10 Dives

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diving was out of this world. Or under this world, ha. 26 degree water (celcius) 29 degree air, 10 dives, I'm now advanced diver certified, so I can go down to 35 meters in open water (no cave or wreck diving for me yet) There were 19 of us on a 4 day, 3 night trip that went waaay up the coast of Queensland out of Cairns to the Northern Ribbon reefs. All those reefs are untampered with, only about 10 % of the total divers that dive the reef get to dive up there, which uped the cost, but I figured, if I'm gonna dive the Great Barrier Reef, I should do it right! I felt like I was diving in a national geographic magazine. We did two night dives. So yes, it's pitch dark and al lyou get is a flashlight to find your way around. You always have a dive buddy, which is always a smart idea in case of an emergency, if you get lost or just to show stuff to etc. We chose to do the second night dive with a guide, which was a really good idea becuasewe didn't have to worry about navigation, just looking out for massive 4-foot feet across Green Sea Turtles! We spotted 4 of them. one of them didn't have a right fin, must've had a run in wiuth a shark or something. I swam with him in the pitch dark for a good 5 minutes, over, under and next to him. Wild. There were sharks down there too. You'd get a flash reflection of their eyes glowing in the dark before you could see their bodies. But they couldn't have cared less that we were there. 4 dives the first 2 days, then 2 the last day, the first of which was descened under the surface right as the sun was coming up.

The food was great! The sea sickness only got me once... eh ehm. I don't really chew my food well enough... sleeping was tricky, I almost rolled out of my bunk a few times! IT was a huge boat though, so that was helpful.

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Photos

forward view
right outside my cabin

the reef from above the water
the mooring line right outside my cabin

coral
my apologies on the quality of this photo. It was only a disposable waterproof camera...