Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

Mon 30th April 2012 - Thu 3rd May 2012

Our first port of call was the ever beautiful Saxon Reef where we stopped in at Coral Gardens for our two check out dives. Divers were greeted by the local hawksbill turtle who hung around for the entire afternoon, amusing everyone with playful antics.

Day 2 and we arrive on daybreak at the world famous Cod Hole where our next two highly anticipated dives will be. Our first dive and we are already met by some large, playful potato cod, happy to have their photo taken. The corals of the cod hole are healthy, varied and extensive and all manner of macro life was found. Hovering over head were schools of larger fish sitting blissfully in the slow current. Dive two and it's time to get up close and personal. We had four very eager potato cod, two flowery cod and a large gathering of red bass. Even an inquisitive white tip reef shark hung around to see what the commotion was about. The larger of the cod sat right next to divers heads while some exceptional photos were taken, while the smaller of the cod whizzed around the feed area hoping to catch a wayward pilchard. Dive 3 saw us at Two Towers and face to face with yet another turtle, this time of the green variety. It wasn't the only reptile with a couple of olive sea snakes making for more great photos. Mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, nemos, chevron barracuda, and a flamboyant reef octopus were just some of the other creatures we encountered at the site. Dive 4 and we're at the every colourful Challenger Bay for a relaxing dive along the pristine coral lagoon. Schools of bat fish, fields of garden eels, a group of giant barracuda, barramundi cod, pipe fish, nudibranchs, white tip reef sharks and all the usual suspects were there to greet us. Though it was the large grey whaler that circled the divers a number of times that brought the widest smiles on the faces of our ecstatic divers. Challenger Bay at night is always a great dive and tonight's dive didn't disappoint. White tip reef sharks, moray eels, crustaceans of all shapes and sizes, GT's and red bass hunting and a few grey whalers thrown in the mix to really get the heart pumping. What a great way to end a fantastic day of diving.

Day 3 and what better way to start a big day of diving than to cruise along the picturesque Pixie Wall. Yet another green turtle was there to greet us good morning. All manner of macro was out in force but it was a gorgeous robust pipe fish that took the lime light. Dive two and we moved off the wall to Pixie Pinnacle where even more macro was had. As the sun rose higher in the sky more light hit the top of the pinnacle in an explosion of colourful anthias and chromis. Dive three and we couldn't get enough of the pinnacles so we stopped off at Lighthouse Bommie for some more macro fun. It seems the turtles were out in force this trip as another two greens were lazily circling the bommie more than happy to pose for some unforgettable photos. Our last dive of the day was a scenic drift along Dynamite Pass. The vibrant corals showed just how healthy the Great Barrier Reef is. Soft corals swayed in the current as we slowly drifted down with fusiliers surrounding us. As we passed cleaning stations wrasse and other cleaners went to work checking over us to make sure we passed inspection. What a brilliant way to finish fantastic trip. Thank you to all our lovely passengers for making it so memorable.

Congratulations to Dave Van de Weerd for being our newest Advanced Open Water Certified Diver. Congratulations to Robin on celebrating her birthday out here on Spirit Of Freedom.

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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