Friday, November 30, 2012

Diving the Navy Pier

Today we dove the Point Murat Navy Pier. It's an interesting and unique dive, rated by many as one of the top dives in the world. (And yes, the gate guards do an ID check).

I certainly saw a lot of animals today that I may never see again. Some of the species only live in this one area. 

There are a few reasons that it is so densely populated. For starters, the pier is the only thing around and it provides shelter from storms, currents, etc. Secondly, the site, because it's an active naval pier, is not allowed to be fished or even approached for about 1km around. And lastly, the area has been protected for over 40 years, giving it time to get established.

Some of the animals we saw today:
  • Enormous schools of giant trevally, apparently they scare off some of the sharks because there are so many. 
  • Barracuda and spangled emperor (hanging around with the trevally)
  • Lots of friendly giant cod, bigger than me.
  • A moray eel with the circumference of a soccer ball. (There were lots of morays, neon green ones, white ghost morays.)
  • Sharks. Probably a dozen or so white tipped reef sharks, I inadvertently came within a meter or so of one (whoops).
  • Wobbegon sharks, two of then.
  • Two octopi, a grey one and a black one, smallish. 
  • A frog fish and a stone fish.
  • Bat fish, no doubt hiding from the trevally.
  • Lionfish bigger that a rugby ball.
  • Oddly coloured nudibranch.
  • Huge parrot fish (though I think the site could use some more as the fire weed is getting out of control.)
  • Black catfish like creatures with the body of an eel.
  • Large shoals of tiny fish and lots of other finned critters I just can't name.
I have mixed feelings about this dive site though. The visibility is so-so. Our dive had about 7 meters. Also, the pier itself casts a shadow making it dark too. Because the pier is very solidly built with large crisscrossing beams, it essentially creates confined spaces about 5 meters square. If you have buoyancy control problems or are unable to swim with just your fins, then this will be a problem. To make things more challenging, there is almost always some current and it's important to time the dive just right. When we started our dive the current was so strong you had to swim hard to stay in one spot.

Neither SP or I were really psyched for this dive. SP had some equipment problems and I wasn't feeling well. All in all, it was a unique and amazing experience, but I think this dive is really meant for people who are keen on strange environments.

A good video snippet of the area

A wobbegon shark (ours had a little less beard)
Some of my pics of the pier:
The entrance (those are towers for VLF communication with submarines)

A side dolphin

The support beams, which continue below the surface.


Thursday, November 29, 2012

Cute sniffers, landing strips and naval bases

Today we relocated from Port Douglas to it's polar opposite, Exmouth. (Technically, it's not the polar opposite, but for all intents and purposes, it might as well be.)

We traveled from one side of Australia to the other. Swapping a major tourist center, with every tour package and convenience imaginable, for a tiny outback town, with only 4 'restaurants'. Instead of wet jungles, stingers and crocodiles, we have expanses of red dessert, kangaroo mobs and wild emus.

Before getting to Exmouth however, we had a quick layover in Perth. On exiting the terminal, I received a welcome of the most adorable kind. Paws landed on my legs as a set of soft brown eyes looked up at me, with its tail wagging the beagle stuffed his nose into my purse. I had officially been selected by the 'Detector Dogs'.

Airport security search you right then and there. In this case, it was in front of the arrivals area, surrounded by a hundred people waiting for other passengers. I didn't really mind having my luggage drooled on though, the dog was really that cute. He kinda made my night.

It should be noted that the dog was right, only moments before I had unloaded a container into the 'quarantine amnesty' bin. Aka, the last opportunity to chuck things you're not supposed to have before being fined (and searched, and drooled on). My adorable detector dog singled me out because I had previously been carrying honey. Apparently honey can be a disease vector for bees. And I guess the smell lingers too.

After our 6 hour layover we were back in a plane heading north. Other than the unending expanse of red, Exmouth airport is the first thing that stands out about this place. Though the airport terminal is tiny, the airstrip is enormous. Our plane used just 1/3 of its length. Also, before landing, the pilot informed everyone that we were landing at an active military establishment and that photography was prohibited.

Exmouth has a number of military related establishments. Many of them were initially built in WWII, others date from the 60's. Some are actually owned by the US government. I gather that they are kept up to date (like the massive runway) just in case.

On the outskirts of Exmouth is a US naval base. Now primarily run by the Australian police, the base employs ~200 of the 1800 full time residents of the town. The base contains a number of outbuildings that are costly to keep up, so I guess they rent a few of them out. (From a power perspective, having businesses on site helps with maintenance because the power generators need to be kept functional through use.)

While I wasn't expecting to stay on an active military base while here in Australia, it happens that one of the nicer hotels is located on-site in former military barracks. So far the hotel is great. The 10 inch thick cinder block walls, reinforced with rebar and filled with cement, keep the room cool and quiet.

You might be wondering at this point why we would come here. The area is home to the cape range national park and the ningaloo reef. So basically we're going to continue to snorkel, dive, work on our tans and hang out with the local wildlife.

The view from the plane.

Though photography of the base itself is also prohibited, I did take a pic of our room and the barracks to share. Unrenovated barracks on the base.

Our hotel, despite the reno and landscaping, foundationally is still like the building above.


Our hotel room, including an accidental self portrait.


Tomorrow we visit another active military establishment, as we're going to dive the navy pier.

 -E

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Wildlife Habitat

On our last day in Port Douglas we visited the Wildlife Habitat. This is one of the smaller (and more expensive) zoo styled attractions in the area. They focus on local animals, running a large rescue and rehabilitation center, plus they have a successful breeding program for a number of endangered animals. 

What are you looking at?

I'm blue, I know.

Daytime Owl?

Tawny Frogmouth
(Normally hiding in the crooks of trees and very well camouflaged.)

For lunch they offered a really nice buffet. Afterwards they brought around a few lorikeets to visit. Having spent the last few days staring up at trees covered in these bright little guys, it was fun to get up close.




Next up, the marsupials. The wallabies take the cake. Fluffy, inquisitive and just the right size to put in your suitcase and take home.


We bought some 'roo food' and had a blast feeding them.




The wildlife habitat also had snakes, lizards and reptiles. This little wallaby followed us up the path to the crocs, still in hope of us feeding him. It was the only time we saw the croc move.


The kangaroos were also fun. These ones were bossy though, pushing the wallabies away and demanding food. (They are also not small enough for carry on luggage, so I can't see myself adopting one anytime soon.)



Last up is the koalas, passed out after having there own lunch buffet (also cute enough for carry on baggage, but they do sleep 19 hrs a day.)



Tomorrow we're leaving Port Douglas and heading to the other side of Australia. 



Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Photos from the great barrier reef

I traded up to a rental camera for our last day of diving the great barrier reef. The photos are a bit better. Here are some of the more interesting ones (not necessarily those best, but at least they are interesting.)

A moorish idol 


Giant clam

Another clam


 Turtle! (out of 12 dives, this was the only one we saw)

This is Greg, one of the Maori Wrasse resident on the reef.

The boat's photographer gets first dibs.

They are not actually social, they just come visit because there is some free food available from the guides.


Not sure what this one is...

My best shark shot, they tend to stay far away (at least during the day)

Some shots of the coral

Pink

Fan coral

This little guy on the left was constantly in front of the camera, so close it was hard to actually get a good shot of him.


Though a a little shaky, the schools of electric blue fish are fun to film.



Monday, November 26, 2012

Port Douglas


Port Douglas is a tiny town devoted to very high end tourism. It's the most northern town that is a significant gateway to the great barrier reef. After 2 nights in a hostel and three nights on a boat, we though it would be a good break.

Port Douglas Water Front

The town is surrounded by expensive resorts including amenities like golf courses, heli pads, moorage, charter boats, exclusive reef access and pet maori wrasse.

This one's name is Greg.

Located on a peninsula, one side hosts an estuary with mangrove swamps complete with crocodiles and jelly fish (stingers). The other side is 4 mile beach and home to spit ball crabs.

4 mile beach with swimming net

The harbour complete with salt water crocs.

Though the crocs rarely venture around the peninsula to bother the swimmers, they are in the harbour, so don't fall overboard. Even the locals are fearful of falling in, which should tell you something.

Crocodile at the wildlife retreat

Waterfront sign

The stingers, which are also potentially fatal, do make it over to the beach though. Because of that, for the spring and summer months, all swimming is strongly encouraged to stay within the netted area. (That doesn't stop some folks who head out in the open water anyways, some even without stinger suits.)



The most entertaining animal is the spit ball crabs however. Technically called sand bubblers, they sift through sand looking for food creating little balls as they go. The beach is covered in them and they scurry away when you get close.


Spot the crab

All in all, Port Douglas is a lovely little quirky town. If you plan on visiting, bring lots of money and stay at place with a nice pool, especially in the warm months.



Beach Review # 5: 4 mile beach
Rating: 2/5
Best Use: Sun tanning, and in winter, kite surfing.
Cool Stuff: This beach would have received a 0 as any beach with multiple deadly animals can't really be that great (and you could get sharks here too.) But, the crabs were really cool and the water was a balmy 27'C, making it almost worth visiting.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Diving With Dimwits

Today's adventure was a day aboard the SilverSonic visiting the Agincourt reefs. We've relocated up the coast slightly to beautiful Port Douglas and as a perk we can access some of the less visited sections of the GBR marine park.

Though the day wasn't a total disaster, I can certainly say I've learnt my lesson.

  • One day trips that cater to all types of reef visitors = bad.
  • -Multi-day trips (liveaboards) for divers = better.


This isn't a slight on the SilverSonic, her crew or their business model in general. It's just that the one day trips need to be lowest common denominator type affairs.

I heard that if ignorance is bliss, then tourists must be in heaven. Well, that certainly applies to some of the people on our dive trip yesterday.

The boat has a policy that all divers must be guided (even if you are certified). So, the boat puts six certified divers together with a guide. In hindsight, this is a good policy as it means there will always be a bit of supervision. But it's also like group work in grade school, where you're assigned a 'team' and the decent students have to pick up the slack for the incompetent ones.

Our group included one person who was a beginner. From a diving perspective she couldn't swim, had serious buoyancy control issues, and most importantly had no self awareness of her gear or body position in the water. As part of our pre-trip briefing we have all been lectured on the delicacy of the reef. If you're a beginner, keep your distance and don't touch anything. That message didn't sink in though.

For example, here she is milliseconds from bumping into the reef, and again as she turns around wondering what delicate coral she's just crushed.




It's one thing to be a beginner, that's forgivable. It's another to not care at all.

Near the end of our first dive you're required to wait around while the photographer takes your picture. This person, so intent on getting a photo with her buddy, uses a coral covered bommie to push off so she can swim about 5 meters. While I'm watching, completely shocked, she then sits down on the reef for her photo.

Fin contact with reef

Pushing off the reef

Sitting on the reef.


Let's recap. She SITS DOWN ON THE REEF. It's the great barrier reef folks, the world's largest single structure made up of connected organisms, visible from space, containing 1/3 of the worlds soft corals, it's a cornerstone of our entire planet's biodiversity. And she's sitting on it. What's worse, neither the guide nor the photographer did anything about it.

I just don't have the words. The GBR is a is also a gigantic tourist draw (we're here) and a significant part of Australia's tourism industry ($5 billion per annum). In the last 20 years, it's lost 1/2 of it's coral coverage. Wikipedia lists climate change, pollution, crown-of-thorns starfish and fishing as the primary threats to the health of the reef system.

So sad as it is, I guess the message here is that if you want to  come see it, visit soon. And if you do, please don't sit on it.


-E