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two humpback whales appeared
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date: 20/8/2009
Author:Nick Brennan
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Weather: Sunny
Air Temp: ºC
Wind: East/ South East 5-10 knots
Water Temp: 21ºC
Water Visibility: 20m+
Sea State: Calm
Today provided spectacular conditions to explore the Great Barrier Reef.
The glass bottom boat came around to the coral gardens this morning where the visibility was pristine. Out the back of the coral gardens was a well developed current line with a few manta rays there to exploit the abundance of plankton in the water. The snorkelers could hardly contain their excitement to get in amongst them. They were lucky to see a very large black Manta Ray gliding effortlessly. The action was short but sweet and the Manta’s disappeared back into the blue distance leaving guests with some great photos and glowing memories. Under the water guests could hear the booming of whale songs. Then without warning two humpback whales appeared no more than 100metres away. Snorkelers were absolutely blown away. They had seen two of the giants of the ocean within 10 minutes of each other.
The divers had one of the rarest moments we might hope to imagine on the eastern side of the island this morning. A school of pygmy devil rays glided gracefully over the group with perhaps only the guide realizing at the time just how special this is. These creatures are an exact miniature version of the devil rays that are also very rare. One guest described them as “Like a flock of birds flying in a perfect V formation. Sensational.”
In the evening guests came along to Reef Bingo in the bar. It was a great turnout and the group played some very fast and exciting games often ending in laughter, and perhaps some frantic confusion! The night topped off what was a mind boggling day out here on the reef.
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