Trip Report: Great Barrier Reef

[Steve G]

What I saw snorkeling and diving on the GBR (off Lady Elliot Island at the very southern end of the GBR marine reserve): (no pics yet, I have to get them developed)

 

- loggerhead turtle (the size of a VW bug, very old, initially mistook it for a boulder)

- smaller loggerhead (current pushed me practically on top of it while I was snorkeling on the reef flat) and green turtle at surface catching a breath

- black tip reef shark (3-4 ft), very active

- leopard shark (3 feet)

- wrasses galore: fairy wrasses, bird-nose wrasse, cleaners everywhere

- angels (many many varieties including king, lemonpeel, many gorgeous ones I could not identify, etc.), butterflies, parrots, clown triggers, surgeonfish including kole tangs, yellow tangs, and others I could not identify

- clownfish inside anems, almost all were bubble tips anems, including one about 5 feet across with at least 4 large (5") one-strip dark-orange clowns (cinnamon?) -- saw dozens of clown/anem combos, but never saw a single clownfish in open water

- 1 billion humbugs of all sizes from 1/2" to 5"

- dinner plate sized foxface rabbitfishes

- schools o' vivid blue reef chromis and chromis viridis

- cukes (up to 4 ft. long, 1 ft. circumference), urchins (up to about 2 ft. diameter), clams (one about 2 ft long, could probably eat me if I came in feet first or head first)

- goniopora heads the size of a car

- dozens of blue linckias, up to 18 in. diameter

- an octopus, but fleeting, it withdrew inside a rock and I only saw a glimpse.

- something that I think was a wobbegong (sp?) but it was half buried and sand-colored. Could be anything really. I took a pic, so we'll see when I get the photos developed

- breathtaking plating, finger, and staghorn formations of all colors, including some spectacular blue and purple tip acros

 

disappointments:

- no rays (They are supposedly plentiful where I was diving)

- no turtle hatchlings on the beach, just missed them

- less color on the reef flats than I was expecting. Corals were just two or three colors between brownish, reddish, yellowish, green (however, linckias and clams, not to mention the fish, added spectacular color)

- no softies, not endemic to southern GBR coral cays

- hardly any crustaceans, did not see any nudis

 

Nothing interacted with me except for several triggers and some wrasses that did an approach/retreat dance in front of my mask. The schools of chromis were probably most impressive while snorkeling because there were no exhalation bubbles and they just drifted within inches of me and simply did not care, treated me like driftwood. Amazing how indifferent most marine animals are to human presence.

 

As a newbie diver I did a good job at NOT touching/kicking coral, but used way too much air flailing away from them as my poorly controlled buoyancy had be drifting awfully close.

 

The crackling sound of fish eating is truly amazing.

[treesprite]

can't wait to see the pics