2005 Australia

First Leg: June 19-24, 2005

The boat: Undersea Explorer out of Port Douglas, Queensland.
This was the 3rd trip aboard Undersea Explorer for Ben and I. We love the boat. The boat is well maintained and the crew are always there for you. I have never had any problem with the shared bathrooms. On this trip there were three researchers aboard. All our questions were answered and the seminars were very informative.

Focus of the leg: Swimming with Minke Whales (Southern Minke Whales)

Dive Sites: Ribbon Reef #3-10

Water Temperature: 77-81 F (25-27 C)

According to Captain Jon our trip was the best Minke Whale encounter they had for last 10 years. Every guests had at least one eye hopping with the whale, and some siting on scuba. There is nothing more we could have asked. Scuba diving at the Challenger's Bay was my best dive ever. The water was so calm that there was not even a ripple. The reef doubled its beauty by the mirror image on the surface.

The Group: From left Glenn Spoerl, Kyoko Takayama, Ben Odegard, Brian Ladd, Mari and Bill Conaway, and Richard Moore.

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2nd Leg: Daintree Rainforest, June 24-28, 2005

The Lodge: Heritage Lodge, Daintree, Queensland.
    This was the second time for Ben and I to stay there. For our surprise we found the new chef was genius. We ate great food. Seafood platter alone could feed four of us. It had scallops, lobster, shrimps, and balamundi. His camel pie was to die for. I highly recommend to visit there.

Focus of the leg: Rainforest
    When I saw a Cassowary, the resident bird of the rainforest and the biggest in Australia, approached Glenn, I thought our trip was over. We heard so many stories about this bird attacking people. And then Glenn did something unimaginable. He mimicked to attack the bird. Fortunately for both the bird and him, the bird backed off. If a bird attacks the person, it has to be removed one way or another. The manager at the lodge told us later that the bird was probably fed before and was looking for a hand out.
    Another residents of Australia are crocodiles. People do not swim in the river. We took a river tour and saw crocodiles, tree snakes, butterfly, birds (kingfisher, blue heron), and lots of mangroves. The ecosystem of the Daintree is diverse.

3rd leg: June 28-July 1, 2005

The boat: Siesta out of Townesville, Queensland
    The price of the boat is inexpensive, but we do not recommend this operation ProDive in Townesville. Because of the poor maintenance of the boat some parts fell off, the navigation system did not work on way back, food was lousy and safety measure was questionable. Most of the guests were taking openwater certification, and they tell you how dangerous it could be to dive Yongala, and still one instructor took all the students including the one who was seasick to their first deep dive to 100ft. We were very glad that everybody came back safe.

Focus of the leg: Wreck Yongala
    I heard this is one of the best dive site in Australia and I believe it. The day we dove the swells were big but there was not much current on the surface. The wreck was covered with the big fish and coral. Unfortunately it is deep and there is no place for the boat to anchor, so it is not easy to dive this wreck.