Mike Ball introduced his "BIG 5 CHALLENGE" program for this expedition. Consisting of 1. Yongala Wreck circuit, 2. Finding Nemo, 3. Deep Dive Evaluation, 4. Homage to Gigantus Gorgonus and 5. Scuba Zoo. At the completion of the day several divers were studying reference books to determine how many differing anemone fish they had found. After finishing on the Great Barrier Reef it was out to the Coral Sea and our first stop Watanabe where large school of trevally were sighted. A dive on 2-Up saw everyone coming up smiling with a very picturesque scenic dive, fans hanging off the walls of the bommie as well as soft coral trees made for some great photography. Videographer Matt was successful in finding a small white frog fish hiding in the corals. The next day had us diving at the Cod Wall on ascending divers were able to see sharks, rays, bumphead parrotfish and again Matt was successful in finding a leaf scorpion fish. Next it was off to Scuba Zoo with everyone keen to participate. 25 to 30 sharks consisting of grey whalers, black tip reef sharks and white tip reef sharks were present and when two silvertip sharks graced us with their presence... the frenzy was on. Many a heart beat was kicked into overdrive and the feed went off without a hitch and all divers returned excited about what they had witnessed.
The Yongala Wreck was the highlight of the expedition with two days diving there being put to good use. The whales were singing and divers were lucky enough to see six humpback whales. The highlight was a mother and calf that arrived and stayed for about 45 minutes.
Another great trip over and another group of happy divers returning to different parts of the world to tell their friends how much fun they had while diving with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions.
Guest Photo Competition
1st Place
Mary gets up close and personal with this Lizard Fish - Coral Sea.
2nd Place
Kelly - Yongala Wreck, Coral Sea.
3rd Place
Roger - Gold Tipped Nudibranch,
Coral Sea.
Guest Comments