Nate and Kara Buchanan take Uber's experimental submarine for a night dive on the Great Barrier Reef, spotting rays, turtles, and sharks. The journey chains together a Tesla, helicopter, and submarine. Uber donated AU$100,000 to reef conservation for the campaign.
July 17, 2019.
$100,000 (USD stated as "$100,000").
76 Australian dollars (AU$76).
Uber.
So nuts. Let's do it.
You are witnessing the rare occasion where I am up before sunrise. When you're staying on the Great Barrier Reef, you get up and go on a walk at sunrise.
You know, it's a special place if she's out of bed on her own free will before 6am.
The cool thing about staying here on Heron island is that you're literally staying on top of the Great Barrier Reef. It's a coral cay and so you can just walk out your door in the morning. And then as you're walking down the beach, you can see sharks, stingrays, sea turtles. We've seen all of them this morning.
So in addition to marking the Great Barrier Reef off our bucket list, the reason that we're here at this specific island is because we had the opportunity to experience the world's first ever rideshare submarine.
Uber has made it possible to book a ride in a submarine on the Great Barrier Reef from your phone. Once you book it, they pick you up in a Tesla, drive you to a helipad, fly you to Heron island, which is where you can then get in the world's first ever scuba. Then you get back in the helicopter, flown back to the mainland, back at the Tesla, and back to where you started.
So we were originally scheduled to go on the SCUBA this morning, but then last night here on the island, we had some really good weather and the team decided that it was time to take the Scuba out on its first nighttime expedition.
So excited.
This wasn't supposed to be happening until tomorrow, but we are about to get in a summary. It'll be the second time that it has ever gone underwater at night.
And we're gonna be in it.
Congratulations. Congrats.
Such a little since all day.
So crazy looking.
Thanks for being the guinea pigs.
Thanks for warming it up for me. I'm so excited. Okay, okay. There we go.
So nuts. Let's do.
This.
There's something over here. They're pointing at something we're already seeing. We're already facing. Wow. Oh, my gosh. We haven't even. We haven't even. The top is still open. This.
Our pilot cries. Yeah, yeah. Hatch is closed. And dogs EQ valve is closed. Life support is on.
Are there seat belts in the scuba?
There are no seat belts.
Living on the edge.
Oh, this is cool.
So when I flood the tank, we're gonna pitch forward a little bit.
This is the sun. My eyes are so confused at like where the glass is.
Yeah, it's pretty deceiving, isn't it?
It's like, really tricky feeling.
Like, I feel like it's not even there.
It's like diving, except you still take your Instagram. Oh, cool.
Oh, whoa.
This is pretty much like a really expensive dive housing for our camera, basically.
Yeah.
Two eagle rays over here, the turtle over there, and lots of cameramen swimming around. A lot is happening right now.
Okay. Our pilot is about to land the scuba on the bottom of the ocean floor, and we're gonna turn off all the light.
Oh, this is so.
That's cool.
Scary.
That's cool.
What?
So this doesn't even feel.
That was crazy.
It's incredible. I love diving, but I'm a little and not a huge fan of diving at night, so this is the perfect way to see the underwater world at night.
Shark.
Awesome.
I'm so glad I'm inside of a submarine.
Just gonna surface through and make our way back.
I could have done that all night.
Can't believe it's already over. Well, that's one of the coolest things we've ever done.
Seriously. A once in a lifetime experience. And we are so grateful that we got to be a part of this. But what makes it even cooler is that Uber is actually donating $100,000 to Conservation for the reef. And now we're leaving the island.
This close.
It's.
Cara Knight. That's right.
Back on the mainland.
You did much better that time. I think you might have actually been excited to get on the helicopter.
Yeah.
Which says, watch. They really grown on me on the way over.
So it turns out that they are very serious about not filming on the tarmac here in Australia. One of the maintenance guys told me that I would be thrown in jail if I had my camera out.
And that's why we teleported to the airplane. It was slow.
All right. We are in Brisbane for an hour and a half before we fly up north to Townsville.
Now we're gonna go eat quick travel tip on our layover. If you live in the US you can sign up for this card, which is the Chase Sapphire reserve Card, probably the best travel credit card that exists because it gives you an unlimited priority pass membership. Normally, this card will get you into airport lounges, but every once in a while, when there's not an airport lounge, you can get free food at a restaurant. Here, you can get 76 Australian dollars worth of free food, which is equal to a wine, an iced coffee, one avocado toast, two avocado toast, and a giant bowl of French fries.
Here they are.
We'd like to welcome back our Qantas, Emirates and worldwide frequent fliers on this Qantasly flight, QF1794.
If you're in an exit row, you can place your baggage in the open pocket. If you're unable to stow your bags forward so they can be checked in.
Oh, sweet home.
That was so weird.
Uber has made it possible to book a.
She came off. Hi. Bye, Paul.
Will. Will. You'll meet in a minute. He's chief pilot. Oh, cool.
You're our chief pilot.
See you there, Gary. Yeah, well, actually, first we're traveling south to Brisbane, but then north, the town of Townsville.
