Queensland Term Abroad

Lady Elliot Island

Lady Elliot V — 30 September

Today's was a spectacular dive for the SCUBA crew. The location was a labyrinth of coral on the edge of the reef called 'The Tubes'. Although coral reefs may seem like complex and chaotic places, it turns out that most reef dwellers spend most of their lives in just a small patch of real estate. Consequently, the dive masters could guide us to places where we are likely to see some of Lady Elliot's senior residents. Today we saw giant (very very old) sea turtles, rays, eels and a white-tipped reef shark silhouetted in the sky light above. As you'll see from the boat shots, the sea got a little rough in the afternoon as the winds switched to the south. These unusual south winds kept our divers in the shallows for much of the rest of the field trip.