Sea Snakes

Finally after months of waiting out the weather we made it out on to the Great Barrier Reef to finish our SCUBA diving course.  We started the book work back in December and dove in the pool in early January, but the combination of a heavy rainy season, a cyclone, and strong winds had made the open water portion of our dive impossible until this weekend.  We woke up early Saturday morning and went down to the dive shop to pick up our equipment and load the ute (pickup) with air cylinders.  Everyone meet at Rosslyn Bay marina and we packed the equipment on the boat.  Today we were headed to Outer Rock, which is part of the Keppel group of islands. 

The ride out was a bit rough, but we anchored on the leeward side of the island, in a calm cove, where the waves were small.  The first dive of the day was to get us used to being under the water again.  Our dive instructor (Robert) along with another instructor and seven of us students jumped into the water and went for a tour.  The area was primarily stag horn coral and there were numerous small fish darting about.  The highlight of the dive was an Olive sea snake which Robert grabbed and held by its mid-section.  We all took a feel of its skin, which felt just like any other snakes.  Once back on the boat we were informed that it is one of the top 5 most venomous snakes in the world.  Lucky for us they are very docile and will not bite unless aggravated.  

The second dive consisted of mostly skills, we practiced clearing our masks, controlling buoyancy, sharing air and ascending.  By the time we returned to the marina, unloaded the boat, washed the equipment, and went through a dive debrief we were exhausted and ready to head home to bed.