Red and black anemonefish, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Great Barrier Reef
This World Heritage Site is the largest coral reef system in the world. It is more than 2000km long, and has around 3000 reefs and 900 islands. Located off the northeast coast of Australia (Queensland), it is not a far trip by boat from many of the small coastal cities, including the largest one, Cairns. Check out the government website Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The reef is so vast that you can spend the rest of your life diving here and never see everything.
All photos on this page are courtesy of Chris Walton of the U.K.
Dive: 63 Date: 3/23/2005
Location: Sandra's, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 18.4m Time: 0:50
Comments: On Reefmaster; 3 potato cod, hard coral with some soft; lizard fish, wrasses, anemone/fish, surgeon, unicorn, Maori wrasse, green sea turtle, white-tipped reef shark, giant clams, with coral-bleaching in the shallows.
Dive: 64 Date: 3/23/2005
Location: Troppo, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 17.3m Time: 0:51
Comments: On Reefmaster; Maori wrasse, 2 white-tipped reef sharks, then 2 more with 2 gray reef sharks, lionfish, giant clams.
Dive: 65 Date: 3/23/2005
Location: Jorgie's Patch; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 14.8m Time: 0:47
Comments: OceanQuest. Nudibranchs, clownfish/anemonefish, batfish, giant clams. Very healthy.
School of cuttlefish, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Dive: 66 Date: 3/23/2005
Location: Jorgie's Patch; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 13m Time: 0:31
Comments: Night dive. Durban hinge-beak shrimp, banded shrimp, puffer fish, sleeping parrot fish.
Dive: 67 Date: 3/24/2005
Location: W. Pixie Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 25.1m Time: 0:57
Comments: White-tipped reef sharks x 3, green sea turtle, different anemone fish, large giant clams, box fish, trumpet fish, soft corals, jellyfish.
Jellyfish, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Dive: 68 Date: 3/24/2005
Location: W. Pixie Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 24.4m Time: 0:53
Comments: Large remora without sharks x 2, small eagle ray, turtle, lots of anemone/fish, hard corals, soft corals, sponges, and giant clams.
Dive: 69 Date: 3/24/2005
Location: N. Pixie Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 21.4m Time: 0:54
Comments: Strong current.
Dive: 70 Date: 3/24/2005
Location: N. Pixie Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 17.6m Time: 0:41
Comments: Poor visibility, strong current. Turtle. Current pulled most people away from boat.
Dive: 71 Date: 3/24/2005
Location: Sandra's, Saxon Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 12.1m Time: 0:33
Comments: Night dive. Large giant trevally hunting with our torchlight. Blue-spotted fantail ray, green moray, hermit crabs, shrimp, unicorn fish, sleeping parrot fish, cardinal fish, banded shrimp, nudibranchs (Ornate Chelidonura).
Dive: 72 Date: 3/25/2005
Location: Caves, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 22.7m Time: 0:40
Comments: Swim-through, cave, groupers, cleaning wrasse (Eastern wirrah). White-tipped reef shark.
Whitetipped reef shark, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Dive: 73 Date: 3/25/2005
Location: Caves, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 21m Time: 0:55
Comments: Large spiny lobster, goatfish.
Dive: 74 Date: 3/25/2005
Location: Clipper, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 22.4m Time: 0:53
Comments: Cuttlefish, Maori wrasse, goat fish, trigger fish, Queensland giant grouper, white-tipped reef shark.
Dive: 75 Date: 3/25/2005
Location: Wildside Clipper, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 17.4m Time: 0:48
Comments: Multiple types of blennies, jawfish, different parrot fish, Maori wrasse, damsel fish, tube worms, plate/mound corals, with shallow bleached staghorn coral, fed on by large group of loud, buffalo parrotfish.
Dive: 76 Date: 3/25/2005
Location: Wildside Clipper, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 11.9m Time: 0:34
Comments: Night dive. Few big-eye trevally following light, brittle stars, shrimp.
Dive: 77 Date: 3/26/2005
Location: Wildside Clipper, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 21.9m Time: 0:45
Comments: Nudibranchs (magnificent chromodoria).
Dive: 78 Date: 3/26/2005
Location: Wildside E., Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 19.7m Time: 0:56
Comments: Green sea turtles x 3, coral mounds, white-tipped reef shark, staghorn coral.
Sea turtle, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Dive: 79 Date: 3/26/2005
Location: Wildside E., Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 18.6m Time: 0:52
Comments: Found our towel from OceanQuest(fell overboard)! Green sea turtle, white-tipped reef shark.
Dive: 80 Date: 3/26/2005
Location: Wildside E., Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 14.9m Time: 0:51
Comments: Red-lined triggerfish, white-tipped reef shark, stonefish, chevron barracuda, large clams, Maori wrasse, green turtle.
Dive: 81 Date: 3/26/2005
Location: Playground, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 12.8m Time: 0:34
Comments: Night dive. Large number of white-tipped, gray reef, and different types of whaler sharks.
Dive: 82 Date: 3/27/2005
Location: Troppo, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 22.8m Time: 0:57
Comments: Wally the friendly Humphead Maori wrasse (see YouTube video above), helmet shells, multiple turtles and a shark egg case.
Shot of me from below by Chris Walton, Great Barrier Reef 2005.
Dive: 83 Date: 3/27/2005
Location: Playground, Norman Reef; Great Barrier Reef, Australia from Ocean Quest
Depth: 13.9m Time: 0:56
Comments: Hawksbill turtle, flounder, 2-spot gobies. Deep Sea Divers Den Deep Sea Divers Den is a huge outfit with several daily scuba/snorkeling catamarans departing daily. They also have several large scuba/snorkeling and scuba-only live-aboards that travel the Great Barrier Reef, and Coral Sea. They reportedly train the most PADI divers per year than any other dive center in the world. +61 7 4046 7333.
