Reef Encounter live aboard boat - diving the Great Barrier Reef Monday, September 14 to Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Reef Encounter – Scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef

Today, Monday (September 14, 2015) is the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I was in the Temple of the Sea.  Thanking g-d for all that he/she created and for how fortunate I/we are. It is also the day of my Mom’s Yarheitz so I spent most to the day thinking of Mom in contemplation and mediation.  For the next 10 High Holy days I will think of the sins I have committed and make amends to those people I have wronged.  I only wish I could have brought my shofar!

We are living/sleeping on this boat for 3 days and 2 nights.  We were fortunate to be able to chose their "Top Deck" service and it did make a difference in our overall experience.  This was our first ever live aboard boating experience.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to more than 1,600 species of fish, 133 varieties of sharks and rays and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.

The Great Barrier Reef

Da crew

On this first day I did 2-day dives and 1 night dive.  The Great Barrier Reef was on my bucket list of dive sites so I am excited to be here and have the opportunity to dive.

The first dive was at Hastings reef.  They then moved the boat and my second and third (night dive) were at Norman reef.  In total I did 10 dives over three days (3, 4 and 3 of which I did 2 night dives).  The other reef we visited is called Saxon reef.  

Below is a list of just a couple of the major fish, crustaceans, corals I saw:

FISH

Me and Barry the   Barracuda

·      Grey Reef Sharks

·      Whitetip Reef Sharks

·      Green Turtles

·      Blue-spotted sting rays

·      Trevallies (known as Jacks – during night dives these trevallies would follow close to us divers because if you flash your light on a fish they WILL eat it……these guys are fast!)

·      Sweetlips (resemble snapper or known as grunts because of the sounds they make by grinding their pharyngeal teeth)

·      Clown Anemone fish (Nemo), Barrier Reef Anemone fish

·      Humphead Maori Wrasse – the only fish in my life that allowed me to rub its nose!

Barramundi - the Australian cod

I

         Bumphead Parrotfish

·      Chuttle fish (these are AWESOME – when they are over the sandy ocean bottom they are translucent, once they go over a dark reef they change color to mimic the reef)

NIGHT DIVE SIGHTINGS

·      Lionfish

·      Painted spiny lobster

·      Coral banded shrimp

·      Octopus

·      Sleeping turtles

Other cool things

·      Pineapple sea cucumber

·      Leopard sea cucumber

·      Black fish sea cucumber

·      GIANT clams

·      Flatworms

·      Sexy Shrimp

·      Black spotted and many other type of puffers

·    White banded trigger fish and many other types of triggerfish….you all know the Hawaii state trigger ish the Humhumnukunukuahpuahah

·     Many different types of butterfly fish

·     Many different types of solidierfish

·     Tons of different types of Lizard fish

·     Many sea stars – they are no longer called starfish

I can’t even name all the types of corals (stag horn, brain, …this list is just a few of what I saw these 3 days!

We met a lot of nice people like Jorge and Caroline Castro from Spain,  Markus and Lucy from Melbourne, Australia.  We ate wonderful food had a wonderful en suite room with our own toilet  and shower…it was great we did NOT get seasick even though it was quite rough.

Do you think I am happy Scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef?