Blogs from open water, Cairns, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 4

Cairns! Awesome. I really like it here. It's a pretty small city but all the locals still say 'hello' as they pass you, it's hot, quite pretty and you can shop to your heart's content. Today howver, I left the city to journey on the Ocean Freedom to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef in search of Nemo. Despite rain on the mainland, a little way into the reef, the Sun decided to come out to play which made the water sparkle several shades of blue and green. We reached our first destination and were let loose into the ocean for a snorkel. The waves were choppy so it was a little difficult to swim but how can you complain when you're on the Great Barrier Reef? The Coral was just beautiful and surrounded by all types ... read more

Ok, so we went back to the cliffs for some more diving. As we were about to leave two guys from the US showed up to jump also. Until scuba diving on the reef yesterday (Monday), what happened next was the greatest thing to happen on this trip. Brady (Pennsylvania) and Steve (Washington) jumped into the water to swim across the lagoon to climb up and jump. The initial jump in is only 3-4 feet. However, Brady managed to make it the most awkward entry I've ever seen. That record lasted about 1 minute until Steve jumped in in a leap-frog manner and belly-flopped. That was the moment we all stopped and decided we had to watch them jump the actual cliff. They spent a little while surveying the jump so I climbed up to assure ... read more

SUKELTAMASSA CAIRNSIN GREAT BARRIER REEFILLÄ Tänään olin jälleen sukeltamassa ja snorklaamassa. Tarkennus edelliseen riuttakuvaukseen. Koralli ei ole technicolorin väreissä vaikka niin väitetään. Värit ovat pikemmin herkullisen murrettuja ja savuisia: tummaa malvaa, sumuista sinistä, sammaleen vihreää, seepiaa, terrakottaa. Sen sijaan kalat ovat mitä mielikuvituksellisimpia väritykseltään. Näin kalan, jolla oli pinokkion nenä. En muista sen nimeä, täytyy tarkistaa. Clownfishiä kutsutaan täällä nemoksi. Ihmisrakasta Maori Wrassea kutsutaan täällä puolestaan Wallyksi. Niiden kanssa voi kuulemma leikkiä aivan kuin koirien kanssa. Se tykkää siitä. Silverswift laivalla on oma lemmikki Wallynsa, joka on kiintynyt laivan japanilaiseen valokuvaajaan. Se seurasi tätä kuin hai laivaa. Liikuttavaa! Cairnsin Great Barrier Reefistä on sanottu, että se on monimuotoisempi kuin etelässä Whit... read more

Apres cette semaine sur une ile, je reprends ma voiture, et remonte jusqu'a Cairns. De la, la nuit de rigueur dans un backpacker, histoire de retrouver une apparence humaine, et le lendemain matin, recherche de travail. Apres une semaine sur une ile a voir la mer, envie de mer... je vais donc au port de plaisance mais ne trouve rien, alors j'essaye au port de peche et, apres une matinee a demander du travail de bateau en bateau, voila que Peter, un des pecheur a port ce matin la, me propose de venir une semaine avec lui pecher des "Spanish macros" (thazards rayes indo-pacifique). Et c'est partie, 2h plus tard, j'embarque sur son bateau, et on est partie pour la mer de Corail! Mon anniversaire en mer, c'est plutot pas mal! Retour a terre le 19/05. ... read more

Monday, 5 April, 2010 - Excursion to Green Island We started the day bright and early. Again the forecast called for rain but in a stroke of good fortune, we saw the sun! And for a fair share of the day as well. Arriving on the island with jellyfish suits in hand, we were all eager to see what the coral and sea-creatures had in store for us. The water was much shallower than I had anticipated, only maybe three to five feet deep in most places. This close proximity to the sea life was astonishing. After all was said and done, it was a very good day.... read more