Cairns

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In the 6^th grade, I didn’t know what a bucket list was, but already it had begun. Mostly, the mystic of the Great Barrier Reef made the idea so attractive. I hadn’t the slightest clue of the vastness, the danger and the satisfaction of adventure, but my love of animals and nature including turtles, fish, manatees, dolphins, whales and reef life made the goal of visiting the GBR easy to implant from a young age. I remember the laborious effort that consumed my 6th grade scrapbook assignment, including gluing a picture of a diver to my Australia page.My heart bursts with pride and love towards an elementary memory that foreshadows one of the greatest accomplishments in my adult life.



Hostel Recommendation



Of all the hostels in Cairns, I chose Dreamtime, a quieter place for anyone eighteen to fifty-plus years old. A new standard for my taste in hostels is outgoing and friendly people during the day and quiet all other times. The front desk staff doubles as reception and travel agents who worked with me to complete complicated travel plans. The best part of this hostel were the fresh faced Germans who helped me open the security box and offered me wine and nice conversation. I also enjoyed the company of each person I shared a dorm with, all happy travelers from all over the world. The beds could always be less lumpy and bumpy, but overall, clean, efficient, happy and not rowdy!



Prodive



The dive trip I last minute booked was a three day, two night trip with Prodive. It helps sometimes to not plan ahead and get the last minute discount. The entire trip was brainless! I was picked up in front of my hostel, brought into the shop for paperwork, hauled to the Marina and we shipped off, hot coffee and sea sick pills in hand. As we were brought on board a complete breakfast was served and the trip continued in this seamless manner.



Every dive on the Great Barrier Reef offered something amazing to see. The dive supervisor, Nick, a happy-go-lucky Kiwi with thousands of dives logged, extensively briefed the certified divers on the geography of the area and the wildlife. He managed to tell us exactly what we would miss every dive, but sometimes we had the privilege of seeing what he mentioned in the brief. Through some dive challenges and games I was encouraged to look for small Nudi Brinks and Flat Worms, which I translate to "wormies" and "ribbons." Even though I wasn't always sure what I was looking for, it helped to have some guidance from the dive master.



It surprised me that I found the clams to be so entertaining. I really enjoyed the color of the clams with bulky stone growth and spotted purple colors. Getting a reaction from the clam was also something I had to do with everyone I passed. Also, the biggest clam we found was probably over a meter long! Nick taught us to look for one thing to make the dive worthwhile, "I only need one thing to make the dive," he would say. Since I'm still new to diving (just logged my eighteenth dive) I found the most exciting sitings to still be large animals like turtles, sharks and rays. However, I have begun to notice, the more I dive the more I can find enjoyment siting small organisms within this foreign ecosystem.



Brian



On a boat of thirty people I was among the first to be ready to jump in for my first unguided night dive. As the dive master latched a flashlight (torch) to my wrist, I stood frozen on board as four sharks darted here and there in the dark water below me. Outloud I said coolly, "There are four sharks in the water," in my head I'm thinking, "I can't jump in the ocean with four sharks right under the ladder!!" I badly wanted to observe sharks in the GBR..., but only from a distance. Apparently, this type of shark activity does not phase the experienced divers in any manner, so "In you go!" with a push from behind and I was floating in the water. My heart pounded, I stuck my face in the water and frantically zoomed my flashlight beam, only to see that all the reef sharks had swam away. Phew, glad those reef sharks are well fed and happy!



All night dives must be scouted during a day dive in the light, so this was my second dive on Flynn Reef "Gordons" area. I floated in the water waiting for my dive buddies and remember dive master, Nick, briefing us on Brian, the ancient turtle. As usual, I didn't expect to find anything that was mentioned in the briefing, but desperately wanted to find this famous turtle. I thought that if I didn't find him during the day it would be hopeless during a night dive especially since the time limit was 30 minutes. To my advantage, I had my usual spunky, German dive buddy, Britta, and the Cook of the boat, Fran.



With a relaxing descent into the night water with a consistent 360 degree spin I spied for the sharks, but still they weren't anywhere my light beam could reach. Through a cave we ever so slowly enjoyed and observed different parts of the coral. Mostly the reef was asleep so we casually looked for fish and focused on breathing and bubbles. I glanced upwards at the green glow for tracking the boat, but also kept my eyes out for any shaking flashlights that signal an interesting find.



As we rounded a corner, I followed my flashlight beam against rock, coral and then shell, more shell, limbs, claws and head came into its parameter. Suddenly, I realized….there he was...Brian!!! Out of nowhere! All our flashlights were circling his back as we saw Brian begin to turn, yes, more, he faced us now. The famous, ancient turtle was massive! As big as me in length and wingspan (6 ft.), then he pushed from the sandy slumber from under a rock ledge and up toward us. Carefully, we moved out of his way and he took off flying slowing, deliberately through the dark water. We turned and followed the massive turtle. Without camera or large company the turtle received my full attention and we followed Brian for a good fifteen minutes before a train of student divers and their guide came our way. Brain swam off into the dark ocean for another hiding spot. Without a hint of remorse of disturbing his slumber I filled with satisfaction. In this moment, I became fulfilled and addicted to diving and underwater adventure forever. How greatly appreciative I am of this dive and this moment and unbeatable memory!



Watching an ancient turtle swim along in open water was hard to turn away from, but I knew the dive wasn't over yet. When I turned to see Fran, she gave the universal signal for shark with hand straight and pressed against her forehead. At this point I was so elated I signaled the OK and followed her to execute whatever plan she had in mind.



Swimming back towards the boat, we began to rise and I knew we were heading in for the rest stop. It became clear what Fran's plan was, of course the best place to spot sharks would be under the boat where an entire school of rat fish congregate to eat any trash from the boat. On the hang bar, we watched a shark darting for a fish and miss, another shark sauntering by, the first one tried for a different fish, but his heart wasn't in it and rat fish got away.



Time was up and on the surface Britta and I yelled, "That was awesome!!" certainly the bragging rights of the boat lied with me and my dive buddies. Grinning ear to ear and shivering in the wind I couldn't stand not being in the water. Already I looked forward to the morning dive, but this would be hard to beat.



Goodbye GBR



To end the excursion, we did a morning dive and a just before lunch dive. The tour was getting wearisome with the constant gearing-up, wet toweling off and shivering. The boat life was beginning to nag as well. Unfortunately, Americans tend to make a poor representation of themselves as loud, fat and needy. The one family on board proved this stereotype to be true and then some with stupidity and obnoxious behavior not just from the teenagers, but both parents. (Exhibit A) Friendly German lady: “Where are you from?” Stupid American Mother: “North America…it’s about 24 hours away.” German lady turns head to one side quizzically, grabs mug of coffee, stands up and leaves stupid American. Thanks idiot!






I was all too happy to dive into the underworld despite my frustration and fatigue. To escape into the motion and soundtrack of the GBR was the perfect escape. On the last dive, Britta and I buddied with an enthusiastic Irish man who had yet to see a turtle. We, of course, found him his turtle…actually two turtles. I felt like the cool kid as he screamed into his regulator, “Tuuuuuurrr---ggguulll!!” kicking up sand clouds with his excitement, we snapped pictures and played around. With the last 10 minutes before ascending, I lay on the bottom of the GBR looking up at the 12+ meters of water above me. I watched the fish swimming, waves passing and plants swaying above me. Now that I have crossed off, a big item on “The List,” it doesn’t mean I am satisfied. I know I have to go back and I know it will never be enough.



It’s Never Over



Diving the Great Barrier Reef still hasn't actually set in. On board, I met a funny-talker from England by the name of Dave, who shared with me his reminiscing of the trip once we were back on land. He described it best when he sat down to rest and just smiled in awe from the amazing trip. Sounds goofy, but I agree that it feels surreal to accomplish eleven dives in this world famous reef. For a mountain girl who has lived in a landlocked state for twenty-eight years and rarely gets the opportunity to see the ocean, let alone swim in one...I now walk away with an unforgettable experience to swim with large mammels, microorganisms, hoover over bright corals and explore underwater caves and tunnels. It doesn't seem real.

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Photos

Octo & Shark
(Picture courtesy of Mike)

nudies 72dpi
(Picture courtesy of Mike)

This is Mike
the underwater photographer on board, posing with me in effort to make his wife jealous. sheesh.

Big Bully
Pushed me in the ocean, just after I was dry and warm!

Nudi Brinks
(Picture courtesy of Mike)

Signal for team "Loser Fish"
Our self-proclaimed nick name due to the inability to find NONE of the fish mentioned in the dive brief.

Misc.
(Picture courtesy of Mike)

GBR-2 72dpi
(Picture courtesy of Mike)