Scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef was one of the most mind-blowing experiences of my life. No where else have I seen so much wildlife concentrated in one place – sea turtles, reef sharks, sting rays, giant clams, sea cucumbers, and fish and coral of seemingly infinite varieties. Even now, after several days on dry land, I can still recall the feeling of dropping underwater from the surface of the ocean, emptying my BCD and equalizing the pressure spaces in my ears as I slowly descend into an aquatic wonderland. Suddenly I can acutely hear my breathing, move my body nearly weightlessly in any direction, and stare up at the light refracting on the surface of the ocean as my air bubbles drift upwards from my regulator. It’s amazing what life develops in a world without the restraints of gravity. I did 11 dives over three days at sea on a live-aboard boat with ProDive Cairns. Perhaps most memorable was the dive in which a large bat fish followed my dive-buddy and I around, swimming circles around us for for well over half and hour, until it found a green sea turtle that looked more interesting and decided to swim after it instead. Some pictures from the dives (and of the bat fish) can be found here.
The Great Barrier Reef is enormous – 340,000 square kilometers to be exact. That’s half the size of Texas and the size of seven Great Britain’s. It’s the largest marine park in the world and the only living thing that is visible from the moon with the naked eye. Actually, the term Great Barrier Reef is a bit of a misnomer, as it actually is a conglomeration of 3,000 smaller reefs. The area is host to 1500 fish species, the highest diversity of fish found anywhere in the world. Like so many places today, the reef is at risk due to global warming. Coral is very sensitive and can only live in waters of a certain temperature, and if the ocean becomes too warm than the organisms living in the coral die, leaving just a bleached white skeleton behind. Of course, with the carbon footprint I’m leaving behind from my trip, I can’t really speak on this subject but from the perspective of a hypocrite. It is sadly ironic that all of the tourists flocking to see the reef are contributing to its demise.
In other news in Australia, yesterday the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has issued an official apology to the aboriginal people of Australia for past oppression and assimilation policies. It’s a pretty big step here, a country in which indigenous people didn’t have rights as citizens until the early 1970s. Indigenous tribes in Australia – of which there are hundreds – have the oldest continually maintained cultures in the world, having come to the continent over 40,000 years ago. An Australian I met highly recommended John Pilger’s book, A Secret Country, for reading on the history of what happened to the aboriginal peoples since British colonization. I don’t know a lot of the details yet myself, but I have learned enough to know that it is a sad and apalling tale of genocide that rivals that of the Native American communities in the United States.
And with that unhappy thought, it is time for me to go and pack my bag. Tomorrow Anne and I fly to Mumbai, India (we’ll meet up with Lou again when we reach Nepal next month). Our trip is about to take a big turn, as we leave Oceania after eight weeks of exploring Australia and New Zealand. Our time here has been wonderful – we’ve met so many kind and interesting people and seen so many breathtaking sites – that I only hope I can return again soon (perhaps on a biodiesel airplane?).
-Julie
Posted by julieanneluthien 
