Thursday, 23 October 2014

A weekend on the Great Barrier Reef.. Rum Runner .. Thetford Reef


Sat 11th Oct

Back to full health and in time for my weekend of scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.. up at 6.30am I head down tot he Marina where I am soon boarding the boat I'll be staying on for 2D1N trip.. Rum Runner.. Initially the water is choppy .. will I get sea sick?/should I have bought tablets.. I'm too tired too notice, despite staying at the quieter hostel I had chatted late into the night with Sarah. On our journey out from the Cairns Marina we spot a Pirate Ship in the distance.. an odd site.. soon we realise that this must be linked to the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (Yes another movie..) filming in Port Douglas. We head out to the Thetford Reef, we we will be diving at over the two days, at four different sites. 

Towards the end of my first dive I am shivering.. it is cold here (a big contrast from the warm waters of Malaysia)! For my subsequent dives I wear both a long and short wet suit. I dive twice more in the day, at times seeing really colourful coral and fish. After dinner I go for my 4th dive of the day.. a night dive.. which is a great experience.. slightly scary beforehand but really cool when we descend into the pitch black waters with the beams of light from the torch cutting through the darkness. 
















Sun 12th Oct

Woken up by Jeff (The Captain) at 6.45am in order to be up and ready for the morning dive.. soon I am geared up and woken up by the impact into the sea! More fish to see this morning, but also a notable amount of dead coral. After breakfast we head out for my 6th and final dive and the best! Clear waters.. colourful corals and lots of fish to see.

After a final tasty lunch on the boat (all the food had been great and lots provided!) we are heading back to the mainland. I check back into The Jack and on arrival to my 8 bed dorm I meet 7 Americans all studying together in the nearby Atherton Tablelands for one semester, but currently on Spring Break and my new room-mates for the next couple of nights. What a friendly and fun group! A new week and the start of a great 2nd week in Cairns, making new friends, plenty of laughter and good nights out (with plenty of dancing)..more to read in the next update.. 
















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