News from the reef:
As we headed north the briefings began! We were ready to go when we pulled up to Norman Reef. Caves was the site for our check out dives. A great site to induct people into life on board Spirit of Freedom and to refresh peoples dive skills. On the 2 dives we saw sharks, nudibranchs and Giant Trevally patrolling the blue! With a great start to the trip we readied the boat for an all night voyage north to the Northern Ribbon Reefs.
As we emerged from our cabins we picked up the moorings at the World Famous Cod Hole! We spent the whole morning there and 2 dives! The first dive was us swimming around checking the place out and getting to know the resident Potato Cod. Adrian and Darcey came back on board with huge smiles on their faces as they reported coming within 8 metres of a 3.5 to 4 metre Tiger Shark!!! What a lucky buddy pair! The second dive we placed all the divers in a perfect human circle and gave morsels of food, bits of fish, to the hungry Potato Cod. One massive one came in for the feed and gave everyone a good show! We then moved south to Rods Rock in the search of Minke Whales! Before we even managed to tie the boat up the Minkes had moved in. With a militarystyle briefing reminding everyone of the regulations in place for swimming with the Minkes we jumped into the water! As we made our way along the mooring line several groups had a whale come in for a closer inspection! But they were still a little shy… As the whales weren’t close we made our way down to the main pinnacle and headed over to see the coral garden. A very colourful site! After Rods Rock we moved down to Ribbon Reef #9 and 3?4 and Captains Corner for a FAST paced drift dive!!! The adrenalin was pumping as we prepared for the night dive. For those who braved the relative cold it was an action packed dive! With Red Bass, GiantTrevally and Reef Sharks all hunting in the diver’s torch light!!!! A massive decorator crab was spotted also by many divers as he moved along the rubble. A salmon dinner and a nice rest was on the cards for the rest of the evening!
Wednesday morning saw us at Pixie Pinnacle. The pinnacle is covered in life from big sharks and Barracuda to Banded Pipefish and Anemone Fish. We then moved on to Lighthouse Bommie. A well known Minke Hotspot! And it didn’t disappoint!!!! Up to 3 individual whaled approached divers and snorkelers as they held onto the ropes provided. Giving everyone a fantastic, once in a lifetime experience! The lunch bell rang and we were forced to climb out of the water and head north to Snake Pit! The Snake Pit is one of our best sites and today it lived up to its reputation. With a slight current the fish life was going crazy! Olive Sea Snakes, Eagle Rays and Cobia were definitely the highlights! For the last dive of the trip we moved over to Cormorant Reef and a drift dive at Dynamite Pass. The current was pumping as we climbed into the tenders once again and made our way up the reef wall. As soon as we hit the water our drift back towards Spirit of Freedom had begun. We all relaxed and allowed the current to do all the work! A very relaxed, colourful dive to end the trip! With all the diving done we started to break down the gear and wash it as we cruised over to Lizard Island.
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