Diving the Great Barrier Reef

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Yesterday we got to dive the reef! I was too tired to write last night after we got back, so here’s the scoop!
We were up at 6, had breakfast and packed, and were waiting at the bus stop at 7:15. A bus ride was included in the price, and although I thought we were leaving from Airlie beach, we actually left from Shute Harbor, another well protected area that is about 15 minutes away. Once there, we were ushered onto the boat, and Katharina and I went to the top of the boat to get some fresh air and sun. The boat was a huge catamaran, which happens to be the majority of boats in the area. It had three floors, with the bottom floor being all inside, the second being half and half, and the third floor being uncovered. Soon we were taking off, and an announcement was made that filled us in on the itinerary for the day. We would arrive at the reef at 11, after making stops at a few of the Whitsunday Islands to pick up other travelers. On the way to the reef, different demonstrations and talks would be held to prepare us for the day. An announcement was also made for all certified divers to head downstairs to be briefed.
Once downstairs Katharina and I discovered we were the only certified divers signed up! This was so exciting and meant that just the two of us would be with the dive instructor. This would allow us to travel at our pace and see as much as possible. The dive instructor was really young, maybe mid to late 20’s and extremely nice. He set us up with our paper work and told us that immediately at 11 we would be diving. We then headed up to the second floor and plopped ourselves in front of a window for the rest of the ride. The water started to get extremely choppy as we entered open water, and Katharina decided to get some sea sickness medicine just incase. I figured I would be fine, but said that if there were any extra tablets I would take one. Unfortunately they were charging $3 for the tablet, and neither Katharina or I had cash (they didn’t accept credit cards). Luckily some very nice guys behind us overheard, and gave us the money for the medicine. We popped the pills, settled in and watched some more videos and demonstrations on the tv’s around the room. I started to feel a bit nausious, but usually if I fall asleep, I will be fine. Soon enough we were called downstairs for our final dive briefing, and we made our way down. The waves were so bad at this point that while sitting in my seat I was often found to be bounced into the air. On our way downstairs I started to feel alot worse and figured if I sat down I would be fine. I saw the dive master and walked over. Another man was standing there and said he would also be diving with us. The dive master started to fill us in on regulations, what we would be doing and giving us a general overview of safety practices and equipment. By this time I was feeling horrible, and I asked if I could sit down. He asked me if there was a problem, and two seconds later I was throwing up. I haven’t thrown up in many many years, I think the last time I was probably 10 if not younger. Needless to say the boat crew was well prepared and they quickly passed me a bag, got me out to the back of the boat and were cleaning everything up. After that I felt like a million bucks, and after a bit more cleaning we finished the dive briefing. Not even 5 minutes later we had reached our destination.
Our destination consisted of a very large perminent platform anchored to the reef. The platform had an underwater viewing room, a store, 2 levels, a dive room, snorkel room, massage room and so much more! Katharina and I headed to the dive room, and quickly suited up. She got herself into a stinger suit. A stinger suit is a thin mesh suit people wear in the water to protect themselves from any potential jellyfish. In the winter season, jellyfish are extremely rare, but it is better to be safe than sorry. I got myself into a 5 ml wetsuit (very thick) as I was already feeling a bit chilly. We strapped on our BCD, tank, weight built and equipment and headed down a stair way into a small platform underneath the main floor. We waited a few minutes for the other man to join us, and the dive master Lee sent Katharina and I into the water. Once underwater I started to panic a bit. Last time I was diving was in Bonaire around 4-5 years ago! I was breathing really quickly and was worried I would use up all of my air, but I soon started to relax and look around and saw fish everywhere! Meanwhile the dive master was working with the other man who seemed like a novice. You could see he was panicking underwater and was very uncomfortable in the situation. We started to move down a line that was anchored to the platform and the bottom of the reef wall. We would be doing a wall dive today which meant we would be going up and down the wall of coral from 17m deep to the surface. The whole time down the rope the other man was kicking and flailing his arms and making odd gestures. You could see he did not like being underwater. At one point in the dive I rushed over to him and pulled him up as he was standing on a piece of brain coral. I was getting very annoyed with him at this point because the dive master spent most of the time trying to get him situated.
I started to ignore the man and in looking around saw some amazing things! Huge brain coral, amazingly colored fish, little nooks and crannies that held just about every type of fish you could imagine. We even saw nemo hiding amongst some anenome tentacles! I was having such an amazing time, that when Lee signaled it was time to turn around I was really dissapointed. As beautiful as the area was I could still see it was heavily damaged. In our briefing he said to expect that, and that we would be traveling towards an untouched area. Unfortunately because of the other man’s flailing and discomfort we had to turn around. Once we got back to the platform, he brought the other man up and told Katharina and I to stay put. He came back down with us and was able to take us out again, this time in a different direction. He pointed out to us many other different fish and animals. We saw some more (and larger) giant clams and a few other large fish. We started heading back towards the platform again, but this time went underneath it. We saw a group of grouper that each must have been the size of my old mini. They were MASSIVE. Surrounding them were a school of large trevale that must have been 1/4 the size of them, still extremely large fish. Soon enough we headed in, and once out of the water I couldn’t stop talking. I honestly think I was a fish in another life because I feel so comfortable underwater, and could have honestly stayed down there all day. Its such a great feeling being weightless surrounded by fish that really couldn’t care if you are or are not there.
We took all of our dive gear off and decided to go snorkeling for a bit. We had to trade our masks and fins, and the new mask I grabbed leaked horribly. It made snorkeling a bit more difficult, but I just kept going to the surface to clear my mask. On our snorkel we were on top of the reef, and saw more clams, tiny brightly colored fish and even a turtle! Katharina spotted the turtle and let us touch it and swim along side it, it was so amazing!
Katharina was pretty cold, so we headed back and sat on the sun deck warming up a bit. I went off exploring the platform, and saw a feeding area that allowed you to see the grouped from the surface. They still looked just as massive, if not larger. I also found the underwater viewing area and went down there to look at fish for a bit. A complimentary lunch was being held, so we ate for a bit and settled in the sun again. Docked to the platform was a submarine type vessel and we were able to get on one of those trips. It went close to the side of the reef wall, and we were able to see alot more life. After that we sat in the sun a bit longer. Soon enough all of the workers were done with their tasks, and Katharina and I being the youngest girls there, they all circled around us and we talked for a bit. They found out we were marine biologists so they were asking us all sorts of questions about the fish and coral and what not. It was time to go, and the dive instructor said he would like to take us out some night to talk more, so I grabbed his number and headed back to the boat. Once on board, some more crew members joined us and we kept talking. One sarcastic guy asked me if I was going to throw up again and I said I didn’t have money to buy tablets, so probably. He basically threw money at me and laughingly said please, for everyones good.
I took the tablets, and Katharina and I moved to the back of the boat where it is less turbulent. She continued to talk to some of the guys and I settled in for a nap. On the way back, the captain took the boat by a spot called the waterfall. The reef is like a lagoon, and when the tide goes down all the water from inside the reef rushes out and forms a waterfall. He said there are only a few in the world, and it was pretty cool. It was amazing to see just how far the water level dropped. At least 1 foot of the reef was exposed to the air, and the water level on the inside of the reef was level with that, while the water level on the outside of the reef was at least 1-2 ft below that!
On our way back it was really choppy so the fact that I was exhausted really helped me sleep. Soon enough they served fruit, cheese and crackers, and chocolate cake. Around 6 we arrived back at the harbor and after a short bus ride we were home. I fell asleep pretty quickly, was woken up for dinner and went right to bed. It really was a great day. I wish our dive was a bit better, but all in all am pretty happy and amazed at the Great Barrier Reef.

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Comments

[mimi]

Great Barrier Reef tours are such an adventure! I bet those fish were glittering, something the camera dosn't easily capture