The Great Barrier Reef, Part II

Remember "Finding Nemo"??? How cute was he?!?! Well, I actually found him and some fellow clownfish living in this sea anemone. I think my approach freaked them out a little bit as you can see from the following video. Don't you love how clownfish will not, under any circumstances, leave their sea anemone and will actually try to defend it against trespassers?




Another blue-spotted stingray and video of same.




I'm not sure what this is, but I assume -- this being Australia and all -- that it's probably deadly.


Christine with the rest of her SCUBA certification class, just before their first night dive.


Videoclip of one of the many sharks spotted off the boat just before Christine jumped in. This one is about 6 feet long. :-)


Videoclip of Christine entering the water for her first night dive. How creepy is it how she just disappears into the blackness and all you can see is her flashlight, and then that, too, is gone...?


Videoclip of Christine resurfacing after her first night dive. We were all glad she made it back in one piece.



Christine boarding the boat after her first night dive.

Back to SCUBA diving in daylight -- Christine passing through a narrow opening in the reef.

Reef landscape

Really large fish -- about 3 feet long -- but I forgot what type. I think it might be a barramundi.

Giant clam. This is about 3-4 feet across. You could lose a leg in this thing.

Reef Quest. This was the boat that shuttled us to and from Cairns to the bigger boat, Ocean Quest, that we stayed on for both nights.

Back on Reef Quest, approaching Cairns harbor.

Back in Cairns, a couple of photos of the sunset from our hotel room.

Playing pool in Sapphire Bar.

Dinner al fresco at Perrotta's.

Next up, exploring the rainforest north of Cairns, then on to Brisbane!