Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

Thu 3rd March 2011 - Mon 7th March 2011

Once everyone was aboard Spirit of Freedom, it was time to leave Lizard Island and head to Ribbon Reef 9 ½ to a dive site called Pixie Gardens. For some, these were check out dives to get into the full swing of diving again. During the dives we spotted an array of interesting marine life, which included a plethora of blue lined snapper, one of the most common species of Great Barrier Reef. We spotted a few turtles and some seemed to be as curious as the diver facing it. We saw a large moray eel entangled within the coral bommie, a white tip reef shark resting in the sand and a pink anemone fish was found partially concealed among the tentacles of an anemone. A group of spotted sweetlips were also found lingering under the vault of a cavity in the reef, waiting for twilight to venture forth in search of benthic invertebrates on which they feed. All in all it was a great start to the trip and everyone was excited to wake up in the Coral Sea at Osprey Reef.

The water at Osprey is incredibly clear and you must continuously check your gauges to avoid being caught out going too deep. A diving enthusiast who sets out on a journey to the Coral Sea will certainly return home with beautiful images of this incredible submerged world. As you descend along the walls, gorgonians and soft corals gradually replace the hard corals. They become less dependent on the penetration of light and more dependent on the orientation of the substratum and the presence of currents. The gorgonians are magnificent and the constant water movement transports more nutrients in the water, so their branches grow bigger and denser. With clear blue water as a backdrop they make for some awesome photos.

During the first day at Osprey Reef we dived 4 different and saw an abundance of marine life. The shark feed was definitely a favourite and was the product of many great photos. The procedure is quite simple, once the divers are in place underwater, a perforated bin with a few tuna heads is pulled down beneath the surface. This inevitably attracts the sharks, who begin their frantic merry-go-round around the bin. Once everyone is ready an instructor pulls a rod, which opens the bin lid and releases the tuna heads on a chain a few meters high. This sends the sharks into a frenzy as they attack the tuna heads violently. The giant grouper, often called the potato cod, confidently approaches the tuna heads as well, fearless of the many sharks surrounding it. After 10-15min everything is quite once more.

After the sun had escaped into the dark blue ocean and the stars began to shine, it was time to sink beneath the waters surface for our night dive. The water becomes an uncanny tranquil environment as the nocturnal animals come out to play. During the dive we encountered, a sleeping baby blackspotted puffer, a large blue spotted puffer, a baby grey reef shark, a few white tips hunting, brittle stars and squirrelfish being hunted by giant trevallies in our torch light. Other interesting marine life included schooling baitfish a huge coral trout, a few sleeping parrotfish, many hermit crabs, small reef crabs in amongst finger corals and many other weird creepy crawlies. After our night dive it was time to relax with some wine and desert.

Even though when we awoke it was overcast with light showers the water clarity was crystal clear with up to 50m visibility. With such excellent visibility it wasn't hard to see the diversity of marine life the Coral Sea has to offer. Some of the divers were lucky enough to have a manta ray come up and greet them on dive one. Other marine life spotted through out the day included freckled-face hawkfish perched on the coral rocks, schooling barracuda and a school of big eyed trevally circling with crescent-tail big eye fish wanting to get apart of the action. Dart fish, randall's shrimp goby, white tip reef sharks and feather stars were also spotted through out the days diving. Some divers described the shallow reef as a "beautiful coral garden, with an abundance of colourful marine life".

During the last two dives of the day we spotted pyramid butterfly fish, vibrant angle fish, trumpet fish and unicorn fish. Squirrelfish were hiding under the reef ledges avoiding predators and waiting for the sun to fall. Some divers were even lucky enough to find an unidentified scorpion fish and a couple of pipefish.
For the last day of the trip we dove on the Ribbon Reefs. The highlights during the day included spotting a few well-camouflaged stonefish, schools of snapper, schools of anthias that painted a rainbow in the water and some lizardfish displaying courtship. We also saw lionfish, napoleon wrasse, schools of big eyed trevally and barracuda, many different nudibranchs and different species of cartilaginous fish including the shark and ray. It was a great way to finish an awesome trip. The Aussie BBQ served with wines, finished with cheese and crackers just topped it all off.

Cheers for the company, hope to see you again.
Chris Haslam (Trip Director)

Congratulations Ryszard, James and Jodi for completing your advanced course, well done!

Phone :	+61 (0) 7 4047 9150
Fax :	+61 (0) 7 4047 9110
Email :
PO Box 1276, Cairns QLD 4870 Australia

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Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

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