11 dives in 48 hours was exhausting, but so worth it! I must say that diving the Great Barrier Reef is thus far one of the most amazing experiences of my life! The diversity of life under the water surface is just incredible. Words cannot describe how amazing it really was!
The night before I left for my 3 day liveaboard excursion with ProDive Cairns James and I attended a 2 hour class called Reef Teach. I'm so glad I went because it helped me gain a greater appreciation for everything I saw during my dives!
Things I saw underwater and could remember long enough to write it down: chocolate-dipped damsel, blue streak cleaner, wrasse, humbug damsel, moon wrasse, yellowtail fusilier, blackbacked butterfly, moorish idol, palette surgeon, black and white snapper, red bass snapper, sting ray, various corals (plate, slipper, boulder, brain, staghorn, needle, fire, cabbage), 3 varieties of sea cucumber (black, leopard, pineapple), flatworm, threadfin butterfly, pufferfish, napoleon maori wrasse, black anemonefish, teardrop butterfly, regal angel, giant clams, sea urchin, green turtles, clown fish, seahorse, blue patch butterfly, crab, moray eel, trumpet fish, white tip reef sharks and grey reef sharks.
Yep, that's right. I saw sharks. I saw my first shark on my very first dive, a bunch of them during a night dive and then a couple more the next day. During the night dive the crew threw frozen sardines into the water to attract them so we were practically jumping into the water on top of them. At first I was very nervous about encountering sharks on my dives, but by the end I regarded them as very big fish. They don't like humans and just swim away when you approach them. Although I have to admit - it definitely felt a little eerie to see sharks swim by during the night dive.
Please pardon the fact that there is a lack of fish photos. Taking pictures underwater was extremely difficult because I have not yet mastered the art of buoyancy.
The Boat - ScubaPro II
1. My bedroom for two nights. I got top bunk. No closets, no drawers. Just two hooks and enough room between the bunk and the wall to have one person stand.
2. The very small bathroom with all the essentials - toilet, small sink and a shower head over the sink.
3. The sundeck where everyone hung out while we weren't diving or sleeping.
4. The dive deck where everyone's diving equipment was stored.
5. The awesome crew, sans the Captain, aboard the boat who took care of us for 3 days
The Great Barrier Reef
6. A typical reef scene
7. Cabbage coral
8. A giant clam
9. A green turtle who just surfaced for air
10. A view of the surface from underwater
