Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

Thu 17th February 2011 - Mon 21st February 2011

To start this fantastic Coral Sea trip off we completed 2 dives at Ribbon Reef # 10 at a dive site called Lighthouse Bommie. During the dives we saw mantis shrimp, a hawkfish, pipefish and large schools of big-eyed trevally and blue lined snapper. We also encountered a common lionfish, a few nudibranchs and a hawksbill turtle. Was a great start to the trip before we heading out to the Coral Sea.

On day 2 we woke up at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea. Osprey Reef is a region which boasts astonishing biodiversity. Here the water is usually extraordinarily clear, and the reefs are characterised by dramatic vertical outer walls, abundant pelagics, and lagoon bommies (isolated coral heads or small reefs) festooned with soft corals and gorgonians. Some of the creatures that make this reef home are rare elsewhere. The first dive of the day was at a site called North Horn. Here we saw a notodoris minor (type of nudibanch), egg cowrie shell, giant trevally's, sea whips and a black- spotted porcupinefish. Some were even lucky to spot a 4m great hammerhead! Some other interesting marine life spotted throughout the dive included some massive coral trout, a school of 30+ barracuda, blue fined trevally and a huge potato cod.

Dive 2 was our famous shark feed at North Horn. This dive was epic with plenty of different species of shark turning up for some easy food. Some these shark species included white tips, black tips and grey reef sharks. It made for great pictures as around 20 sharks aggressively tried to detach some tuna heads from the chain. Some succeeded, while others went home hungry. We also spotted a common lionfish which is a type of scorpionfish. It obtains its name from the venomous fin spines. The dive was unreal with many regarding it as one of the highlights of the trip.

Dive 3 was at the 3 sisters. At the bottom of the descent line were a group of white tips resting on the sandy bottom. It is sometimes said that sharks must keep moving in order to breath or sink to the bottom and drown, but this is only partly true. Some sharks, such as the white tip are able to rest on the sea floor and pump water over their gills, where they extract the oxygen it contains. They open their mouth, expand the walls of the pharynx, and cause water to rush in. By closing the mouth and raising the floor, the water is propelled over the gills and out through the gill slits. Clever sharks they are! We also saw some long trumpet fish and diverse coral coverage.

Dive 4 and 5 were at a site called Admiralty. During the 4th dive we saw some threadfin butterfly fish, some charismatic damsel fish and a plethora of christmas tree worms in many vibrant colours. We also spotted a couple of purple sea squirts, a type of tunicate with two openings. If removed from the sea the tunicate will contract and squirt out water hence common name of sea squirt.

The reef at Admiralty becomes an uncanny tranquil at night- time. After a delicious dinner, we headed back down to check out the nightlife. There was plenty to see as a school of hump headed parrot fish gracefully swam by. Many crustaceans displayed themselves such as hermit crabs, coral crabs and tiny shrimp. The coral polyps were feeding and the feather stars were dancing. A curious porcupinefish also came to have a look at the strange metal objects expelling air into the water column. After the dive it was time to relax and enjoy some desert with a glass of wine. What a great day of diving!

After a beautiful sunrise and some healthy breakfast it was time to dive. 1st dive of the day was at a site called around the bend. Oh my god, what a dive! The viz was a perfect 35m+ which made the marine life effortless to discover, and looking down a 1000m+ wall was just spectacular. If only every dive could be like this. During the dive we encountered a school of humpheaded parrot fish and needle fish, a black tip reef shark cruising along the wall and a white tip reef shark resting in the sand. The wall was covered in vibrant hard corals, sea whips, gorgonian fans and lushes soft coral. With a crystal clear blue backdrop it lit up the abundance of colourful reef fish in the water.

After our 2nd breakfast we headed to the most southern point of Osprey called Rapid Horn. With the viz staying at a consistent 30m+ it makes every dive magnificent. During this dive we spotted a curious black tip reef shark that came right up to the divers to check them out before headed back into the abyss. We also saw 100's of what looked like to be coral bream. In amongst the school were blue lined snapper and rabbitfish. After many hours of trying to look up the exact fish we have come to no conclusion. Someone even spotted a unidentified scorpion fish. Very cool!

For the 3rd and 4th dive we headed south to Shark Reef. This was a special occasion as we only dive here a few times a year, as the conditions have to be perfect. The visibility was 80-90metres and just looked out of this world. This was diving as good as it gets. There are not many divers that can say they have dived in such pristine dive conditions, so I count myself lucky. The water was very inviting with lots to see. Nisus and arc-eye hawkfish, longfin banner fish, regal and emperor angelfish and a vermiculate rabbitfish were all spotted on the dive. We also saw reef sharks, box fish, 2 star puffer's kissing and a stingray lying in the sand. Some of the divers spotted a family of painted crays popping their heads out of their homes to say hi. There was barracuda, trevally, nudibranchs, hard coral, soft coral, rays, scorpion fish and the list just goes on. This ways a great way to end a fantastic day of diving. After the diving it was time for our guests to enjoy a drink or two as the sun went down for the day.

During the night we steamed to Bougainville Reef where completed the last 4 dives of our trip. This dive trip evolved into an epic saga of diving. The water was crystal clear and the 1000m walls were teaming with life. During the day we saw clown triggerfish, mackerel, barracuda, moorish idols, a juvenile scorpion fish, parrotfish, butterfly fish, hawkfish, puffer fish and nudibranchs. We all saw plenty of sharks, a marble stingray, triggerfish, surgeonfish, a giant moray eel and walls covered in pristine soft and hard corals.
This had to be one of the best trips I have been involved in quite awhile!
Cheers for sharing the experience, and see ya under the water sometime.
Chris Haslam (Trip Director)

Congratulations to Nick Smith for completing your Nitrox Course. Great achievement.

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Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

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