So, I just returned back to my hostel in Cairns from my 4day/3night live-aboard dive trip to teh great barrier reef! Overall, it was pretty damn amazing. I was picked up on the 24th at 4:45 pm, and we departed from the dock around 5:15 pm. My first surprise was that I got upgraded from a below-deck 4-share room, to a top-deck double with ensuite (private bathroom!). There was one bunk bed, with a full size bed on the bottom, which my New Zealand roomie, Wendy, allowed me to have. Dinner consisted of chicken and lamb, potatoes, brocolli, salad, and garlic bread (it was all delicious). I went to bed around 8:45 pm, because I was exhausted, after having only gotten 4 hours of sleep the previous two nights.
Day 2:
Wake up was at 0650, but I was up at about 0600. I started off with tea, and breakfast (at 0700) was (as it was every day) scrambled eggs, toast, ham/tomatoe/cheese sandwiches, baked beans, yogurt, and fresh fruit! Our morning dives (at 0800 and 1000) were at Cod Hole. These cod must have been at least 2 meters long. They were huge! My dive buddies were Kyoko (this Japanese woman who didn't speak english...) and C.A. (a Cairns local). We had this giant cod follow us around the entire first dive, so we nicknamed it the puppy cod. I proved myself (as always) to be the finder of eels, as I found a gimongous green moray (probably a good 2 - 2.5 meters in length). We reached our max depth at 30 meters, and when we returned to the boat (which I was pleased to have been able to find), I had about 70 bar left (which is probably equivalent to 700 psi).
Dive two was at Cod Hole, again, but this time it was the Cod Feed, where Yuki (one of the instructor/guides/crew) fed the cod heeps of tuna. They went nuts. After the feed, we were able to swim off on our own. Dive two was about the same as dive one. Lunch was at 1200 and consisted of home made pizza and left over chicken, with pasta salad, and salad. Dive three was at Challenger Bay, where we saw turtles, eels, schools of fish, and beautiful coral. Despite the name...it wasn't really a challenge. I don't know what consists of a challenge for diving, but I guess I was hoping for some swim thru channels of coral.
At 1830, we went on our night dive. I buddied up with Mark, from Dublin, Ireland, and we saw nothing. There was another boat in the area, and as Mark and I were swimming down the reef, all of a sudden it was like star wars, with twenty thousand inexperienced divers swimming towards us. I wanted to strangle them all, and teach them how to dive. We think (emphasis on the thinking) that we saw a shark on the way back to the boat...but it might just be wishful thinking, eh? I spent the rest of the night playing shithead (this silly australian card game) while we all watched blow, with johnny depp. I spent a good hour or so up on the top top deck watching the stars, and felt pretty damn lucky to be there. Finally went to bed around 2300.
Day 3:
Wake up, again, was at 0650, but again, I was up around 0600. Had my tea, and prepared for the morning dives at Steve's Bommie (which were my two favorite dives of the trip). Steve's bommie was this huge mass of coral which was like a giant cylindrical shape whose bottom was at 30m, and whose top was at about 5m. So, we dove down to 30 m and then just swam clockwise around this huge mass of coral. Right at 30m we were greeted by a baby (so cute!) white tip reef shark, shortly followed by two free swimming turtles. Steve's bommie was also home to (oh i don't know), roughly 7 or 8 free swimming lion fish (and dad, even a baby featherhead!). I also found two eels, a cuttlefish (the wanna-be squid), and the videographer of the trip, Chriso found a leafy scorpion fish! Both of the morning dives were there and I went on both of them.
Lunch was at 1200...and I can't remember what we ate...but I'm sure it was good. The afternoon was spent diving at 2 2/3rds (named because it was 2/3rds of the way between ribbon reef number 2....and 3...). My left ear gave me some problems with clearing, and that's when I realized death was coming. (I am now completely stuffed up...and need to run to the super market to grab cough/cold/stuffed up nose medicine). After 2 2/3rds, we headed down to beer garden, for the night dive...but I declined. My nose was dripping and I didn't want to push anything (plus, the night dive the previous night had proven uneventful). I was pleased when people came back and said they saw nothing. From here on out, I will do night dives with my dad only, and when no one else is around.
That night I spent reading books (One Up on Wall Street...by Peter Lynch and The Husband by Dean Koontz). We hit rough weather, and I began to feel a bit queazy, so I took some more dramamine, and laid in fetal position for the rest of the night. I never threw up, and for that, I was very grateful.
Day 4:
Morning dives were at Norman Reef, and I did the first dive, but not the second dive, because there wasn't a whole lot there. I enjoyed just being in the water and looking in all sorts of holes and such and such. Saw some brightly, beautifully colored nudibranchs, a free swimming turtle, a blue spotted ray in the sand flats, and I got the joy of seeing a sea cucumber, which was hanging from an overhang, poop. I literally floated in the water and watched it excrete little balls of what looked like sand. I have no idea why I found it so fascinating...
After the dives we headed back to Cairns, and here I am now. All in all, it was a fantastic trip, and I must come back to do some more diving on the Great Barrier. (and so should all of you who dive!)
Alright, time to go check on my laundry and try and get to the store for some sudafed, or the likes.
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