Of fire and water - Hawaii

We started this trip with a one-way ticket to Cairns, Australia. We had a rough idea what we wanted to do and when, but like to keep our option open. So about halfway we figured, that since we'd fly home a week before Christmas, we might want to book something asap, so we wouldn't end up with very expensive tickets.

We looked at several routes. The most straightforward thing, would be to have a stopover in Asia, and then home from there. But that didn't feel right. What about going in the other direction? After all, New Zealand is so far away, there's no 'detour', and it would be cool to finally do that round-the-world thing. 

As it happened Air NewZealand had a special: to Hawaii. Now that sounded like a plan, and here we are!

City of refuge, Kona

Now to be honest, Hawaii didn't blow us away. That might have something to do with these three things:

• High expectations.
  There's nothing like high expectations to quickly turn any experience into a deception.
• The weather.
  We simply ran out of luck with that one. As we arrived we'd hoped that it would clear up, but it didn't. It had been raining in Hilo for 10 consecutive days, and the storm was forcast to linger over the island for another week. Roads were closed due to snowfall and flash floods, tours cancelled and the Hawaiian weather even made it onto the news back home in Europe.
• Feeling poorly.
  That does change your experience. Flying in, I was coming down with a cold, that lasted a full week. Nauseous, head aches, runny nose, sore throat, overall lethargy, the works. We still did some stuff, but things like going on a proper walk, were just too much for me. We went out every day, but I wasn't enjoying it as much as I know I would have otherwise.

Having said that, we did do some pretty amazing stuf! Like what? Here's some of our highlights.

On day 2 we drove up an active volcano, Kilauea, and watched the lava in the crater splatter and blow. We were told that we were lucky, since quite often the lava isn't visible at all, because its normal level is a lot lower. That night after dinner we went back to the crater and saw the lava in the dark of night which was even more spectacular. Especially because it was a lot quieter that during the day, and we could actually hear the spatter and howling going on. Talk about force of nature...

Kilauea crater

From Kilauea lava still continues to flow down to the sea, the island grows when it solidifies in the water. The hike to the ocean entry point takes approximately 2 hours on way: too much. But we did see the massive steam plume from a distance. Usually there are boats to the entry point, but those didn't go out because of the high winds. We decided to do a short petroglyph walk instead, and that was pretty special too. 

Big steam vent where lava flows into the sea

Now day 3 was definitely a highlight: we had booked a manta ray dive. This was really the reason we went to Big Island. Luckily I only had a sore through and some mild headaches that day, so I could make it (or maybe I just suppressed the rested since it came back with a vengeance the next few days). We headed out of the marina at 3pm, and saw some dolphins on the boat ride to the dive spot. We started with an easy afternoon dive, on which we saw some cool stuff: moray eels, garden eels, a Pacific barracuda, a small turtle, some big crowns of thorns, both yellow and grey trumpetfish, black long-nosed angle fish, very weird lizard fish, and a massive Neptune's cockle. 

Trumpet fish

After 65minutes we surfaced, it was a really nice dive, though not spectacular. Saying that, I think we must consider ourselfs spoiled. Read that final line of the last paragraph again. Seeing all that, and then labelling a dive nothing spectacular. Hmmmm... We might need to abstain from diving until we've got our perspective back. 

But first, it was time for supper. The crew had layed out different wraps and cookies, which we ate while watching the sunset. When it got dark we got a briefing for the main event: the manta night dive. During the briefing we saw the first big manta shadow under the water's surface, the exitement rippled through the crowd.

Lizard fish

The general plane of this dive is that you plunge in, swim to a designated sandy spot, and wait at the bottom for whatever shows up, while pointin your torch over your head. We got a few extra kilos of weight in our BCDs, so we would easily stay put, because the swell had come up even more. To attract the mantas, there would be lights from the surface down, and the bottom up. The mantas feed on zooplankton, and those zooplankton gather in light beams, thus making an easy meal for an intelligent manta.

Me with torch

There were 4 groups of 4 divers, each with their own guide. We were in the second group to descent, and gathered at a spot at about 10m deep. We each had a small torch, but the guides had places bottom and surface lights near our spot, and boy, those lights sure were bright. It kind of felt like a circus arena. But within seconds we saw our first manta ray. What a sight! She flew over our head into the beam, summer salting on her way back for a second helping. We could look right into her open mouth, seeing the gills on the insides. Spectacular.

We huddled together trying to stay stable in the swell. That was tricky. Our guides had told us to pick up one of the boulders strewn around if we had trouble. I flinched at the thought of picking up a rock, bare-handed even, but couldn't think of another option, so I did it anyway.

With my new found stability I could really enjoy the show in front of me. Thousands of silver fish swam in vertical shoals around us. A manta with a wingspan of 2.5-3meters flew into the light, and disappeared again into darkness like a ghost. During feeding it came so close that it actually brushed our heads. I sometimes simply forgot to breath.

Manta ray up close

After about 50minutes our dive guide decided our time was up, and we needed to go back to the boat. Getting up the first thing I saw was a rock fish, right next to where we had been sitting. These are highly venomous, and one of the reasons you do not pick up rocks! 

Another reason are the sea urchins that I suddenly noticed all around. We swam towards the boat, watching some nocturnal fish hunting. On the boat we had a nice hot shower and instant cocoa with biscotti. But who cares about that, we just saw a manta ray up close, feeding, for almost an hour!

Another great experience was going up the Haleakala Volcano on Maui. Seeing the sunrise from the summit is supposed to be spectacular, so on our list. We spent 3 nights on Maui, and had looked online for the best day to do this. Day 6 looked promising. We got up at 3am to make the 2hour drive from Lahaina to the summit, some 3000meters higher. As we drove up the volcano, it was a lovely clear night. The stars were very visible in the sky, and the towns below glowed in the dark. 

We were just in time for one of the last spots at the parking lot, when we arrived at 5am. It was close to freezing when we stepped out, so we decided to have a nap in the car for the hour we had to wait. As we woke again at 6am the clouds were drifting in... So unfortunately no clear sky sunrise for us, but it turned out to be impressive nonetheless. 

Haleakala sunrise

After an hour or so, we went back to the car and had breakfast. We had planned to do a hike down the crater today, but I really didn't feel very fit. But didn't want to miss out either. We figured we would just slowly start to descent, take many breaks, and after an hour or so would start walking up again. It was only 8am and we had the rest of the day to do this. That turned out to be a very good plan. What a magnificent landscape...

The track was easy, but reasonably steep. And every turn revealed different perspectives and more colours. 

After slowly making our way up again, we drove back down around noon. And that's when my problems began... My ears simply would not equalise. When this happens while diving, I go up again, but we could hardly stay on the volcano. We did stop for a while, and after some time I was able to 'pop' them. But it hurt. And I heard sound I've never heard before, that was unnerving. 

I've always had pressure-sensitive ears, and I figure I must've put them through a bit too much. These last 6 days: 4 flights, 2 scuba dives and 3 drives up over 2500m. And all while having a cold. To make matters worse, my next flight is in two days. A trip to the pharmacy provided a fairly aggressive nose spray, let's hope that does the trick.

Keanae peninsula on the road to Hana

On day 7, our last day on Hawaii, we (more accurately Rodie) drove the road to Hana. A narrow, winding road with many one-lane bridges. Though not nearly as narrow as the road on the north east coast we drove on day 5. The views were really nice, the waterfalls pretty and the greenery spectacular at places. Honestly I did not think it was all that it's hyped to be. But Rodie really liked it, and we usually like the same type of things, so I blame my stuffy head for that. In retrospect I maybe should've stayed in bed. But then again, I'm not in Hawaii that often, so wanted to do as much as I could. 

Day 8, we're flying to San Francisco, fingers crossed that the ears make it in one peace too!

Oh and we've lost our cord to get photos from my camera and upload them, so this post will be edited sometime in the near future with more photos...

Cold kaleidoscope - Poor Knight Islands

We've arrived in New Zealand almost a week ago, so it's time to actual start doing something. We decided to do some diving, and the Poor Knights Island Marine reserve, seemed like the place to do so. This is one of the top dive sites in the world. Again. I wonder how often we've heard that classification now? But still, one not to missed! 

The East Australian Current (that's the one the turtles ride in Finding Nemo!) brings tropical visitors and warm water to this specific area, making it 2 degrees warmer than on shore, though still way to cold for my liking.

Biggest natural arch in the Southern Hemisphere

We went to the only dive shop in Tutukaka, and booked a dive tour for the following day. We then tried to book a bed, and found out that the affordable holiday park was fully booked. And it turned out that the way over budget hotel was fully booked as well. Oops. So we ended up near Whangarei, half an hour away, but in a lovely little hostel! 

We had an early rise the next day, did our usual fitting session and found our boat. The boat ride took about an hour. On our way there we saw huge flocks of Buller's shearwater. They were roosting on the sea surface. 

Amazing array of soft corals

Our first dive site was Splendid Arch. On our boat were 8 divers, a guide (and a skipper). A group of 4 went with the guide, and 2 buddy pairs (including us) went unguided, to spread out a bit. We got a good briefing of the site.  Our first aim was to swim over an underwater ledge, and into the confinement of the arch. Once in, it got a bit darker and we started exploring the left hand wall. This wall had loads of gorgeously coloured soft corals, nudibranches, and we spotted a small yellow moray eel looking out of it all. 

Jason's nudibranch

Then is was time to cross over to the right hand side, and explore that side while heading out of the arch. The first thing we saw was a massive scorpion fish, lying on a ledge. This was by far the biggest one I've ever seen, measuring approximately 60cm! 

Just when we were done filming and admiring him, we spotted two big crayfish. One of them had his antenna broken off, but the other one looked still in one piece. It's really amazing to see them blending in with their surroundings.

Crayfish in hiding 

   

We also spotted another one of those yellow moray eels, completely entwined in one on the rock features. We then headed out of the cave/arch into the kelp forest in front of it. Here we saw many more pelagic fish, and so, so many sea urchins, but after a good fifteen minutes I decided I was cold enough to get out of the water. Even though I had 3 layers on me (a thermal, a 7mm wetsuit and a 7mm hoodie) staying in 15'C water just isn't for me... 

Sea urchin, see the little fish next to it?

When everyone was back at the boat, we went to the second dive site: Magic Wall. We had lunch there, while listening to the seals calling: quite like a cow with a cold... Our skipper told us a bit more about the islands. Because of its isolation and lack of natural predators most of the animals grow a lot bigger. Think centipedes eating geckos, instead of the other way around. Or crickets the size of your head.... But also those huge scorpionfish! And fearless fish.

After lunch it was time to plunge, oh my, that was cold! Because it was overcast, we hadn't really gotten to warm in between dives, so the second dive felt even colder. After swimming past one of the seals, who didn't care about our attempts to coax him into the water, we submerged again.  

We navigated through the kelp until we got to the wall. And it looked even more colourful that the first site! Loads of macro stuff. Little hopper fish, amazingly bright patches of corals and anemones, and fish fights... 

The garden in front of the wall. 

Unfortunately I had some problems with my ears, so we decided not to go much deeper. We missed out on the big moray eels, but we  both spend 10 minutes just staring at our own patch of 20 by 20 cm of the wall, amazed at how much happens at such a small area. We swam back to the kelp garden at the bay, being surrounded by thousands of jelly fish... We had a good look around there, and then got out of the water. It was really time to put on some dry, warm clothes. 

P.S. Due to the lack of light most of our photos and video didn't come out very well, but you can watch a short video here. 

Isolated bunch of kelp

Memorable marine encounters - Coral Bay

The small coastal towns at the Ningaloo are all geared towards water related activities. Think surfing, whale watching in season, and whalesharks! (Which is March to July)

Another must-do is diving or snorkelling. With the fringing reef so close to the coast it's a waste not to. Of course we've done some in Exmouth, but we also went a little further south to tiny Coral Bay. (2 campsites, 1 hotel and 8 shops, of which 7 tourism related.) 

But Coral Bay has something extra special: a resident manta ray population! To be more exact, there are a row resident mantas, and many seasonal and visiting ones. But it is one of the few places where you are almost guaranteed to see them year round. A chance not to miss.

Exploring Ashos Gap

There are many manta ray snorkel tours on offer, but since there's just one dive shop in Coral Bay, our choice was an easy one. A full day tour, with a dive in the morning and afternoon, and a manta interaction snorkel in between. If the mantas felt like it. Because the previous week they hadn't shown up for five consecutive days... But, if you don't try, you're sure not to see them. 

Later that afternoon, the dive shop owner told us our tour might not happen, since the other couple that had signed up, had cancelled. And they had a 4 person minimum. After a few phonecalls that evening it was certain: no tour tomorrow. So we spent an extra lazy day at Coral Bay and went one day later: on a fully booked tour. 

After the usual morning fitting sessions (who doesn't love a cold damp wetsuit in the morning?) that go with dive tours, we were ready to go. And can I just add that I simply love Australian sizing? I easily fit a S, sometimes even XS suit, always nice when (un)dressing in front of complete strangers. 

Blue spotted stingray 

On board were 10 divers divided in 2 groups. We were happy to be in the 'experienced' group, which made for lovely relaxed dives. We all had about the same pace and mindset. Keeping an eye out for each other, but wandering off a bit it you saw something interesting. As opposed to the 'less experienced'. When we saw them, the six of 'em were huddled in a tight knit, condensed shoal following the leader.

The first dive was around a clusters of coral bommies not far of shore. We saw loads of tiny fish, some bigger ones like potato cod, little cleaning fish doing their job, a few blue spotted stingrays hiding underneath the corals, nudibranches, sea worms, a moray eel, clown fish, and loads more.

It's pretty cool to see how every coral and anemone has its own species of related fish. Two coals right next to each other, but slightly different, both have tiny fish on them, but slightly different. 

The underwater landscape was really nice too.

First look at a wild manta ever

When we surfaced after a shallow 55minutes dive, it was time to head to Batemans Bay. In search of mantas. 

On our way there we got some instructions on what to do and what not. In the mean time a spotter plane was on the lookout for mantas to optimise our chances of seeing one.

We were divided into two groups, and instructed to sit on the rear of the boat, on the platforms. Fins and mask on and snorkel in. The boat would drop us in the manta's expected path. At the crew's 'go, go go' we slid in the water, moments before we saw th manta underneath us! 

How utterly, extremely cool was that! 

Just a few meters below us was the his magnificent creature, gently flapping its wings. They really do fly. 

Showing its belly just before flying away

We swam with it, until some of our group got slower. That was when our guide gave the cue to stop swimming. Group two was then dropped, after which we were picked up again. As soon as the other group stopped swimming we were again dropped in. The second time in, the manta swam sideways for a bit. 
Another boat in the vicinity had had no luck yet with finding a manta, so our skipper decided that we'd pull back for a bit to give them a go. We looked on, and to be honest, our tour looked far more professional in getting everyone in and out of the water. And it was apparent that we had some stronger swimmers on board. Because it does take some effort to keep up with a feeding manta! 

We then did our third and final run. Most of us stopped swimming when directed, but one of our group continued... Rodie stealthily joined group 2 for an extra long manta swim! Afterwards we had lunch aboard, and went to the next diving spot. During that trip we saw even more wildlife: Dolphins, several turtles surfacing to breathe, stingrays, and even a humpback with calf! 

Giant cuttlefish

After that superb manta swin, we really didn't care that much about our second dive, but happily went in. What a surprise was that second site! Ashos Gap are two interconnected bommies, with a cleaning station at it. Basically it is one massive coral garden. We stayed under for an hour, and swam above coral that enitire time.

Some really good marine life too. A lovely green turtle (I never get tired of those!), a distant grey reef shark, some barracudas, giant clams, and a really big giant cuttlefish. This one was about 30cm, and prettily changing colours as we stayed with it for a bit. 

The number of small fish was incredible, and the coral itself was more diverse than at the first spot. Really. Opal was that you could actually see some of the coral 'breathe'.

Yep, that was a pretty amazing day! 

Green turtle

Turquoise drift - Exmouth

After our Broome adventures, we visited inland Karijini NP, which was stunning. Then we headed back to the blue waters. Or should I say turquoise waters? It was time to finally visit the Ningaloo Reef!

Turquoise Bay beach

The Ningaloo reef sits on Australia's west coast, and is far less visited than the Great Barrier Reef. But supposedly at least as beautiful. This is one of the main reason we really wanted to see Ozzie's west coast. 

One of the really good things about the Ningaloo is, that it is a fringing reef, so it really close to the coast. (The GBR is always at least a boat ride away. ) We decided to start in Exmouth, on its northern end.

Turquoise Bay Area corals just under water

When we arrived in Exmouth, we expected a bit of a resort town, but nothing like that. It's a sleepy village, though very expensive at it. 

Exmouth Bay is known for its whale shark swims (but the season ends in July), whale watching (but we just did that a few days before in Broome) and of course diving! 

Happily eating fish

We booked a 2 dive boat tour with Exmouth dive centre. Though is wasn't very well organised, the dives themselves were really nice. We saw an olive sea snake on both dives, good sized potato cods and many nudibranches. On the second dive we were caught in shoals of millions of glass fish. They're tiny, but they block sight and light. But most special about these dives? Whale song! The whole time we heard them. Magical really.

On our way back to the marina, we even saw a few, just in front of our boat! Mama was showing off, breaching for us, and the calf tried to imitate her. But he needs to practice a bit more, but we know now that humpbacks do swim belly up...

Abundance 

After these dives, we decided we simply needed an underwater camera. So what do you do then? You guessed right: we now own a go pro. Bought in the most expensive place we've seen them so far. Because the next dive will hopefully include manta rays, and if it does we have to record that. But first: practise how to use it. 

The Cape Range NP just west of Exmouth provide the perfect opportunity for that. Here you can snorkel right over the reef, right off the beach.

Cabbage corals at the drift 

Our first snorkel was in Turquoise Bay. We started in the 'safe' area, the little bay, just 2 meters deep without currents. It was pretty, with massive corals and many fish, we even saw a turtle! The corals had such pretty colours in these shallow waters. 

But, maybe because of the strong winds, the water was quite murky. 

Look at those colours

Our next snorkel was at the 'advanced' area: theTurquoise Bay drift snorkel. You enter the water on the southern end, then let the current carry you over the bommies. You have to get out of the current in time, before it sweeps you through the gap into the ocean. 

This snorkel the water was a lot clearer, but we drifted very quickly, probably because off the string winds. But a lovely Go Pro practice snorkel, with pics to prove it! 

Shoal of fish right at the beach

Waterworld - Byron Bay

No, this is not about some crap Kevin Costner movie... But about Byron Bay, surfing town extraordinaire. The place where about 25% walks barefoot, every other shop sells or hires surfboards and is known for the perfect beginner waves. 

Beach access from our hostel

We checked in at the Backpackers Inn at the Beach, a very laid back hostel. Of course with its own surf school on site. After some deliberations I decided I would book a lesson, after all: if not now, then when? Rodie decided not to risk it, he would book advice at Julian Rocks instead. So the next morning, al psyched, I was ready for my lesson! Unfortunately my teacher was not: she called in sick. I decided to walk with Rodie into town to the dive shop. After all, I had nothing better to do.

Hanging out at the yard, it's s hard life

Now, Julian Rocks is apparently a really good dive spot. It's high up there in those top 10 lists. July is the season for grey nurses sharks, and since Rodie has a shark obsession, he wouldn't miss this chance. The 2 morning dives were already fully booked, but there were spots left on the afternoon dive, though it wasn't sure if that would run, because of the high winds. In the end we both booked that afternoon dive (I had nothing better to do remember?) even at a hefty price of $98 per dive. 

Sunset over the ocean, far right are Julian rocks

At 2pm we got back, and after signing our life away (you really can't do anything in Australia without signing liability waivers!), we got our gear. We put our suits on in the dive shop, then got in the van to the boat. That was strange. But we soon found out why. Because Byron has no harbour, you're launching off the beach, in a RIB. The tanks are in the middle, and we sat on the sites. Holding on for dear life. What a ride! It was 'a little choppy' as our skipper put it. We were soaked by the time we got to the rocks.

Byron surf lessons

We dove in a group of 5, four Dutchies and a Swedish guide. Just as we submerged we saw a Wobbegong shark, all exited we alerted each other. And then saw another few dozen of 'em... The bottom was really covered in Wobbegongs. Very cool! 

The water was quite murky though, about 8 meters visibility. A bit of an adjustment after the cristal clear waters up North, and we had to pay a bit more attention. But a few minutes into the dive we found them: three pretty big Grey nurse sharks! They were about 2 metres long, and we practically bumped into them, we swam a close as one metre or so. I had expected to find it a tad scary, but not at all! They weren't interested in us at all, and quietly swam off. We saw a few more during the dive. 

What else did we encounter? Loads of small fish (found Dory!) a turtle and a big school of rays. A good dive all in all. 

Strike a pose! Paparazzi shot of me during the lesson

The next morning my surf lesson happened, of course I was a good 15 years older than my classmates. And the only one that had never surfed before. Great... 

The surf in Byron is really good for beginners: continuous waves close to the beach, you just keep on trying. And I did! I managed to catch a few waves on my own, and stand on my board! Very proud of me. And exhausted after 2,5 hours. But I had fun!

On our way to the lighthouse

On our final day we had to walk to the lighthouse. Byron Bay is the most easterly point of mainland Australia, so of course we had to tick the box too. We were told it was about a 30-minute walk there, and happily set out after brunch. And got there about 1.5 hours later. 

It probably was a 30-minute walk from the parking lot. Or a 30-minut run from the hostel. It was a enjoyable walk though. But oh... My whole body was pretty sore from that surfing adventure, the price you have to pay for not acting your age!

On our walk we saw a bit more wildlife: 2 pods of dolphins playing, 8-9 humpbacks in 4 pods a bit further out, a company of gannets, and of course the lorikeets! 

Made it!

Now... As a final thought: it would be nice to have some interaction on this blog. Quite a few people asked for it before we went away, but so far there hasn't been a single reply. Which is a bit discouraging, since it takes quite some time and effort to get this online (Australia is certainly not known for free wifi) It's raining today, so I haven't got anything better to do, but in general: Should I continue blogging, or isn't it worth the effort?

Lorikeet

In search of Nemo - Great Barrier Reef

Going to Australia, Queensland, where the Great Barrier Reef is, and not diving? Not an option!

After some consideration we opted for a 3 day / 2 night liveaboard with Pro Dive. That looked like pretty hardcore diving and the 11 dives in 3 days might be a bit too much for me, but this was the way to dive at the outer reefs. Financially it was quite a thing too (A$800/€500 per person) but hey... Once in a lifetime, right? 

That's what we looked like!

So, what did we do? We were picked up at 6:15am(!) at our hostel, checked in at the dive shop and then boarded our vessel in the marina. There were 32 divers on board, about halve of them in training, 4 instructors, 1 cook and 1 skipper. What we really liked is that this company does not send you down in groups with an instructor, but you go down independently as buddy pairs. That gives you so much more freedom.

Spot the spotted fish

We got breakfast on board while the crew loaded the stuff on board, and then headed out to the reef, where we arrived about 3,5 hours later and at 11:30am we had our first dive! But oh boy... What a current! This wasn't fun, is was about a 50m swim to the reef, but by the time we got there halve our air was gone! After 10 more minutes at the reef we surfaced and got a dingy ride back to the boat... Uhoh... After a reprimand from the dive master that we got way out off the area we went to the upper deck to catch our breath. And wonder if we really were that out of practice? But all the divers that surfaced had had the same problem, and lots of dingy rides that morning.  Turns out there had been some type of freak current (or so we were told at the next briefing). 

 

One of the anemone fish

The next dive at 14:30 was also at Flynt Reef, but this time on a reef closer to the to the boat: like swimming through an aquarium! Lovely colours and so many fish species. You could not avoid the parrot fish, and we spotted our first turtle! I just love turtles, especially when under water. They're every bit as surf dude as in the Nemo movie. We also spotted our first giant clams.

 

Like swimming through an aquarium 

We both skipped the 16:30 dive in favour of the night dive at 19:30. That was some serious underwater disco! Of course that's not very good for the wildlife spotting, but rather funny. We dove in groups as many of the divers had not done a night dive before. We did spot a parrot fish in a mucous bubble, that was rather special. And of course every small fish that you put a spotlight on was instant dinner for the bigger hunting fish. We also saw a flash of a reef shark. 

 

Look at that face...

The next morning we had a lay in, our first pre breakfast dive was at 7:30am. Unfortunately Rodie's night had not been very good. Our beds were 1.80m long, slightly on the short side for his 1.93m frame. Since they were 65cm wide and with 60cm headroom, he simply did not fit. The second night we put his mattress on the floor, left the door open and his feet slept in the hallway. Much to the amusement of our shipmates. 

The dive was at Tracy's little Bommie, a deeper dive to start the day with. This was a dive where we savoured all the smaller wonders of the corals and fish, and of course another turtle! We saw our first stingray and some more of the giant clams. 

 

Pretty amazing dives

For the second dive (at 10:30) we had moved to Milln reef and we decided to hire an underwater camera (thank you sponsors!). It was our first time ever and we had fun with it. And isn't it fun to see what we look like in the big blue? And of course it makes for a better blog post.  We met up with some turtles again, saw some anemone fish, angler fish, the ubiquitous parrot fish, so many fish I haven't got a clue what they're named. Rodie even made a some pretty cool videos of our dive!

The afternoon dive at 15:00 was similar to this, but without the camera. I skipped the night dive on their second day; simply not hardcore enough! Rodie did dive and saw one side of the sleeping Brian sticking out from underneath a rock. Who? Oh Brian, that's just the 2m turtle living there...

 

Tiny fish at one of the corals

The third day was again an early wake up call. The knock on the door was at 6am so we could be in the water at 6:30....  Who said this was vacation? We had a quickie briefing and changed into our gear in the black of the night, plunging in the water at dawn. That was quite special though, we saw the reef waking up. Slowly more and more fish emerged from their sleeping places. We also swam into a few reef sharks (black tips?) that just came back from their night's hunt, some turtles, (yes again, and I still love them!) and a badass barracuda. 

Parrotfish all around 

I decided to skip the second dive at 9:00 but Rodie went in and yes: he found Nemo's family! They lived in an anemone just a few meters from the boat. 6 cute little clown anemone fish. He also saw a moray eel, and some sharks. And of course those innumerable other fish.  For our last dive at 11:00 we were not assigned a specific itinerary at the briefing, so we first swam to the Nemos and that had a nice swim around, just to bid our goodbyes to the reef. At noon the boat headed for the shore again, and our diving trip was over!

Bye for now!