Bart telling us about the fig tree behind him...
The fig tree
This gives it some scale with Leon and I at the bottom
A nice lake among the rainforest outside of Cairns
Seems like everything has thorns and/or poison in Australia
One of the many waterfall pools we went swimming in
Enormous crater caused by gas released from under the ground
Boarding the dive boat (behind me) for my warm-up 3 dives before the live-aboard trip
On the dive boat discussing diving and traveling
Our plane to get to Lizard island, where our live-aboard was waiting
Taking in the reef from a different perspective
In the dinghy to the boat (in the distance)
I had the bottom bunk
On the top deck getting some sun before we dive the reef behind me
Getting ready for our night dive, hard to see here but swarms of fish were waiting for us below...
All aboard
Me doing my nitrox course
Annareike suits up for a dive
I hop in for a dive
Here I think I am checking my dive computer (on my wrist) to see how much longer I can stay at depth
Reading up on nitrox in-between dives
This is a botched panorama - but I like it anyways
Kerrin gives us one of many dive briefings - this one for the Challenger Bay night dive
Very eerie only seeing other diver's flashlights
Cute little poisonous pufferfish
My toes took a beating from wearing tight fins
Here I proudly wear the nitrox label on my tank after passing the course
Laurence the trip photographer
Olive sea snake - very poisonous, but not aggressive at all
Lion fish
Nemo fish!
Sleepy turtle
Sea snake coming up for air
Just passing by, thankfully
The only aggressive fish we encountered - the titan triggerfish. Will describe more in the blog...
Dinner time
Kerrin briefs us on what to expect the next day
The dive deck
The light green on the left is the top of 'lighthouse bommie' a tall cylinder of coral reaching 110ft
One of the dive maps highlighting what to look for
Champagne on the last day after our diving was done. Note the Christmas spirit
Enjoying the sunset
Even captain Trevor helped out with that night's festivities
Classic Aussie BBQ
Another giant step into the water
There was certainly no lack of fish here...
Looks like she's standing on the water!
Nemo and tiny baby nemo!
Relaxing up top. That's me in the black
My two most frequent dive buddies - Annarieke and Mark
All of us mingling and discussing favorite dives and travel plans
Even the crew were in a festive mood
