and catering to holiday groups, local divers and running instruction courses, the centre’s two dive RIBs (rigid-inflatable boats) take divers to sites primarily between Cap d’Antibes and Les Îles de Lérins—the islands to the south (Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat).

Wind the clock back to 1937, and we will find a young man from Austria by the name of Hans Hass spending his holiday after graduating from high school in the little town of Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera. It was here he observed an Englishman hunting for fish underwater which seeded the inspiration that would later make him one of the greatest diving pioneers.