Great Barrier Reef

Here are some, okay, a ton of pictures from the liveaboard trip we took on the Great Barrier Reef. I could have stayed forever. Now, unlike Brian, I can't look at coral and know it's acropora or cladiella or sarcophyton, but I do know I've never seen coral in such quantities and variety. I'd also never seen soft coral or anemones before on a dive--watching the reef move and dance in the surge was just mesmerizing. The reef seemed to go on forever and ever. There were fantastic mazes to explore in just 5-20 feet right next to sheer cliffs, and tunnels and atolls and...You get the idea!

Cairns marina...felt like we were in Hawaii it was so lush!

View of the reef from our 'hotel'

Pink Clownfish

Yellowtail fusiliers

Unicorn tangs

Interrupting naptime

How many PJ cardinal fish can you count hiding in the coral?

How many people can a nearly 5' clam feed?

Stingray

Star pufferfish at a cleaning station

Golden spadefish--these were everywhere

Male and female purple anthias.

White tip reef sharks--saw tons of these guys

Coral Grouper

He's tiny, but the juvenile dragon wrasse is pretty crazy looking! Click on photo to enlarge

More pink clownfish. The anemone was beautiful!

Hubba bubba Sweet Lips!

One of my favorite fish from the trip--6 Banded Angelfish

Moorish Idol

Lionfish

Buffalo Parrotfish. This was one of the best moments of the trip--we were in about 10' of water on a sandy bottom surrounded by coral when a herd, literally a HERD, of about 20 of these came charging over the coral and swarmed around us in a feeding frenzy. They use their heads to break the coral and are in desperate need of a trip to the dentist.

We ran into them again on a later dive.

Not bad for an underwater self portrait....though Bri could work on his smeyes ;-)

Doesn't the surface of the water look fantastic?!

Back on land--next stop Port Douglas