July 23, 2012 - we finally left Cairns and headed south. The cruising is a bit splashy, but we expected as much. Once the boats are all salty the oceans level out. We pull into the anchorage at Dunk Island and have a peaceful night with minimal swell - didn't even have to put out a flopper. The next morning sees us heading out at day break, bound for Otter Reef and our hopes are high for some good diving. The conditions are awesome, the sun is shinning, the winds are an easy 10 to 15 knots and the water is nearly flat. Unbelievable. We have to dodge our way through the bommies, which we can't see very well but our Angels guide us to a safe stop over a beautiful sandy spot with water so clear we can see the bottom. Imagine! There are turtles in the area, because I saw one while anchoring. Eric and Ann pick us up and the four of us head out to find the perfect dive spot. Well we searched and searched, but couldn't seem to get into any water deeper than 30 feet. Because we are at water level with the whaler, we can't see the color variations well enough to get clear of the reef and what we thought was forever for distance probably wasn't (just driving around in little circles and thinking we've gone a long way). We finally found a spot where there were a couple of deeper spots and we flipped over the side. What looked like it would be a really bad dive (initial looks indicated no coral, few fish) was actually - in my opinion - a very interesting dive. The visibility was the best we have had so far in Australia, making that a huge positive. The area is terribly fished out, only a couple of large sturgeons and one grouper hiding in the shadows and a medium amount of tiny fish. The corals and sponges, though sparse, are beautiful specimens, nicely formed, colorful and large. We found four gigantic, giant clams and came across a turtle feeding; it is still a thrill to see them in their own environment. The water is only 70 degrees, still comfortable in our 5 mil suits.

 

There isn't enough time to do a second dive - well there is if we pushed it, but Eric and Ann were frozen and we didn't really have any place spectacular to head too, so we cleaned up the gear and just enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in a lazy way. It was so nice and warm on the back of the boat and it seems like we haven't seen much sunshine for so long, that I couldn't resist laying out on the swim platform to absorb it, much like a seal sunning. Eric and Ann came over for Happiness Time during which we planned our next few days and savored some of our finer Australian wines.

 

The evening water was "flat", a phenomenon we haven't encountered here yet. Remember, we are anchored in the open ocean behind a bump in the ocean floor that doesn't even break the surface at low tide. Glen and I soaked it up by illuminating the crystal water behind us with the underwater boat lights. You would be so surprised at what creatures swim through the brightness. Maybe we are getting simple minded, because this was certainly a simple pleasure for us. When all the conditions are right, things just don't get any better and it is great. This is why we are here.