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Spirit of Freedom - TRIP Gallery

Mon 20th December 2010 - Thu 23rd December 2010

First dives of the trip were our checkout dives to make sure everyone was having a safe and enjoyable snorkel and dive experience on the Great Barrier Reef. We dove a local reef called Norman at the site Caves. It gets it name, as under the boat there are a couple of coral caves. The marine spotted on these dives included, a couple of turtles, parrotfish, butterfly fish, mackerel, clownfish, feather stars, sea cucumbers and hawkfish. After our dives some decided to relax and have a beer on the sundeck while waiting for our delicious dinner prepared by Matt. Was a great start to the trip.

On day two, after a pleasant night of steaming we arrived at our destination, ribbon reef # 10. Our first dive of the morning was a drift dive at the Cod Hole. The current was raging which mad perfect conditions for this special type of diving. After everyone geared up it was time to get the tenders loaded with our adventurous divers. "3, 2, 1" the boat drivers yelled before everyone backward rolled into the crystal blue waters. There were a ton of smiling faces when everyone returned safe and sound back to the main vessel. Sharks resting in the sand, a sail fish, cod, triggerfish and stingrays were just some of the many marine life species that inhabit this reef.

Dive 2- we stayed at the cod hole but this time it was time to get involved in the world famous cod feed. One particular cod decided to take over the show and was up close and personal with all the divers. He was quite the attention seeker and just wanted to be everywhere at once. After an awesome feed the divers swam off to enjoy the 2nd half of their dive. When the divers came back that where really impressed that not only were there heaps of fish to see but the coral were out of this world. Some of the experienced divers commented that it was some of the healthiest coral they have ever dived on.

Dive 3- for the 3rd dive we moved to a site called Two Towers. In a nutshell, the site has 2 large mountains of coral heading to the surface with a sandy path through the middle. As we dove through the sandy path there were schools of snapper hanging of the side of the coral walls. There were many different species of clown fish on this site, the divers counted over 20 clownfish. A sea snake was spotted as along with a giant clam. The Giant Clam reaches sexual maturity at about 5-6 years of age and can live for 100 years.

Dive 4- the dive at Challenger Bay was a little ripper. Lionfish, garden eels, batfish, barracuda, red bass, blennies and a very relaxed map puffer fish. The map puffer made for excellent photos, as he didn't move an inch. The shallows of this dive site would have to be the highlight due to their high diversity of fish and coral species. The snorkellers were very impressed.

Dive 5- after a scrumptious dinner it was time to hit the water again for the last dive of the day. After dark Challenger Bay turns into a completely new site, as the nocturnal animals come out to play. Crustaceans, puffer fish, sharks and feeding coral were all seen on the dive. Two of the divers managed to find and photograph a very toxic geographic cone shell. At the end of the dive all the divers ascended through a huge school of feeding giant trevally, which was a neat way to finish the dive.

Dive 1 on Day three- what better way to start the day than a drift dive at dynamite pass. Get neutrally buoyant, sit back and relax as you watch life go by. There is always so much to see here; triggerfish, barracuda, surgeon fish, angle and damsel fish, schools of surgeon and humpnose unicorn fish. The soft corals are so vibrant in colour and make for excellent photos.

Dive 2- dive 1 was so good that we decided to wait until the current turned the other way and dive from the other point back. Sting rays, rabbit fish, anemone fish, tusk fish and parrot were all seen on this dive.
Dive 3- could just well have been one of the favourite dives for the trip so far. We dove a coral pinnacle called black coral bommie. The black coral, sea whips and gorgonian sea fans had to be the highlight of the dive. I also found a large colourful sea pen. Other marine life spotted were yellowtail coris, lizard fish, schools of anthias and various species of wrasse.

Dive 4- was at pretty patches, given the name due to the pretty patches of coral found everywhere in the shallows. The corals were definitely some of the best we had on the trip. Huge plate corals and heaps of staghorn everywhere. This site is excellent for both divers and snorkellers and both came back with smiles. There were some nice swim through with healthy gorgonians and sea whips lining the walls. In the rubble area we found nudibranch and some interesting cone shells. Cone shells are all venomous to one degree or another. The most dangerous species hunt fish using harpoon-like teeth and a poison gland. Others hunt and eat marine worms or molluscs. Best to be a passive observer and not touch anything on the reef.
After a big day of excellent diving it was time to relax with an Aussie BBQ and a few drinks.

Great trip! A big thanks to everyone who got involved. Keep diving and catcha under the water sometime soon.

Signing off, Chris- Trip Director.

 

 



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