On Thursday, March 18th, we woke up early and boarded a charter plane to Lizard Island off the northeastern coast of Australia. We took 3 small planes in order to carry our entire group…each was basically a minivan with wings. We went for a snorkel that afternoon in stinger-infested waters. Jellyfish are some of the most beautiful yet scary creatures in the water. We did wear stinger suits with hoods, but parts of our faces were not covered and I found myself swimming with my hands covering my chin the whole time. I can't say that I was dying to stay in the water that day.
Today, however, we went in small boats to a different spot on the reef where there were fewer stingers. We saw numerous giant clams, all kinds of hard and soft corals, sea cucumbers, Christmas tree worms, stingrays, a sea turtle, starfish, sea anemones, anemone fish (nemo), and heaps of other fish species.
A typical day here is: breakfast at 7am, snorkel from 8:30-10:30, lecture, lunch, snorkel from 2:30 to 4:30.
The island is totally isolated--so much so that we had to order our ten-day supply of food in advance and have it shipped here. There are no stores here; only a research station and a 5-star resort ($1,600/night). We are not allowed to visit the resort, but we are allowed to go to the resort staff bar. Fine by us--we'd rather drink with the commoners!
I'm trying to take as many pictures as I possibly can because unless I become a marine biologist or a billionaire, I probably will not have the opportunity to return to this paradise.
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