Diving on the Great Barrier Reef: Cod Hole

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A potato cod approaching me just under Taka, looking for some food

A potato cod approaching me just under Taka, looking for some food at Cod Hole

Cod Hole is dive site famous for its family of potato cod that have been fed by visitors for decades. We did two dives at this site, and on the second dive our guide fed the family, giving us an up close and personal interaction with the fish! They are extremely friendly and obviously attracted to people because they know they’re about to get some grub. As a result, I got some really good shots of them. I also saw some some colorful wrasses, butterfly fish, anemone fish, and snapper.

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Diving on the Great Barrier Reef: Challenger Bay

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Yellow-Banded Sweetlips at Challenger Bay in the Great Barrier Reef

Yellow-Banded Sweetlips at Challenger Bay in the Great Barrier Reef

I spent a weekend aboard the Taka Ribbon Reef Explorer, a 5-day trip organized by Deep Sea Divers Den. It was an absolutely incredible trip where I had the opportunity to dive 14 times on the Great Barrier Reef and go snorkeling with Minke whales, who are in the middle of their yearly migration south. The diving far surpassed my expectations, as the boat took us to far north diving spots that few other companies go to. In fact, one of our dive sites had only been visited by three other dive groups before us!

This set of photos comes from the Challenger Bay dive site, a shallow reef with abundant soft coral formations and schools of angelfish, sweetlips, and wrasses.

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Queensland Road Trip: Day 6

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A view over the Eubenangee Swamp in Queensland, Australia

A view over the Eubenangee Swamp in Queensland, Australia

The final day of my road trip brought me to Wooroonooran National Park and the surrounding areas. I saw Josephine Falls, the Golden Hole, Bramston Beach, Eubenangee Swamp National Park, and the Babinda Boulders.

The area was absolutely gorgeous and very different from the national parks close to Brisbane. I saw amazing herons and lots of turtles and butterflies. I was surprised at how dense and green the rainforests were. I had thought of Australia as tropical with palm trees and beaches, but somehow never realized it’s home to so many massive forests.

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Queensland Road Trip: Day 5

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Sunset viewed from Castle Hill in Townsville, Queensland

Sunset viewed from Castle Hill in Townsville, Queensland

On the fifth day of my road trip I spent some time in Townsville, a small city just south of Cairns. I walked along the esplanade, got some ice cream and then went up to Castle Hill to see the views of the surrounding areas and yet another gorgeous sunset. There was also some nifty street art, including a beautiful wall on the outside of a hostel filled with reef-themed images of fish and mermaids.

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Queensland Road Trip: Day 4

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The cloud forest viewed from the "Sky Window" walking path at Eungella National park

The cloud forest viewed from the “Sky Window” walking path at Eungella National park

Day 4 was another big driving day but I made sure to stop by Eungella National Park for some hiking. After a long winding and foggy drive up the mountain, I was rewarded with seeing platypuses and turtles in their natural habit at Broken River. Further, the cloud forests reminded me a lot of Colombia. This was perhaps my favorite place I visited on this road trip.

I then made my way to Mackay for dinner, where I saw some cool Alice in Wonderland themed street art. All in all, a great day, and no parking tickets!

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