Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

Mon 9th April 2012 - Thu 12th April 2012

On a beautiful and sunny Easter Monday 18 passengers boarded Spirit of Freedom bound for the northern Ribbon Reefs on the 3 Day Cod Hole trip. The first to board were John and Lyn; Brandy and Tom; and the Tunks family of Andrew, Grace, Joe and Matt. The remaining passengers, Greg, Lincoln and Lynden; Sarah; Kristine; Jim and Janice; and Jamie and Jen soon arrived and Spirit of Freedom headed out to Norman Reef for two afternoon dives to get the diving action started. Grace, Joe and Matt were welcomed to the Great Barrier Reef on their first dive by Blue Spotted Stingrays, White Tip Reef Sharks, a young Hawksbill Turtle and a very friendly Maori Wrasse. Sarah and Kristine spotted a big Grey Reef Shark cruising along the wall and Jim, Janice, Jen and Jamie were blown away by the coral gardens as they snorkelled within inches of the coral that was sticking out of the water at low tide.

In the morning the sun was shining gloriously through the low lying cloud on the horizon and we jumped in at Pixie Pinnacle for a great morning dive. The water was deep blue and clear and the sun's rays glinted off the schools of Jacks, Trevally, Blue Lined Snapper and Barracuda and made the oranges and purples of the Anthias and Fairy Basslets a magical sight to see. Pipefish were hiding in the coral, the Flame File Shell (Disco Clam) was electric white under torchlight, nudibranchs clustered in little groups along the wall and the whole site seemed to breathe as the fish moved in unison every time a predator came near. At Rod's Rock Jim, Janice and Jamie put on some dive gear for the first ever time and after completing their skills sank below the ocean's surface for their first ever dive. They, and all the other divers, were presented with huge schools of Fusiliers and Barracuda seeming to encase the coral structure in a shimmering coat of silver, blue and gold. The Green Turtle at Two Towers was so chilled and relaxed that all the divers got to spend five minutes watching him search for some soft coral to eat and get some great photos. The Introductory divers went for their second ever dive at Challenger Bay and were greeted by huge schools of fish circling in the coral gardens. The night dive was awesome with several White Tip Reef Sharks, a huge Moray Eel and the usual collection of Red Bass and Giatn Trevallys hunting in the torchlight. Congratulations to our first time night divers, Matt, Joe and especially Grace, who battled with her nerves and plucked up the courage to plunge into the darkness, only to return happy and smiling from a great dive. Tom M and Lynden did the last two dives on Nitrox and finished the day as certified Nitrox divers, so congratulations to them!

We started the final day with a great dive at Cormorant Caves, exploring the cracks and canyons in the reef before heading to Dynamite Pass where finally Jen managed to descend underwater for her first ever dive. Jim, Janice and Jamie were swimming around like pros, just like Matt, Joe and Grace, while Kristine and Sarah hunted for the seemingly elusive cuttlefish. The Cod Feed featured all the family of Potato Cods with 8 of the massive fish turning up to amaze the divers. Greg, Lynden and Lincoln sat and watched the two big old light grey Potato Cod circling each other after the feed while John and Lyn were entertained by the younger darker coloured ones. The final dive at the Cod Hole finished the trip in style with a Dugong being spotted by Grace while diving and Jim and Jamie while snorkelling! A fantastic 3 days of diving on the Great Barrier Reef and several excellent achievements by our passengers; Janice, Jim, Jen and Jamie completing their first ever dives, Tom M and Lynden completed their Nitrox course, Matt, Joe and Grace practicing the skills they learnt in their course out in the real world of diving! Also we celebrated Janice's 30th birthday on our final night together and woke her up early for a beautiful walk around Lizard Island National Park before a scenic Reef Flight back to Cairns. Thanks to all our passengers for a brilliant trip with lots of fun and some great diving!

Nick Leigh (Trip Director)

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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