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Townsville, Australia
19° 15' S 146° 48' E
Feb 21, 2006 05:25
Distance 1687km

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Great Barrier Reef

Text written in: English

We left Sydney Monday and were both very excited to get away from routine and see some different scenery. luckily, the north was very different climately and also offered some excellent ways to enjoy the ocean. we chose Townsville over Cairns because we figured the latter was much more touristy and popular so we would be better suited to go diving from this less visited spot. turns out we were right about it being more obscure and less popular, the thing we didnt anticipate was that the town was too small to be cool and pretty much was lame except for the diving experience. after our plane landed, we walked around town looking for a dive trip and found a wonderfully pleasant woman named Trish that knew everything about anything going on in town. she works at one of the many Information Centers that the aussie government had the good forsight to install to aid lost visitors like ourselves. she told us about a dive trip leaving the next morning, set us up to be picked up and then helped futher by giving us clues and more information about our next adventure. with our tickets in hand, we returned to our hostel, conveniently located above the bus terminal (made for quiet nights), and then feasted on Subway for the second time that day because everything else was more expensive than buying Fatty the new breasts he's been wanting so badly. we went to bed early because we had to be up outside waiting for the shuttle at 7:00 am.

our alarm got us up at 6:45 and we were out the door and waiting pretty much on time. then we waited for another 10 minutes and finally a shuttle dragging a air tank filled trailer pulled up across the street so we approached. the scuba guys looked suprised to see us but when we presented our tickets, they told us to sit tight while they loaded the boat and then they would take us to the office. we were a little weary because of their confused disposition and also because we were supposed to meet two other divers at our waiting post. so after they finished loading, we were driven to the dive shop which they proceeded to open for the day. we watched as someone had to go around back and get in through the back door to let us in, then they turned on all the lights, the air conditioning, and then presented us with several beautiful and comfortable plastic lawn chairs to sit in while they finished setting up for the day. we were beginning to worry that we had picked a bad company because they seemed not too organized, but perhaps it was just because of the hour of the day. after a while, one of the workers passing by commented, "you guys sure as hell werent going to be late today" so i responded that "we thought we were told the right time, were we wrong?" Him, "wait a second, you guys didnt just come in from Sydney did you?" dumb looks. "Ha ha, you guys gained an hour. you could have slept in a bit more." those bastards from Virgin Blue didnt tell us we were moving across a time zone and so we were fooled. ahh, life lessons.

after the rest of the customers showed up a while later, we loaded into vans and headed back to our pick up point, which was about 100 meters from our hostel, and got into the boat. it was a good sized vessel with a huge space on the bottom deck where most people sat with the equipment and plastic windows. the top deck was smaller but provided a much better view and a nice breeze so fatty and i chose to enjoy the 2 hour ride up there. i didnt realize just how far away the GBR was from the mainland. we were traveling decently fast but it still took a long time to make our destination. and it was not without incident. when we had gotten onto the boat, the lead worker had informed us of the ammenities, perhaps the most important of which were the plastic buckets used for sick passengers. instructions for use written clearly at the bottom of the bin. along the ride, even with the wind in my face and a clear view of everything going on, i did begin to feel a little nauseous. but with a little quiet time and some deep breathing, i conquered my stomach and was feeling fine. then they called the divers down to the main deck for a dive briefing. after being in the warmer, more cramped, closer quarters of the lower deck for about 5 minutes, i felt a resurgance of the queeziness and promptly asked for a plastic bucket, just as a precautionary measure. so while the 20 year old canadian guy went over the area of the reef we were about to dive and i tried to focus on the small white board covered in scribbles and interpretations of coral formations, my breakfast was secretly plotting to make a run for it. i was able to thwart its plans for a good 10 minutes, but then its will overcame mine, and i was spewing half digested pineapple and melon chunks into the blue bucket. which at first was not so bad because how often does your own vomit smell of pineapple? but the sweet smell turned sour quickly and i had to utilize several different recycled buckets before my stomach had successfully purged itself of its unwanted guests. and perhaps the worst part of it all was that about 10 minutse later, we were stopped and ready to get in the water and go exploring. i was so close.

diving the reef was just rediculous. granted i only have one other dive site to compare it to but fatty has been on over 30 dives and said this one was excellent. so with his confirmation and my own eyes as witness, i felt this was an amazing experience and one i will never forget. first of all, diving is like no other experience ive ever felt. while snorkling is similar in that you can see the same stuff and swim with the fish, with diving you are right there, able to pause and appreciate, not have to go back to the surface to replenish your air. you can control your balance, depth, speed, and direction. its kind of like attaining the highly coveted frog suit in Super Mario Bros. 3. i was paired up with the dive master because of my limited experience but that was better because he knew where to go, what to look for, and how to maximize the time underneath the water. we went in between massive mountains of marine studded coral reefs, around rocks populated with hundreds of different species of vegitation and fish, and sometimes just stopped to float and appreciate the beauty surrounding us. there were many highlights but i guess my two favorite were a) seeing 4 different white tipped reef sharks prowl their area looking for whatever reef sharks look for, and b) witnessing a school of minute fish so massive, they totally eclipsed the coral they were hovering around. from far away and then even up close, it was like a dense fog hiding a mountain. you literally could not see the reef behind them because their numbers were so many. the sharks were about 5 feet long and at a safe distance to not scare me into self defication. although at one point, i made a 90 degree turn and saw the white underbelly and gaping black hole of a mouth coming directly for me. i felt a electric shock surge through me and felt like dashing for the surface until i recovered and realized the shark was a good 30 meters away. regardless, i still swam out of its path. some other animals i saw down there were a few bright banana yellow trumpet fish, several groupers larger than me, a school of those shiny metallic tuna looking fish that mirrored my path around the reef for a few minutes, a manta ray gracefully flying a few feet above the sea floor and then decend in order to hide himself again by tossing up a cloud of sand and letting it settle to provide a camouflage. and i also found Nemo. those clown fish were actually pretty cool because they absolutely reveled in the fact that they were immune to the scorching rubbery coral they were playing in. they teased me to try to grab them by swimming just within reach and then racing back into their protection, then repeating the process, each time with extreme gusto. i also witnessed fish fights, interesting formations of coral (including variations and species id never seen before), some fish that resembled the Easter Island statues, and the above mentioned million minnow march. also, the water was so warm, i didnt even need a wetsuit. we went on two dives, divided by a brief break and a nice lunch buffet that i managed to put down, and on the second dive, only wore my swim trunks and the scuba gear. wonderful conditions for diving. it was an incredible experience that was totally worth the lengthy boat ride and seasickness that ensued.

after the long day, we met up with a Chicagoan at her hostel for dinner, scrabble, and some going out. dinner was frozen lasagna and two bottle of wine, scrabble was won by me, and going out was a painful and rainful ordeal. we thought that if we left at 1030, we would find plenty of things and places to do and see but forgot that we were in Townsville, the center of hip, happening things, and found absolutely nothing. so we got a nice late night 3 mile walk with a little free refreshment from the sky. but the bonus of the night was that we saw an Aussie possum which was much cuter and friendlier than our American possums. it was not scared by us approaching to take pictures and even sat patiently while eating a piece of white bread while we took video and probably blinded him with our flash. tomorrow we fly to Brisbane to get to Fraser island and do a 3 day, 2 night adventure. should be fun as it comes highly recommended from both info stations and friends alike.