On The Reef

We got up early today to catch a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. The sun was shining and the seas were virtually calm.

We started at Saxon Reef and Rob got in two dives there. The photo at left is a giant clam he saw. His pictures were really spectacular. You'll have to wait for the scrapbook to see the rest of them.

We moved on from there to Hastings Reef. (When Rob wakes up I will double-check the names of the reefs.) Rob got another dive in and I took the semi-submersible on a little tour of the bommies (coral heads near the surface with lots of fish.) It was a little murky because of all the rain they have been having. It washes silt down from the mountains into the sea and the tides wash it out over the reef.

The reef colors weren't at their best either because of the lack of sunshine recently. This week was shaping up to be sunny though, so the color should be better in a couple of days. Rob saw cuttlefish, sea cucumbers, a small sea turtle, etc.

It's really hot here. There was a light rain when we came back to port. Rob saw lightning in the hills above Cairns. We met a nice couple from Spain. Rob dove with him. He didn't have a camera so we got a second CD of Rob's pictures and will send one of them to him. They kept counting us and asking for our safety numbers (52 and 53) so no one got left behind. That incident they made a movie out of really hurt the industry. Everyone is sensitive about it. Turns out there is evidence that the couple that disappeared actually had a suicide pact and they had shed their bouyancy devices.

We both got back OK. Really had a nice time....but the air conditioning still doesn't work in our hotel room. Will do something about it tomorrow.

Connie