Once more into The Final Frontier

We finished our venture into the great blue as it began, with a leisurely snorkel together. The experiences of one, no matter how great or small, are enriched by those who share it with them. Although my diving was much my own and can only be shared through the pictures I took, I am so grateful to have been able to share the overall experiences with my wife. With but one last chance to get into the water, we donned our wetsuits one last time.

There was no shortage of new sights on this dive as we ventured around a rather large coral reef. A spectacular clam with florescent blue mantle was perched high up on the reef and highly visible even through snorkeling. We found yet more beautiful butterflyfish fluttering over plates and globular corals as well as yet another species of anemonefish.

One of the more interesting finds, and yet another new sight for both of us were the unicorn fish, black with a large protrusion out of the fish's forehead.

Another great sighting was a large predatory fish, I believe a trevally, swimming around the perimeter of the reef. It was most fortunate that Mary-Ellen was there to spot this wonderful predator as I was far to engrossed in the small fish over the reef.

We went around the reef once, then decided to go around again given how far it would be to travel to the next reef. It was hard to believe this amazing experience was coming to a close, that we would be sailing away from the incredible sights we had seen. A truly fantastic venture into one of the worlds most iconic marine environments. It was a childhood dream come true as we swam through our own real-life episode of the The Last Frontier.

As we began to get cold we started back to the boat, noticing below us a few divers. Just to give you some perspective, they were about 25 metres down, which is farther than you will likely ever see in the Bay of Fundy.

Back on the boat, we cleaned our gear and started packing our bags as the boat pulled away from the reefs. Drying out, we reminisced with the many friends we had made on this journey in the bright winter sunlight.

The most extraordinary adventure we had taken this far in our lives was ending. A childhood fantasy fulfilled and experienced with the most important person in my life. This would be an adventure we would not soon be able to forget.

After three hours, one sea snake, and a lot of sun, we were pulling into Cairns and thanking the crew for the wonderful time. Back through the park which was still loud with the chatter of flying mammalians and one bird of prey sitting above the colony. Finally tossing our bags down in our room, we relaxed and grabbed some food before settling down for the evening.

We laid in bed that night in a bit of a daze, both exhausted and exhilarated from the last two days. We drifted off to sleep, our bodies still swinging in the motion of the boat and our dreams vibrantly laden with the colours of fish and coral.