Here is a view of the ocean from Heron Island. You can see the depth of the water based on color. The more blue the water, the deeper it is. You can see another reef at the horizon.
The best activity when the tide was low was reef walking. The water is only knee deep at low tide. It was like one gigantic tide pool. Miles of tidepools.
They had viewing cones that eliminated glare and the movement of surface water that allowed you to better see what was going on underwater. It was a great opportunity to explore the reef.
Tou could walk between the clumps of coral and all of the sea creatures that live with the coral.
One of my favorites were the giant clams. Their lips were a variety of colors from blue to brown to black. This one is a fluorescent green color.
It was the time of year when the green turtles come on the island to lay their eggs. There were dozens of sea turtles. And the tides were perfect so that we could see them coming on the beach at sunset and laying eggs in the early morning. It was like being in a nature show.
There were green sea turtles everywhere. A student group on the Island counted more than 70 one morning on the beaches of Heron Island. The Island itself was pretty small. It too about a half-hour to walk all the way around the Island
The turtles climb above the high tide line and dig a hole.
Once they are happy with the hole they lay their eggs.
Dozens of eggs.
Once they have finished laying their eggs they cover them by using their flippers to throw sand and fill the hole.
But the best part is the snorkeling! Its like swimming in a giant aquarium.
There are hundreds of kinds of fish. Big fish and little fish. Simply amazing.
Lots of Yellow ones that were very beautiful.
Sometimes they were in big schools like these moon fish.
Tom got an underwater video camera that allowed him to take the still images above and the fish montage below.
This is an Angel Ray. It the type of ray that killed Steve Irwin (Crikee!). This one was about 5 feet long and had a stinger the size of a new pencil. I kept my distance.
Seeing the turtles in the water was amazing. On land they were very clumsy and slow. In the water they flew like birds.
There were also SHARKS! Reef sharks and nurse sharks. Sorry, no great whites. This one is a nurse shark.
It was fun to swim with the sharks. They would get quite close. Here is one I could have reached out and touched.
While Tom was swimming with the sharks Diane was on the jetty filming it. The Australians on the Pier though Tom was going to get bit. No blood, no foul, no problem. It was AWSOME!
Diane also found a Manta Ray. They way it glided through the water was just beautiful. Another part of the trip that will never be forgotten.
After 4 amazing days on Heron Island it was time to work. We were off to Melbourne and the Burnet Institute for the microscopy workshop. No more beautiful Heron Island sunsets. Until maybe 2010 with a mini sabatical in Australia.
After the workshop we went on a Drive with Jen and Daz to the coast south of Melbourne to see the Twelve Apostles. It is an Australian National Park. The Twelve Apostles are rock formations located just off the coast. It was very beautiful!
The sea carved rock stretched for miles. It reminded us of the California coast in many way.
A delightful ending to the trip was coming upon a mob of kangaroos (that what a herd of kangaroos is called). They are basically like deer in Australia.
Tom walked up to them taking pictures. A bunch of the mob headed over the hill top. I really love visiting Australia!
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