My First Ocean Dives

After a 3-hour boat ride out to Wheeler Reef, well off Magnetic Island, we got into the water rather quickly. The first dive was a general tour of a section of the reef that has a shallow portion (no more than 9 meters deep but mostly 3 meters) and a deeper section (30 meters) before sloping off into the deep. We dove at low tide, so some of the reef was actually above water, and the birds had a fun time getting fish that were trapped in the small pools. We also saw large schools of mackerel feeding, but the guides did not take pictures of that.

The crew was not set up for video, as this was a fairly new dive operator. Too bad, but I do have several good pics to share.

That's a bubble by my head.

I don't remember seeing this much of the reef exposed, but I didn't look off the bow. The snorkelers were given floatation "noodles."

Not bad bouyancy!

I was most impressed by the barracuda, the sea cucumbers (they were large!), and the giant clams. They really are giant, measuring over 4 feet across. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_clam

Yup - he was there, along with all his friends and relatives.

It was great fun to glide through this cloud of fish, have them part, and then form up all around me. Way cool.