December 30, 2006: Queensland, Australia

A New Years in Australia 2007 dive

"Wheeler Reef (Townsville)" - "Reef Princess (Townsville)"

Diving off the northeast coast of Australia:

• Directions from Tampa: Um. Well, talk to a travel agent. It's in another hemisphere, no matter how you look at it ...
• Conditions on the day of my visit: Sunny and hot.
  
  
• Personal Notes: I'll have to look at my video and give this a bit better description. I do remember that the air conditioner was malfunctioning the night before, which meant no sleep (the rocking of the boat, while a problem for most, wasn't a big deal for me).
  
  I can't say the day wasn't memorable - I can only say I don't remember much of it, going through it in a slightly sleep deprived haze.
  
  We don't have much in the way of anemone fish in the Atlantic and Caribbean, so I do remember thinking it was nice seeing them, and there were quite a few. I came across a small colony of shrimpgobies and even got a photo of one with his shrimp. When I saw the Map Puffer, being that I recognized it as a puffer but also 50 times larger than any puffer (not porcupine or balloonfish) I had seen previously, I went after it with some abandon - and lost my buddy. No biggie, we made it back to the boat at around the same time.

Wheeler Reef (Townsville)
This is a giant Clam ... probably about two feet wide.
I'm guessing that this is some kind of Chromis fish but I don't know what kind.
My guess is that this is a Map Puffer. For a puffer, he's huge!
This is a Yellowtail.
Six Banded Angels were not uncommon, and aren't something you see in the Caribbean.
I looked but I couldn't quite identify this fish.
This I'm guessing is some kind of Anthias fish, but I don't know which one.
This is probably a blenny due to how he's sitting with his tail curved (gobies, according to my book, don't do this as much). What blenny exactly I have no clue.
These are (I think) Orange-Finned Anemonie Fish. While cautious, they didn't do any of the posturing that we would see another anemonie fish do later ...
A closer shot of the Orange-Finned Anemonie Fish.
This I'm guessing is a Shrimp Goby of some sort ... only because :
Here he is with a shrimp.
Reef Princess (Townsville)
Here are some Orange-Finned Anemonie Fish.
The Stag Horn Coral was incredibly healthy.
This Sea Star is waving!
This is probably a nudibranc but it could be a sea slug. I don't know which.
This is some kind of Sea Cucumber.
A Giant Clam.
Crinoids are very beautiful - though they look like plants, I think they're still considered animals. They tend to extend their tendrils at night.
Some Orange-Finned Anemonie Fish that haven't gone to bed yet.
Just some coral that looked kind of cool.
Another Crinoid opened up.
Crinoids come in all shapes and colors.