Cairns

07 Sep 2024 - Austin Shen

Without a doubt the best scuba diving I have ever done in my life. And such a privilege to see parts of the Great Barrier Reef before climate change and coral bleaching destroys too much of the marine ecosystem that it is famous for. I was with Jerry, Claire, and Reshma, and we all splurged a little on a liveaboard called the Spirit of Freedom, which really felt like it was a cut above the rest. We were able to do things that were only offered by this group: a low altitude flight from Cairns to Lizard Island, which itself is far outside the mainstream “Ribbon” reefs; dives in the Red Sea near Osprey Island; and to witness a shark feeding frenzy for “research”. All of which were incredible experiences that added so much to our trip on top of the obvious stuff like an incredible crew, safe dive masters, and delicious food. I got my dual-strobe underwater camera setup working just in time for this trip, and so was able to take some really incredible underwater photos.

There were so many diving highlights - too many to list exhaustively. For me, the big one was watching a cuttlefish lay an egg into reef. I’d seen cuttlefish eggs hidden in reef before in the Philippines, but on this particular dive I was able to witness a single cuttlefish produce an egg from it’s tenticles (mouth and reproductive system?), swim over from the protection of its family, and place the egg carefully into the reef. We were also able to watch as a critically endangered Hawskbill Sea Turtle swam up to Jerry directly, getting within a few centremetres of his face before turning and swimming away. We saw genuine Clownfish - the same as Nemo, and learned how they differ from the other Anenomefish. And we had a night dive on the reef, where the small colourful fish that are abundant in the day disappear into the reef, and the large predators come out to hunt. With our lights, we were able to direct Giant Trevalley, Reef Sharks (White-tip and Grey), Coral Trout and other large fish into a frenzy, like something out of the Blue Planet David Attenborough documentary. And these predators were massive - large enough to knock us out cold should they choose, but I still felt that the biggest risk thing was swimming against mild current. The others even saw the elusive Leopard Shark, which was unfortunately on the dive one that I decided to sit out. Reshma didn’t see it either but the others seem to forget that part :)

I found the adventure above the water to be equally as enjoyable. The Daintree Rainforest is older than the Amazon at 130 million years old, and home to so many incredible plants, animals and insects. We did a nocturnal tour with a particularly enthusiastic guide, who showed us that the trees glow if their bark gets wet and you turn off your lights. He showed us rare spider species, pointed out various types of frogs, and encouraged us to listen to the sounds of the forest, as they tell you what is around better than they eyes can. We learned about the devastation that Cyclone Jasper caused to the ecosystem; destroying trees such that you could see past the rainforest canopy, and eliminating mammal life from the lower rainforest. We didn’t see any Casowaries, but were able to spot a few crocodiles and some beautiful birds on the boat tours.

Best of all though, as always, was the company. We don’t all get to see each other particularly much (except for Jerry who I see all the time), with Reshma working away and Claire having a busy job and home life, so it was so much fun to spend that week together. We shared delicious and strange tropical fruits, lots of yummy food, laughs, and all of these wonderful experiences.