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a pod of humpback whales came past second reef so extraordinarily close
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date: 27/9/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Windy, smoky, dusty but sunny morning with and beautiful calm afternoon
Wind: South West/ South East 10/15 knots
Water Temp: 23°C
Water Visibility: 5m in morning to 20m in afternoon
Sea State: Chop
What a strange old day! Morning broke and it looked to be gloomy windy and overcast with a red tinge over the island. As the sun rose it became apparent that the gloom was as a result of lots of atmospheric dust and smoke from the mainland. Although it became sunny the sky remained red for the day.
The glass bottom boats braved bumpy conditions in the morning to see lots of green turtles. There is nothing quite as innocent as the character of a green turtle. They came up to snorkelers clearly not in the least bit worried about them and stared with a puzzled, docile look in the eyes that makes them seem so beautiful. Guests treasured the moments they had with the turtles and took away memories that will always stay with them.
The day went on and the weather changed with the wind easing. After lunch some guests came on the Flotsam Fossick, it was a spectacular walk around the island with lots of interesting questions and observations. By the time the group made their way past coral gardens it was clear that snorkeling conditions were perfect. The bumpy seas of the morning were all but gone and the visibility had cleared to be sensational.
For the remainder of the afternoon guests took advantage of the ideal tides and conditions to go snorkeling. There were reports of all manner of creatures but perhaps the one that was the most exciting was at sunset. Firstly the sun set behind the dust making for a giant luminous ball burning the sky blood reds and oranges. It was totally magnificent. Then to top it off a pod of humpback whales came past second reef so extraordinarily close that two snorkelers managed to see them swimming past. Every guest that saw it was immediately envious, those snorkelers were so lucky. It is sort of the holy grail of snorkeling to see such a thing and was the icing on the cake of what turned out to be an epic day in the water.
In the evening guests waded out into the lagoon for a night reef walk. Night reef walks are so much fun because you see some incredible creatures that you never would see in the day. Among these were the nocturnal sea cucumber known as the feather mouth that gets very much larger than its relatives to about 2 metres. Another bizarre creature seen was a large striped ribbon worm. It was a strange looking animal that the guide identified later and made for interesting discussion. Finally the group came across two epaulette sharks that accidentally became surrounded by the group and true to their temperament remained calm and basically stopped and looked at everybody. They eventually found their way through the group, but not before everybody took some memorable photos. The night reef walk was great and concluded a special day on the Great Barrier Reef.
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green turtle - jenni
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