My volunteer week with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef is something that many scuba divers have high on their bucket list. If you work on the reef out of Cairns like myself the bucket list reads: diving the Coral Sea with one of the best dive operators in Australia, Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (MBDE).

In January I had applied for a volunteer position on the dive deck of MBDE’s boat Spoilsport and in the first week of June I set out for a week of exploring and amazing diving in the Coral Sea and specifically on Osprey reef. In exchange for my work I would get two dives a day as payment, which was fine by me as it turned out to be some of the best diving I’ve ever done in my life.

I boarded the vessel on a Thursday afternoon and after meeting the skipper and crew I got shown around the boat and explained what my duties on the boat would be for the coming week. It was my job to assist the crew on the dive deck, help guests in and out of the water and make sure that everyone had a dry blue towel for when they came back from a dive. At the end of the week I had dried and folded more blue towels then I care to remember.

My quarters where down on the portside hull next to the engine room. My room was small, but quite comfortable. I had a bunk bed that to my relief was long enough and small bath room which I shared with two others.

Although I was exhausted when the week was over it was not a typical week. Spoilsport takes on a maximum of 28 guests but on the way north there were only 7. Imagine all the towels I had to fold if the numbers would have been up.

The days will run pretty much as follows: get up at 6.30 am, have a light breakfast, 1^st dive at 7 am which after we have my new favorite meal, second breakfast. Another dive in the morning and then lunch. Move to a different site and do 1 or 2 more dives. Take a nap and do a night dive before dinner. After that time to hit the sack. Of course this is the itinerary for the guests. The crew gets up earlier, has no time to nap and goes to bed last.

We departed at 6pm and overnight we steamed north to the Ribbon reefs where we arrived at 9 am the next day. The first dive site was the famous Cod hole. The visibility was more than 40 meters and I felt like I was diving in the Caribbean again. Diver size potato cods greeted us as we jumped in of the back of the boat.

The cod where quite inquisitive and came right up to your face looking for food. Scattered bommies (coral heads) with white sandy trenches made up the dive site. The cod swimming carelessly in their domain. White tip reef sharks resting on the sand. Schools of blue lined snapper and stripeys hiding in the trenches. Bird wrasse, parrot fish and fairy basslets brightened up the reef with their colors. Long finned banner fish and Moorish idols make their getaway as divers try to capture their beauty with underwater cameras. When doing my safety stop underneath the boat a big cod comes up to see me off as in a last farewell. I exit the water with a big smile on my face. If this is just the first location I cannot wait what Osprey reef has to offer.

The second location was called Lighthouse Bommie. It is a big sea mound in 25 meters of water next to a pinnacle that runs straight up to 5 meters. There is not much else in the immediate surrounding area which means lots of marine life lives and shelters here. Schools of big eye trevally circle up in the blue. Big dog tooth tuna waiting for their chance to feast on the schools of silversides hiding from the current behind the pinnacle. Yellow striped fusiliers hang out at the bottom. Rays, turtles and olive sea snakes called it their home. Smaller critters like nudibranchs, blennies, anemone fish and feather stars inhabit the lighthouse. There is not much coral on this dive site but the diversity of marine life in incredible. Slowly I swim in circles around the towering bommie towards the surface. Again an amazing dive. I ask myself how am I ever to go back to working on the reefs close to Cairns. It just doesn’t compare.

At the end of the day we left the Ribbon reefs to make our way to Osprey reef. The Ribbon reefs or quite a ways up north but still relatively close to shore. Not Osprey reef. It takes a good 9 hours to get out there.  It is a big stunning coral reef in the middle of the ocean and the reason why I’m on this boat.

The day started off with a dive at a place called Fairy Grotto. Big, tall bommies occupy a sandy slope that runs down to around 30 meters before it drops off to amazing depths that exceed a 1000 meters. Whip corals and sea fans ornate the wall, while square spot anthias and schools of pyramid butterfly fish feed on the particles in the water. White tip reef sharks patrol the trenches as trevallies and Spanish mackerel inhabit the blue. The cave that gives this site its name is amazing. I swim through the entrance into the spacious cavern. As I turn around to look out, the light coming in behind me electrifies the blue water and makes me feel I’m in a BBC documentary. All in all a great start of the day.

But it doesn’t stop there. The diving just gets better and better. Our second dive site on Osprey reef is called Half Way. Gaint coral bommies with countless tunnels and swim throughs make up the site. The sun is out and lights up the pristine white sand in the gullies between the coral in a way that reminds me of tropical ‘bounty’ islands. Goat fish forage in the sand, garden eels scan their surroundings and disappear into the sand as divers get too close for their liking. Regal angel fish patrol their territory ignoring the sweetlips that hover under ledges and behind coral heads. I follow my dive buddy into a swim through which splits into two paths. A wide swim through and a narrow tunnel that runs slightly up. We decide to take the tunnel. Making sure I don’t hit my head or tank against the rocks and corals I make my way to the end of the tunnel where it opens up into a sandy arena surrounding a single ‘house size’ bommie.  Everything is covered in coral. Star, boulder and encrusting corals. Coral trees, soft corals and gorgonians. All ranging from green to red to pink and purple. My only regret is that I don’t have more time to explore this underwater paradise.

Although it may not sound like it I do spend more time on the boat than in the water. One of my duties was being on look out. As long as there are people in the water there must be a person on the top deck to keep a constant 360 degree view of the dive site to ensure their safety when on the surface. Even though I’m focusing on the underwater part of my trip I did spend several hours scanning the surface armed with a high visibility vest, whistle, radio and binoculars. If all goes well it is quite a boring job to do, but none the less very important. Safety is a big concern on the Spoilsport and divers even get a Nautilus personal GPS device that they have to carry on each dive. We are all a long way from civilization and therefor you can never be too safe.

Speaking of which, for me day 4 was all about sharks!

We moved the boat to the North Horn where we did a drift dive on the western wall. Geared up and ready to go we boarded the tender and got dropped off on a wall that runs straight down for at least a 1000 meters. A back roll off the side of the boat was the entry of choice. On one side a tall dark wall lined with giant sea fans. Rock cods and bumphead parrot fish occupying the wall. On the other side the big blue. Schools of barracuda, white tip reef sharks and grey reef sharks looking back at it from the dark blue vastness of the ocean. Closer to the surface the wall cracks and allows for red bass and big eye trevally to hide from bigger predators and wait for their turn to feed. There is something special about diving a wall like this. As a diver you are caught between a giant natural wall and the vastness of the big blue ocean. It definitely puts things in perspective. There was not much current and we had to kick a little to make it back to the boat. As the wall ends it wraps around the tip of the reef and creates a natural amphitheater. Which is the stage for the following dive, the much anticipated shark feed.   

After a very thorough briefing of what to do and what not to do during a shark feed divers with big smiles of anticipation entered the water. All divers found a spot to sit along the wall that curves slightly around a big bommie that doubles as a stage for the show to come. The crew brought down a big ‘sealed’ bucket with tuna heads and attached it to the top of the ‘stage’. Suspended on a rope about 3 meters above the bommie, crew member Nick swam in circles dragging the bucket to entice and lure in the sharks. Small ‘weasel looking’ white tips and the bigger ‘proper shark looking’ grey reef sharks where the main contenders. Red bass, trevally and even a big potato cod observed the whole ordeal from distance. After a few minutes around 50 sharks occupied the area not 5 meters away from me. The bucket was pulled down and secured after which Nick used a long pole to open the lid. A float on a chain emerged pulling 3 chunky tuna heads from the bucket. The tension in the water supplied by the sharks knowing there is food nearby went through the roof. For a few moments all you could see was a big ball of dozens of shark tails trashing around fighting for the tuna. The sharks would quickly swim off after tearing of a chunk of fish only to return a few moments later to get seconds. A big silver tip joined in as well. At one point the potato cod seized his chance and ripped of an entire tune head and took off with it. Even with all these sharks in the water, the cod was still boss. After a few short minutes the chain was stripped clean and the sharks disappeared like smoke. In just minutes it went from a full blown feeding frenzy with countless sharks to a calm reef with just a handful of these magnificent pelagic.

I took off with one of the crew to explore a bit of the eastern wall since we had plenty of time and air left, while other divers searched the stage for teeth that sharks lost during the feed. What an amazing experience and I considered this dive alone enough payment for a week of hard work.

After two days on Osprey reef we steamed back to Lizard Island. The guests that came with us on the north bound trip got of here and took a small plane back to Cairns. That same plane also brought 13 new guests that would join us on the trip down south again. We said goodbye to the old and welcomed the new divers we would be taking care of until Thursday.

All what the guests have to do on board is sleep, dive and eat. The cabins are very comfortable, the dives are amazing and the food even better.

Breakfast would be, boiled eggs, bacon, hash browns, fresh fruit, blue berry pancakes and eggs benedict. Sausages, baked beans and much more. Lunch would range from leek, corn or pumpkin soup, a variety of salads, breads and fruits. Dinners would consist of creamy pumpkin risotto, barramundi, roast veggies, chicken curry and a fish and chips that would not be out of place in a fancy restaurant. The chef, Kate, did a wonderful job and worked miracles in her galley every day. One of the benefits of not having a full boat is that there was always enough of this amazing food left over for the staff. 

On the way south we visited some of the dive sites we dove on the way up. We started with the Cod hole then two towers, light house bommie, pixie wall, Steve’s bommie and flare point. At the Lighthouse I swam with an olive sea snake, which was very cool. They are quite friendly and just move through the water so gracefully.

Steve’s bommie turned out to be one of my favorites. A tall pinnacle similar to Lighthouse bommie only a few sizes bigger. Thousands of purple and orange Anthias line the pinnacle wall and are the visual confirmation that this site is booming with life. Huge schools of blue lined fusiliers surround the tower. Constantly dodging the attacks from trevallies and red bass. When taking a closer look pipefish, anemone fish and the superbly camouflaged stone fish appear. On the ledges at the top feather stars stretch out their fern like arm to catch the particles in the water. Simply beautiful.

But the true stars of the show on the south bound trip where the Minke Whales. It was still at the beginning of their migration season and we were lucky to encounter them. There is still very little we know about these 6 to 7 meters long marine mammals and the rules of engagement are very strict. There is no scuba to be undertaken with the Minke Whales. Bubbles generally scare them of. If we would encounter Minkes, we had to come back to the boat, get out of our scuba equipment and get back in armed with mask, fins and camera. Two long floating lines where attached behind the boat which we could hold on to whole enjoying the show. The best way to get the whales close is to lay flat on the surface and let them for 100% control the interaction.

On several occasions we had the possibility to swim with these amazing creatures. They are quite curious and playful. They are much like oversized dolphins with a whales face. A few passed underneath us just 2 or 3 meters away, rolling on their sides to take a closer look at us. It is definitely something special looking this big mammal in the eye and see it sees you and acknowledges you as well. What an experience!

Wednesday was the last day of diving and that evening we had a ‘party’ night with a barbeque, music and drinks to finalize an amazing trip. Overnight we travelled south back to Cairns where we arrived at 6 am. After the guests left the vessel it was time for a thorough clean-up of the boat and making it ready for departure later that day.

I was exhausted when I came of the boat, but felt very satisfied. I found it interesting and learned a lot being part of a team on a 5 star dive boat that goes to the most amazing places. I could definitely get used to this. So hopefully next time I get out there it won’t be as volunteer, but as permanent crew living the dream. 

Outback Adventure

We touched down at Ayer’s Rock Airport early in the afternoon. The big red rock already visible in the distance. A bearded fellow named Craig, who had an uncanny resemblance to Allen from the Hang over movies, came to pick us (me and my parents) up. It was the kick off of the 3 day/2 night tour of the Australian ‘red center’.

A big 25 passenger truck fit for some off road adventuring was our mode of transport for the coming days. We drove back to ‘camp’ first to have lunch, a lovely Camel burger, before we headed out into the National park.

This first day we got treated to a very special event in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National park. We were lucky to be able to count ourselves to the 2% of the visitors that get rained on in the national park. Craig was really pleased with that. “I love rain”, he would say in his typical dry tone of voice.

We visited the Cultural center first where we could learn about the Aboriginal Culture and their ‘dreamtime’. Which entails their stories of creation, past, present, future, how the land and animals interact with them and how they should interact with the land and the animals. It was very interesting and really showed how complex their culture and beliefs are. And also how little they have shared, which they are not allowed to according to their laws, of their 40,000 year old culture. Which is the longest still existing and practiced culture in the world.

As the rain let up a bit and Uluru (the real name of Ayer’s rock) in the background we drove to Kata Tjuta, also known as the Olgas. Basalt and granite held together by mud rock form these enormous rocks. We explored a naturally formed valley (Walpa Gorge) that acted like a wind tunnel. It started raining again too, so our first scenic experience was different and nothing like what you would expect visiting the desert center of Australia.

Next was the sunset viewing of Uluru, also referred to as ‘the rock’. There is a designated sunset viewing area and we were not the only tourists there. Busloads of them (us). We did manage to obtain a ‘private’ spot and watched the sun go down while enjoying a glass of bubbly. Unfortunately the sunset wasn’t that awe inspiring as you can see on all the postcards and TV shows. The rain clouds hade made sure of that. It was still very pleasant. After sunset we went back to camp, had dinner and retired in our tents to get ready for an early start. The sunrise viewing of Uluru was on the menu and for that we had to get up at 4.45am. good times!

Day morning of day 2 was all about Uluru. The sunset viewing was great. Although there were some clouds it was amazing to see the morning sun bouncing of the big red rock. It accentuated its curves, ripples and other shapes formed by thousands of years of erosion by wind and rain. It was time for a closer look at the rock and we did a base walk around half of it. I found it absolutely beautiful walking around this enormous sandstone structure. Uluru is 380 mtrs high and about 6 km deep. It really is like an ice berg in the desert of which we can only see the top. On the south side is a waterhole, called the Mutitjulu waterhole, which has significant meaning in the Aboriginal creation story of Uluru and is a cool, serene oasis I the otherwise scorching desert.

It is also possible to climb Uluru. The aboriginal people ask you not to since this is a very sacred place to them, but they can only ask. Unfortunately they don’t have any control over their own land or sacred places. This is in the hands of the Australian government and they apparently find the tourists wishes (and money) more important than respecting the culture of the original custodians of this land. And also unfortunately a lot of tourists don’t have the decency to respect their request and still go up. It’s like climbing the Aboriginal ‘Sistine chapel’, ridiculous.

The annoyance was visible in Vincent, our Aboriginal guide for the second part of the morning. He told us about his culture and the dreamtime story of Uluru. In the Aboriginal culture there are stories for men, women and children. No one will hear the others story, since it is not for them. So we listened to the story for children. We are not initiated in their culture so in their eyes we are children. It was very interesting hearing Vincent talk about his background and the story of Uluru. He drew typical Aboriginal markings in the sand while he thought his story and thus making sense to some of the ancient ‘rock art’ that is to be found on certain spots around the rock.

It was a very interesting but also eye opening and a bit shocking experience. I learned a lot about the Aboriginal culture and how they perceive the world, but also that they are still regarded as second class citizens. They have citizenship, but not the same rights as other Australians. Some communities live in 3^rd world conditions and that in a country that has the 2^nd highest living standard in the world. You don’t hear a lot about these problems or the still quite racist approach of ‘white’ Australians towards their Aboriginal countryman. I think it is a very sad thing and hope it will change for the better soon, although I fear that still might take a long time.

The rest of the day we spent in the bus driving to Kings Canyon, which was about a 3 hour drive. The tour we did were 2 tours combined so from the 22 people we started with only 12 were left. Which meant ample room in bus.

We arrived in Kings Canyon around 5 pm and had the rest of the day off. Instead of sleeping in a tent most of decided to spent the night in a ‘swag’. A swag is an Australian contraption. I is a little matrass inside a canvas cover. You put your own sleeping bag inside and voila your bed is made. Sleeping outside underneath the starry sky was in my opinion by far the best thing of the entire trip. There is no artificial light at all, so you can see everything. And I mean everything! After the moon was gone, which was very bright all the stars in the universe were available to you. It wasn’t even dark, the amount of stars gave off enough light for you to see clearly in the middle of the night. All the billions of stars too far to see as individual stars form this ‘stardust’ that filled every little black spot in between our ‘own’ stars. The entire Milkyway just unfolds right above you, visible with the naked eye. I saw satellites flying past and about 7 shooting stars throughout the night. Absolutely amazing. The barking of the wild dingoes in the distance topped off this beautiful outback experience.

Once again it was rise and shine early in the morning. At 5.50am we left the campsite to see the sun rise over Kings Canyon. Another reason was to beat the heat, since we had a 3.5 hour walk ahead of us. The temperature reached 36 degrees centigrade at around 11am and you don’t want to be caught in the burning sun in a rocky gorge.

Kings Canyon is a sight for sore eyes. Cliffs, gorges, slabs and domes of beautiful red sandstone. The sandstone is actually white, but the iron inside corrodes due to the weather and colors the outside red. Craig explained a lot about how the Canyon came about and pointed out local flora and told it what it was used for. I don’t remember what he said precisely so I won’t try to repeat it since I’ll probably be wrong.

In the middle of the arid canyon is a beautiful oasis called ‘The garden of Eden’. Tall Ghost gum trees and old palm like trees surrounded a little pond. Heaps of little frogs hopped around as we took a break and took in the unexpected beauty of this remarkable place. Some of these palm like trees are of a species that existed when the center of Australia was covered in tropical rainforest about 300 million years ago. One of the trees there was estimated to be 500 years old. About 100 million years ago huge inland seas covered the center of Australia and evidence of that was still visible in the rocks we walked on. The ripples you see in the sand of the ocean floor where fossilized on the canyon floor and even the footprint of an ancient ‘sea cucumber’ was still visible.

As we climbed out of the Garden of Eden you have an amazing view of the top of the canyon. All the red sandstone ‘domes’ look like giant termite hills and carried as far as the eye could see. We left those behind us as we descended back to the valley floor and the bus. The tour had come to an end the only thing that we had to do was the 5 hour drive back to Alice Springs. And this also added to the outback adventure. The scenery changes quite a bit and the long drive really helps you grasp the vastness of the country. Alice Springs is relatively ‘close’ to Kings Canyon and still a 5 hour drive. Despite of the time it was a very pleasant drive. In Alice Springs we said goodbye to our awesome guide Craig and checked into a hostel for 1 night before flying to Melbourne for the next adventure of our trip, which will be exploring Australia in a motorhome.