While our friends in the northern hemisphere were freezing, we were setting out for a 4-night liveaboard adventure on the Spoilsport. It wasn’t easy to fall asleep that night after we left Cairns, knowing that in the morning we’d be at Ribbon Reefs.
The first dive of the journey was at Cod Hole, which offers the option of staying in a shallow coral garden filled with little critters or going just a little deeper. We didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see the famous potato cod here, so we braved the current and went face-to-face with some of the biggest fish I’ve ever seen, along with some smallish reef sharks.
Challenger Bay, the Snake Pit, and Gotham City were some other spots we dived the first day in Australia. This was my first time encountering Olive Sea Snakes, which freaked me and some others in the group out a bit at first, but which ended up being curious and mild-mannered. Manta rays, turtles, and a few more sharks were some of the other creatures we saw during these dives.
Friday night, the boat took us out beyond the Great Barrier Reef and into the Coral Sea itself. I slept like a rock, and after a light breakfast, it was off to another day of diving. This time we found ourselves at Osprey Reef. The Fairy Grotto was the first site of the day. Visibility was incredible, and the walls covered in colorful corals were everything I had hoped they would be. Swimthroughs and caverns added a special magic, and of course there were little animals and tropical fish everywhere.
Admiralty Anchor, False Entrance, and North Horn were some of the other highlights. Massive schools of tuna, lots of barracuda, plenty of parrotfish, and loads of sharks made me forget about my sunburned shoulders!
Our journey came to an end at Lizard Island, where we took a flight back to Cairns. It was hard to say goodbye to Australia, but I know I’ll be back for more someday in the future.