Australia has the world’s largest coral reef. It is made up of around 900 islands and 3000 coral reefs. I visited the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) back in 2006 and was so amazed at its vastness. I have never been to Australia or been on a diving liveaboard so I decided to just, “do it!”
I decided on the Undersea Explorer liveaboard (think of a liveaboard as a “club med” on water where all your wants and needs are met and all you have to do is dive 3-5 times a day) because it was not just a dive boat but there was actually a “live” marine biologist who did authentic marine research for the Australian government. So we had the best of both worlds of diving and then on board having classes and learning time with an expert marine biologist. We also were able to take part in “catching” some critters to gain updated information and then place the critters back into the ocean. 
We left Port Douglas and dived 3 days at Osprey reef and then 4 days throughout the GBR realizing that I only saw 1% or less of the GBR and so I must go back again. Maybe next year!
During my Australian travels I was able to stay in Sydney for a week and do great site seeing like hike “up” the Sydney Harbor Bridge, enjoy Kangaroo meat, and many other cool things like visit the Opera house. I took a neat one night/two day trip to Wellington, NZ to visit my junior high school friend, Brett.
The Australian and New Zealand people were amazing and the diving was breathtaking. Yes, I will be coming back!
Cheers,
Diving Doug
AKA: Doug Gulleson
Check the thumbnails out!
