May 31st,
2014 - Day 1 at Lady Elliot Island
Waking up at 6am was easy, knowing that we needed to head to
the airport for Lady Elliot Island. In a 12-seated plane, Rebecca, Kyle, Dr.
Kris and I were separated from the group to go on a separate plane. We
could only bring 10kg (roughly 20 pounds each). As you could imagine, it was
difficult for me to decide what to bring and what to leave behind. Approaching
Lady Elliot Island was breathtaking. You could see the coral and reef circling
the island. It was gorgeous!
Once we landed on the tropical paradise, we are welcomed by Dr. Fabrice Jaine then watched a movie about the island. Our reef instructor Dr. Joseph Pollock, came to the island with us. Dr. Joe knows all about the coral and marine life since he has a MSc in Marine Science from the College of Charleston and a PhD from James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences in Marine and Tropical Biology. His research focused on understanding drivers of coral health and disease on Indo-Pacific reefs. Anyways, we call him Joe. Joe is cool.
Once we landed on the tropical paradise, we are welcomed by Dr. Fabrice Jaine then watched a movie about the island. Our reef instructor Dr. Joseph Pollock, came to the island with us. Dr. Joe knows all about the coral and marine life since he has a MSc in Marine Science from the College of Charleston and a PhD from James Cook University and the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences in Marine and Tropical Biology. His research focused on understanding drivers of coral health and disease on Indo-Pacific reefs. Anyways, we call him Joe. Joe is cool.
Joe suggested we all go snorkeling before lunch. I was not
opposed! Snorkeling with my classmates was an interesting experience. It was
easy to detect the strong and not so strong swimmers. The reef was beautiful! The pictures and
videos I took do not even compare to how gorgeous the reef looks to the naked
eye. Comparing Lady Elliot Island to the Gold Coast, I give Lady Elliot Island
100 more points. WOW it was so breathtaking. From multi-colored fish to sea
cucumbers and starfish to sea turtles… YES sea turtles! Once I saw my first sea turtle (on the first day), I knew I wanted to do a story on them. They are some interesting creatures.
After snorkeling, we ate lunch then had a lecture of the underwater animals lectured by Joe. After his presentation, Joe took us on a reef walk during low tide. I found Nemo!! Sea turtles and finding Nemo…. all in one day! I am looking forward to the boat snorkel and scuba diving. I am curious what to find further from shore.
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| Our Reef Instructor, Dr. Joseph Pollock |
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| Joe, Dr. Kris and Paepin on the Reef Walk |
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