Snorkeling Gili

I spent many hours snorkeling at Gili Trawangan, Indonesia- it was the best of any where I've ever been! I saw so many creatures, many of which you would not normally see just snorkeling: lionfish; moray eel, turtles, nemo clownfish, crabs, well camoflaged rockfish, cuttlefish (squid), triggerfish, trumpetfish, red, orange & blue Christmas tree worms, sea stars, & schoools of thousands of fish surrounded me. The color & variety of coral & fish was amazing. The cuttlefish I saw actually hung around & let me take it's photo from every angle at extremely close range: his back constantly changed, like electric waves of color flowing through him, & he had spots that would come & go in black & white. What an amazing natural pheneomenon to watch. The first day snorkeling I regretably didn't take my camera, but the second day I decided to try out the waterproof Olympus - some of the photos turned out great. (I highly recommend the shockproof & waterproof Stylus Tough camera to anyone traveling.)
I also spotted an interesting looking mini lobster-like creature with vibrant colors scuttling along the bottom; I later asked at the dive shop what it was & learned it is a Boxing Mantis Shrimp: the strongest animal in the world in relation to it's body size & weight. I also went diving off Gili, which was excellent as well, however the current was very strong & we moved along the wall so quickly it was hard to spot as much as when I snorkeled; even with the dive guide finding & showing us creatures, I didn't see anything I hadn't seen snorkeling on my own. After the first dive I decided it was better to save my $ & just spend my time snorkeling. The visibility was excellent; the water so clear. I am excited to share a few of the photos.

Gili Trawangan Island

The Gili Islands are between Bali & Lombak, Indonesia, & the perfect specimen of tranquility with white sand beaches & the most magnificent hues of green/blue water. I spent 4 days & nights on the biggest & most active of the 3 Gilis: Gili Trawangan. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, only bicylcles & a few horse carriages which go zooming by at alarming speeds on the dirt roads. There are lots of good seafood restaurants on the water, many dive shops, & quite a range of accomodations: from luxurious villas known to house celebrities, to inexpensive guesthouses.
I enjoyed relaxing on the island, had several deliscious fresh fish dinners, collected shells at Coral Beach, walked all the way around the island at sunset one evening, & spent many hours on the beach swimming. The night life was good here, the Irish Bar had a diverse scene every evening, & I actually met quite a few friendly Irish gals & other people of many nationalities, including Brazilians & Argentines.
On my dive trip, Alexis was my dive partner, a sweet Canadian gal living in Melbourne, AU. She suggested we rent bicycles & ride to see the sunset - a popular activity on the island. She had found a great little beach bar that served Sangria & tapas & built fires on the beach. Biclycling here, while entertaining, was much harder than I had imagined. The road around the island is deep sand in places & very rough; a few times we had to get off & push. It was hilarious actually, & we were sweating from the work out by the time we found the sunset spot. On our way back it was pitch dark, besides the abundance of stars. Luckily I had a flashlight in my bag, but I thought sure I would end up breaking some part of my body hitting one of the potholes in the dark. We made it back to town unscathed, miraculously. A Frenchman that had dived with us, Francois, joined us & we picked out our own grouper for dinner at one of the seaside restaurants.

Cape Truibulation Day Tour

I took all an day tour from Cairns to Cape Tribulation, which took us up the Captain Cook Hwy. This winding drive North along the Coast has actually been named a World Heritage Site, which touches another World Heritage Site: the Great Barrier Reef. The guide was a hilarious Aussie male, who entertained us during the drive. We drove through sugar cane fields & learned about the cane toads, which have been a bane to Australia. There were originally 102 toads brought to Australia to help rid beetles; they have multiplied into hundreds of millions with no end in sight & do not have any natural predators.
We drovethrough Port Douglas, a lovely town, a bit fancier of an area where many celebrities have visited, including former President Clinton. Kylie Minogue & Olivia Newton John, among others, have coastal homes here. We drove through the Daintree Rainforest & walked the trail to the Mossman Gorge. Some of the younger participants on the tour went for a swim, but the water was shockingly cold, so I refrained. We stopped at the Daintree Wild Zoo to see crocs, snakes & kangaroos. one of the kangaroos kept trying to jump on my back, it was so cute! Another started boxing one of the guys.
We got to Cape Tribulation and took a nature walk through the mangroves. We learned about the flora & fauna & saw some majestic views. After a walk along the beach we enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back South. We got to stop for ice cream at a local shop, where we tasted Wattleseed, Soursop, & Jackfruit ice creams - they were really tasty. Wattleseed was my fave - lightly sweet & creamy.
We had to hurry to make it on time for our Croc cruise, where we embarked on a boat for an hour & 1/2 ride down the river to search for wildlife. We didn't see alot, unfortunately, only 1 croc & a few birds, including blue & red kingfishers. It was still worthwhile, although I would'be liked to do it at night, & suspect we would've seen a lot more after dark. It made me eager to go to South America to see some real wildlife.

Great Barrier Reef

I got to Cairns & went with ProDive on a 3 day liveaboard dive boat, Scuba Pro II out to the Great Barrier Reef. I did 11 dives in the 3 days & got my advanced dive certification. This means I can dive to greater depths & do wreck dives. I had a tiny cabin but the food was plentiful & it was a blast. I realize now why it is called the Great Barrier Reef: the multitude & variety of fish was spectacular. I saw lots of rays, including a great bull ray. We saw turtles, nudibranchs, sharks, beautiful colorful corals of all shapes, brilliant sparkling blue/green/purple giant clams, cuttlefish, sea cucumbers, starfish, & much more. As part of the advanced PADI course, I practiced nagivation skills, underwater photography, underwater naturalist, deep dives & night dives. My dive buddy, Shane, was a Texan currently working in Afghanistan as a security contractor. The dive team was great, they had us up early getting into our gear & in the water.