Day 179 - Sunday 25 June - Swimming with the fishes

Day 179

Sunday

25 June 2017

Port Douglas – Low Isles

The alarm was set again for this morning though not as early thankfully. We were straight out and organising ourselves for our morning. Breakfast done and we were off to the marina in Port Douglas to meet up with the crew of Reef Sprinter, where we once again signed our lives away and were issued a wet suit before walking the platform onto the jet boat that would whisk us out to the Low Isles. 

It was a leisurely cruise as we left the marina and then the leeds and then the hammer was well and truly pushed and we were hurtling across the Coral Sea at 70km/h, banging over the relatively calm waters and passing boats and a crazy kayaker before reaching our mooring 15min later. 

We were given our safety briefing and then told about where to snorkel before being given a mask, fins and pool noodle and jumping into the water with the batfish, which were at the back of the boat.  

I was a little rattled to begin with, but once I stuck my head in the water and saw the coral below I began to calm and become engrossed in the underwater world around me.

I followed fish with my camera, all the while keeping an eye on where Paul and the boat were. The fish were all sizes and colours gathering in schools and swimming alone. Some were just so vivid in colouring while others were striped or spotted. 

The coral was also interesting, if not for the sad reason that it was quite obviously dead or dying. There were some pockets of colour, mostly yellow though we did spy some more vivid blue. 

The water was a little choppy and a current was pushing us a little but for the most past it was easy to navigate and having the pool noodle certainly helped take a lot of the effort out. 

The whole time I was in the water I was looking for sea turtles that we were told should be about, but unfortunately I didn’t see any as I bobbed about the water. We made our way to the back of the boat, to be overrun by the batfish. I wasn’t particularly keen to have them that close to me and was trying to back pedal while also trying to make the boat. 

Eventually we both made it back to the dry and hauled ourselves onto the boat. Despite the wetsuit I was feeling the cold and my teeth were chattering and body shivering. I had really enjoyed my time swimming about the coral and fish.

We had a bite to eat and watched the water from the boat. I spied a turtle swimming about and so wished I was still in the water, but at least I saw one.  

Everyone was out of the water early so we moved from our mooring into the lagoon area where we were given a run down on the small cay that is Low Isle and Captain Cook and his adventures through this area. It was all very fascinating. The Low Isle looked like a great place to hang out, but tourism authority only allow 250 people on the island per day and only with certain charters. 

We then buckled in for our return ride which was far more thrilling than on the way there as the chop had increased and the boat launched into the air a number of times only to come crashing back down with a thud.  We had a great view of Port Douglas as we returned and noticed a market in full swing along the waterfront. 

Once we had docked, we returned to the car, changed then returned to the marina to buy fresh prawns straight off the back of the boat; $23 a kilo for large tigers yum.

With the prawns in the car we made our way into town, stopped at the pie shop for lunch and then walked down to the markets that we meandered around as we perused the food, clothing, art, wood work, jewellery and my favourite photos. I love checking out what others are photographing as it gives me ideas and lets me judge my work against those that are selling theirs. There are very talented photographers out there.

Once we had completed the lap of the markets, we returned to the car and made our way back to the van for a well-earned rest. I spent the next few hours loading the photos and organising them while Paul put through the washing. I was happy to have a quiet unplanned afternoon for a change. 

We eventually went out for a walk, checking out the Mowbray River near the caravan park. It was flowing but quite shallow in parts. I spied another butterfly, this time it was very red, but it wouldn’t stop in a place I could get a clear photo of him.  We also noticed tank prints travelling down the road, having gouged out a tyre pattern in the road. 

We returned to the caravan park, ready to start dinner. I loaded things on to FB at the same time and then we ate. We were both feeling tired from our very full itinerary of the last few days, so were happy to get to bed for an early one.