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Far Northern Trip
November 2002
Ocean Outback Expeditions Offer Scuba Diving Adventure in Liveaboard Luxury
Scuba diving visitors to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) have a new opportunity to explore wild Australia. The
M/V Nimrod Explorer, an 18-passenger liveaboard based in Cairns, Queensland, now offers a limited number of diving expeditions to the far northern reefs and Coral Sea.
The vessel began running expeditions to the far north in October of 2001, and the trips have exceeded expectations for both crew and passengers. Weather conditions from October through December in the GBR are such that the
Nimrod Explorer is often able to visit pristine dive sites that are normally inaccessible.
Nimrod Explorer Captain Ian Stapleton recalled the October 13, 2001 trip, departing from Lockhart River, as a perfect example of the diversity passengers can expect to see on the far north expeditions. "The weather was great the whole way through," Stapleton said. "We were able to 'discover' a lot of great sites we might not be able to reach at other times of the year."
Nimrod Explorer first anchored off the coast of Raine Island, a site that proved so popular that the passengers clamored to be allowed to spend more time there. A day and a half later, none were regretting it after some scheduled drift diving and an "open deck" session where divers did as much or as little as they wanted. Hundreds of green turtles visited the divers, especially around dusk when the turtles seemed attracted by the lights of the boat. One passenger spotted a rare leatherback turtle. A multitude of sharks put in an appearance, including grey whalers and whitetips. Schools of over 200 large buffalo fish, moray eels, nudibranchs, squarespot anthias, giant clams, and excellent coral coverage topped off this part of the trip.
At Boot Reef, the vessel visited a site called Boot Hill, which features a sheer wall down to a small ridge at 40 metres (130 feet) before dropping down to over 600 metres/2000 ft. The wall is covered with lovely soft corals, and excellent hard coral growth abounds in the shallows, harboring tens of thousands of reef fishes all going ballistic at the sight of these weird new bubbling "fish." Dozens of silvertip sharks cruised in close to take a look, with one cruising in
very close and allowing a passenger to take a full-frame head shot with a 15ml lens! Divers also caught sight of grey whalers and a hammerhead passing through, as well as thousands of black snapper, barracuda and big eye trevally (Jacks). A drift dive revealed an extraordinary amount of fans and soft corals on the sheer walls that dropped beyond the range of
Nimrod Explorer's depth sounder.
The
Nimrod Explorer moved on to a site at great Detached Reef, simply called The Pinnacle. Divers were treated to sightings of moray eels and brilliant yellow soft corals almost 6 feet in height. One side of The Pinnacle is almost completely covered with fans and on this day offered protection to hard-to-see scorpion fish, sea snakes, a turtle, shy sharks, and four species of anemone fish. One passenger found a tiny, tiny shell that eats the
tubastreas, or daisy coral - almost invisible camouflaged in the same bright yellow as their prey. A crew member caught a brief glimpse of a manta ray as it cruised past.
Black Rocks produced more sharks, including a large hammerhead, nurse sharks, silvertips, and grey whalers. Several divers were able to observe the behavior of mating turtles.
The Bligh Boat entrance, the spot where Captain Bligh entered into the shelter of the reef after being cast adrift by his mutinous crew, offered another drift dive rich in soft corals and gorgonian fans and thousands of small colourful reef fishes. Passengers and crew alike commented on the fantastic colours of this site.
Sightings of sharks and other pelagics are common on the
Nimrod Explorer's far north expeditions, and Tijou Reef was no exception, with five hammerheads putting in an appearance. On the dusk dive at South Tijou, all were treated to a visit by two manta rays, one measuring nearly four metres across the wings - a very big fish!
The trip concluded with a visit to the superb coral Gardens at Picasso's Reef and a dip in the Swimming Pool, where divers shared the water with barracuda, moray eels, another small manta and some eagle rays, and according to Captain Stapleton, about a "zillion" fusiliers. Come on, Captain a "zillion"?
We can't vouch for the zillion, but we do recommend that you check it out for yourself!
