Cod Almighty!

Pass me that bucket Andy! We just returned from a 4 day dive safari on the Great Barrier Reef. Seeking the poshest and most fancy of expeditions, we opted for Taka Dive for our much-anticipated trip. The biggest draw was the opportunity to visit the world-famous Cod Hole, home to some giant potato cod and hopefully much more besides. The trouble with many trips to the Barrier Reef is that from the beach outwards, it is slowly dying. The nearer you are to Cairns, the more chance of it being over-trafficked, and at full bombardment from all kinds of man-made nightmares such as pollution. Rather than suffer some sub-standard diving, we were going to explore the outer reefs for some of the most pristine coral and marine-life around.

As we boarded the calm waters of Cairns that evening, we had no idea what was in store for us as the night progressed. This was to be our first ever liveaboard, so we didn't know quite what to expect. Adding to a group of 30 divers, we were welcomed on board by friendly, professional crew and had our first dive brief as we set sail. We were to sail up to the Cod Hole, a dive site some 13 hours North and roughly parallel with Cookstown. By the end of the dive brief, we were both feeling quick sick, so escaped dinner to seek refuge on the deck, in a bid to stare at the darkening horizon. Everyone else seeked OK, stuffing their dinner down and having a few beers. After medicating ourselves, we shot off to bed for an early night. Being the cheapskates we are, we were sharing a cabin with two blokes - one of whom was very strange and did a lot of staring at the ceiling. Stepping outside the cabin some time later revealed that someone had vomited right outside our door. It was pretty horrendous and what was more, it looked like we were responsible for the pea and carrot carnage.

Possibly the longest night in maritime history ensued as we rolled all over the place. At one point, it actually felt like we might be thrown from our bunks. I can safely say neither of us had a wink of shut-eye. During the night I'd gone upto the 'living room' as I was sure I could hear water leaking in. This location was no more settling, as I was able to hear the pots and pans being thrown around in the galley, the swivel chairs were wanging around of their own accord and the waves were crashing onto the deck. By the morning, the sea was calm and the reef (light green) beckoned us from the deck.

Unsurprisingly, we weren't feeling top-notch for first couple of dives at a site called Challenger Bay. Due to unseasonally rough conditions, it was too dangerous out at Cod Hole. that would have to wait until later. Nontheless, Challenger Bay provided us with pretty amazing dives. It was also our first time to go not in pursuit of an instructor, but just to dive in buddy pairs. After a spot of bother equalising my ears, we were in hot pursuit of a vast array of reef fish and pristine colourful coral. With a visibility of 25 metres, we were treated to sights of Unicorn Fish (second picture), Angelfish, Butterfly fish, a pair of Baracuda - film - (I think they were married), a large Blue Triggerfish, a huge Bumphead Parrotfish, Moorish Idols, Blue Sea Star, Table, Fire and Staghorn corals, Clown Triggerfish, Pineapple Sea Cucumber and an impressively large beige/yellow Maori Wrasse. Somehow Mr. Breathing-Control chugged all of his air pretty quickly, so we had to surface sooner than planned (he was excited, bless him).

After a mouthful of lunch (still suffering slightly) we arrived at the Cod Hole. This was to be the only time we were to dive as a group (and when there are 30 of you, that's a good thing). The residual current and the surface waves were a bit off-putting, but we stuck to the secret of being one of last to enter the water. This means, you spend less time getting thrown about and can descend quickly where the conditions are much better. As soon as we began our descent, we could see schools of big Red Bass circling the boat. To quote our dive master Andreas, Red Bass are a "prick of a fish" and proceeded to show us the scars they'd inflicted upon him in the past. Obviously wise to the knowledge of an easy feed, they swarmed around us ready for lunch. They have an initial white colouring, and turn red when they get excited or aggressive. They are poisonous if eaten and their dracula fangs were certainly a bit scary. We were all thankful to not be the one carrying the food bucket. One poor girl was having a terrible day and as soon as she put her foot in the water (no fins on), one took a chunk out of her foot!

We battled with the current for a short while until we reached the sandy cod feeding area. Here, we all formed as best a circle as was possible under the conditions (film), and watched the tea party commence. Along came the friendly potato cod, with his friend, the Maori Wrasse. Despite their size, they are very gentle and inquisitive so will stay with you for a long time. At this point, I noticed that the circle appeared to be smaller. As I looked around me, I realised that the surge had swept me into the middle of the circle and there I was face to face with the Maori Wrasse. He was gorgeous and I was able to clearly see the markings on his cheeks after which he is named. I then noticed that Andy was stroking the Potato Cod, who was acting just like an underwater labrador and seemed to be loving the attention it was receiving. Andreas seemed to be batting away Red Bass left right and centre and I think he was relieved when all the fish-food was gone (film). We then made our way to Shark Ally, where I was blissfully unaware of a 5 foot White-Tip Shark just next to us! Note the manic expression!

After dinner, it was almost time for the night dive (film). Not wanting to rock my newly-found confidence, I chickened out as it was truly dark by the time everyone had their gear on. Undeterred by jumping into inky waters full of night-predators (doesn't he realise that's when the big fellers come out for tea?), Andy teamed up with some Brazilian bird and off they went. Seeing them all in the water it looked more like some kind of search and rescue operation than something you might want to do recreationally. I paced about quite a lot waiting to see that little monkey-face pop back to the surface I can tell you.

That night we were only sailing for three hours and I didn't even hear the anchor dropping at midnight, so asleep was I after dinner and a beer. Conditions were so much calmer being stationary, that I think everyone had some welcome rest. The next morning, we got up for Steve's Bommie. Steve was an engineer on on of the dive boats and he's gone off for a solo dive (silly boy), never to be seen again. His body and SCUBA equipment have never been found, but it's thought that he went too deep for too long, got nitrogen narcosis and then just went off blue-water diving and ran out of air. I have to say, the dive briefs were never the most relaxing, but the crew were very on the ball and always checked out the current and conditions before we went down. The on-board engineer was a reassurrance, even if he seemed to be a bit of a nightmare.

A "Bommie", in case you're wondering is derived from the Aboriginal word 'bombora,' meaning submerged rock. It is used to describle large coral outcrops which rise towards the surface. Steve's begins 35 metres below sea level, where Wobbegong (carpet) sharks can be found. If you dive 30 metres or deeper you're pretty sure to get 'Narc'd' - sensation not dissimilar to having a few beers at lunchtime. Then you start to do scary things like pass your regulator over oncoming fish. In light of what happened to Steve, I was reluctant to go below 25 metres, so we began our dive at around 24 metres and slowly ascended by swimming around the Bommie. It proved to be an incredible, the pinnacle swathed in vibrant hard and soft corals, anemones and sea fans and sponges. The tip of the Bommie lies only 5 metres from the surface and if anything, the last

15 metres is the most stunning as a greater proportion of light is available to penetrate the water. Critters observed included a massive yellow Nudibranch, a couple of beautiful Lionfish,, Orange-lined Triggerfish, Pink Anemonefish (film) and Black Anemonefish, schooling Big-Eyed Trevally, Harlequin Sweetlips, Giant Clams, Coral Cod, Baracuda and the elusive Flame File Shell. Apparently, you won't find these things anywhere else in the world and appear attractive to fish by their red glowing light inside. Thought to be due to an ongoing chemical reaction, the fish think it's a disco and head on in, only they never leave the party.

A second dive (film) at this site revealed many of the same and much much more. We saw two Leaf-Scorpionfish which are very cool little scorpion fish which vaguely resemble leaves. They are very poisonous and not to be touched!! Hundreds of schooling Scale-Fin Anthias, Forcepfish and Orange-Spine Unicornfish and Regal Angelfish. The afternoon dive at Princess Bommie revealed delights not quite up to the previous standard, but I did find a lovely Flowery Cod, who just looked at me for about 10 minutes, having his photo taken. By the time everyone else had caught up, he must have felt like he was on the red carpet as everyone was flashing away. Several Cow-Faced Boxfish, Coral Beauties and Pennant Bannerfish later and that was day 2 over. This time, we both declined the offer of the night dive - especially upon hearing there was a bit of a current. How scary would that be??!! Lost at sea in the dark!

After another extremely turbulent night at sea, we were now only 3 hours away from Cairns. A rude awakening at 6am after very little sleep, meant a few of us sleepily made our way to get our wetsuits on. The sea had been so rough that our gear hadn't had chance to dry out as waves were breaking on deck throughout the night. It was cold! Luckily the sea temperature was about 24 degrees, so a half-wetsuit was enough for me. Andy did his best to look attractive by upping his insulation levels with the aid of a wetsuit material body suit which was like an old lady's bed jacket which fastened under his crotch with velcro'd gusset. Mmmm...

We were in the water by 6:15 and there was barely any sunlight. Due to our proximity with civilisation and city life, the visibility was reduced from 30metres of the previous day to around 10 metres. A few Nudibranchs and a bit of a play with the Christmas Tree Worms and this time I was glad when Andy signalled we should start our ascent. After brekkie, we did the same site again by which point there was much more light in the water and things looked more appealing. We then set sail for the final leg of the journey - back to dry land. Several hours after docking, and we were still feeling really 'boaty,' but were very relieved to get back to the camper and have a proper nights sleep!!! All-in-all the Barrier Reef was a fantastic experience. I've made many underwater friends. Maybe next time we decide to go on a liveaboard, the sea will be a bit kinder to us!




Listening to: Bic Runga - Beautiful Collision





Currently Reading: Joanne Lees - No Turning Back