Hello Old friend… I had a whale of a time!

Falling back into old habits – and what a way to jump back into the coast than with some whale watching.

I took a quick day trip to do some whale watching yesterday. There are so many places along the coast here offering trips out to indulge in some good old cetacean-staring. It’s not until you get up and close that you appreciate just how enormous these mammals are.

It’s been over 18 months since I’ve indulged in a post around Marine Biology (my other love.) There wasn’t a lot of opportunity when I was living in Melbourne, and now on the Sunshine Coast, it’s on my door step. A Freshwater natural spring on my property and the coastline a 20 minute drive away… it’s about time!

I caught up with Philip, an old friend from my JCU days who has some contacts with diving and tour establishments locally, and did some light cajoling to get me on a cruise. It’s been over ten years since I’ve been on open water, and forgotten just how much I love it. I was also roped into some manual labour to get the vessel ship-shape before cast off – and cheeky Philip pulled me up to share some knowledge on Humpbacks and what other great marine animals were present in the area. Boy did I have to dig deep having been away from the coast for so long.

We were treated to some curious visitors and rewarded with a few breaches, mind you, you’re out on the water for half the day and the encounter (if you are lucky) may only last 15 minutes.

We also used a hydrophone to record some whalesong too, which Philip collects and sends to one of the Universities. Someone there is trying to decipher whale language. The whole day had me melancholy for my research days.

At least this time out I didn’t trip, or fall, or manage to clumsily do something to embarrass myself – I’m famous for landing on my backside at least once an excursion. The closest to a mishap was narrowly avoiding some spray from a motion sick passenger.

All in all a magical day!

I’m going see if I can do some volunteering with Dugong or sea turtle tagging later in the year; or maybe venture out on my own and do some diving if I can borrow or hire some equipment.

© Casey Carlisle 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Sunshine, Star Wars, predators and pirouettes all in one afternoon… by Casey Carlisle

Your breathing resembles sounds made by Darth Vader… and try as you might, you can’t silence the noise as you stare at a predator, sinuating in a languid fashion toward you with hungry black eyes.

It may sound like a line from a horror story, but in fact I was having the time of my life – I thought, since posting about many of the research trips I’ve been involved in under the ‘HeadUnderWater’ tag, this time I’d post about something more recreational…

Stealing away a Sunday on a friends sailboat (how’s that for alliteration), we headed for secluded waters along the Great Barrier Reef to make the most of the sunshine and high visibility waters. There is nothing like cruising along the ocean with a warm salty breeze playing through your hair while enjoying a good book!

Our Skipper, Paul, knew of a great dive spot for coral canyons – a fantastic spot to get an eyeful of the plethora of marine flora and fauna. I’d been visiting small reef crops, grass beds and sandy Bay floors quite frequently and was really looking forward to the experience.

This day, the water was freezing (because we were close to the outer edge of the reef) and I donned a full-body wet suit. There were five of us on the dive, including two avid underwater photographers (hence the brilliant photos) I met for the first time. As they flippered excitedly about, my buddy, Jasmine and I were content to wade along the canyon wall, ogling and admiring the various familiar species and coral formations. I couldn’t help thinking how amazing this would look during a night dive under a blacklight.

A highlight was the visitation of a curious Grey Nurse shark, meandering in the periphery for a while before heading off to more appetising morsels. Our site consisted of a series of shallow canyons cutting into the edge of the reef that often have large schools of fish and numerous turtles (and the occasional shark). Along the ridges between the canyons, groups of big fin reef squid swim in vertical formation in the water column, rippling with changing colours as they reacted to our presence. I couldn’t help but think of Luke Skywalker zooming through the gully of the Death Star on his bombing run as I paddled in the anemone encrusted ravine. At least no one was firing pot shots at me!

Taking a break from the fascinating biology, Jasmine and I amused the others with our take on an underwater ballet. And I’m sure if fish could laugh, that is exactly what they were doing, watching our clumsy attempt at pirouettes and jetés in the viscous water. I may admit to many photos being taken of our performance, but then I’d be asked to post them here – so let’s just leave it to your imagination.

Swimming down and out over the gently sloping sand towards 18 metres, you can see some large scattered bommies, each with their own individual makeup of species and each worth a visit – if only we had the time… Jasmine, with her charade to return to the surface reigned in my curiosity.

Waving to a scaly friend, who looked suspiciously like JarJar Binks, I made my way back to the yacht; looking forward to a hearty meal before heading back to solid ground. A lovely day with new and old friends on a boat aptly named ‘Hyperdrive’ all that was missing was a dog named Chewbacca and someone wearing their hair in side buns, Princess Leah-style.

© Casey Carlisle 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Thar’d be a dragon in them thar hills! … by Casey Carlisle

Not something in a fantasy novel, but it’s hovering in front of me.

  One on my great loves (apart from a great themed cocktail party), and something I wish I had more time to do is dive. Or even roll up my sleeves and get involved in some marine research projects again – as long as it doesn’t involve fish guts – I have an unfortunate story about that too! Maybe once I’ve gotten a few novels under my belt I’ll dip my toe again. But for now, trips down memory lane will have to suffice. Well that, and the occasional Clive Cussler novel.

Scrolling through my photo collection I happened across one of the most unusual creatures I’ve crossed paths with during my dives – The Leafy Seadragon. Our dive was actually about monitoring Dugong populations (which was amazing in itself – so stay tuned, I’ll blog about that later), but when seemingly underwater foliage drifted past my goggles, moving in a very uncharacteristic way, I became transfixed. A tiny undersea dragon eye-balled my swirling read hair and took pause. Guess I was just as fascinating to it?

Endemic and unique to Australia, Seadragons (Phycodurus eques) grow to around 350mm and feed on small

crustaceans that populate kelp beds. These unconventional animals can live in excess of ten years and often remain undetected as they blend so easily into their habitat, which lies along the southern coastlines of this big Island.

 I love the fact that Australia holds so many exclusive species, and feel truly blessed to witness much of it firsthand!

With five of us on the dive, spending a few days to visit four sites around the Western Australian shoreline, I snapped a small photo collection of this unusual critter. The only thing that could have made it more awesome is if it did, in fact, breathe fire – how cool would that be?

Lucky enough to have high visibility in shallow waters and a nearly all-female crew, our research team was more like Sex and the City on a Trawler. Every evening we’d crank up the radio and drag out the cocktails (Hmm, there’s a party theme in there somewhere.) I also had some of the best calamari on this expedition, fresh from the ocean, and prepared under the sunny cloudless skies.  Unlike the reef dives, teeming with life, this one felt serene; like standing in a large paddock atop a hill undulating in an afternoon breeze – except it all existed underwater.

So medieval times have not washed away with the tides, it just hid it’s mythical creatures under the meniscus, quietly snacking in grassy meadows. Though you may not need a sword and shield to fight this dragon, I highly recommend night time beverage and a wiggle under the moonlight.

© Casey Carlisle 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

I could have been Ginger on my own version of Gilligan’s Island! …. by Casey Carlisle

Blue skies, calm azure seas, tucked into a life vest on a ship with eight hot guys… was I wrong to wish for a shipwreck?

And I’m not talking about a singles cruise, or a fishing trip with the boys. I had signed on for a couple of months as research assistant tagging turtles along the Far North Queensland coast on weekends, monitoring their migration patterns and population dispersal. Just shy of completing my Marine Biology degree, of which I was completely in awe of, having grown up in the CentralianDesert, so every attempt was given to volunteer for assisting the PhD students in their practical studies. I managed to participate in many, but this was, by far, my favourite.

Not only was there great eye candy, I could lavish in the warm coastal currents, scuba dive, and have said cuties help slather on yet another layer of sunscreen. The hard part – long hours, (about 22 hours on the vessel) and having to baby sit a couple of the lads with motion sickness (albeit brought on by the previous nights drinking game). We would catch and release continuously through the night as well, and what little sleep I did manage, was disturbed by farts, burps, coughs and groans of the men resting soundly: I had many thoughts of dropping them overboard just for some peace and quiet.

We found an alarming number of turtles garnished with plastic rubbish and a lurking Great White (maybe it was following the trail of vomit behind the boat?) There was also evidence of silt killing off a part of the coral and seagrass beds, kicked up from the shipping lane.  However the rest of the journey was filled with pristine waters and its coulourful inhabitants. It certainly raised my awareness in how our garbage is disposed and recycled, and the importance of environmental impact studies on industry.

It was a fantastic experience diving in waters with great visibility and contributing to a cause bigger than yourself. Meeting a group of socially aware and intelligent young men and actually having a constructive conversation without any awkwardness or need for a drink in one hand. I must have snapped at least 10 rolls of film (no digital

camera back then) of the gorgeous ocean, above and below the waterline… and the hunky shipmates. So what started as a chance to hitch on a trawler and dive on reefs around our fair town for free on the weekends, and enhance my education, turned into an exercise in a global consciousness. I think I’ll trade in Gilligan’s Island for Captain Planet any day!

Save the turtles! Save our Oceans!

© Casey Carlisle 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Grab Life by the Short and Curlies! by Casey Carlisle

 

            “You have cancer” are terrifying words nobody wants to hear from a doctor.
I’ve had that dreadful sentence repeated to me twice in this lifetime. And as you can

            Everything I’ve ever dreamed about doing, wanted to accomplish, taste, experience, share, be it large and expensive, or as simple as a smile, went onto the list.guess, this gal has licked it both times! But once getting over the shock, depression and angst, you accept that life is short… and what is important to you in life gets a major re-shuffle! In addition to embracing the all-too-common mantras: ‘no regrets’ and ‘live every day like it’s your last,’ I remained positive and constructed myself a Bucket List.’

            It doesn’t end there: I add items as often, if not more, than I cross them off. One of the big ticket items I managed to strike through this year in January with my family… Go on a Cruise!

I’ve only been overseas once – for the briefest of times attending a relatives funeral in New Zealand – nothing that you call a holiday. So, Sydney – New Noumea, New Caledonia – Lautoka, Fiji – Auckland, Taurunga, Wellington, N.Z. and back to Sydney for fifteen days on the high seas! I was beyond excited.

Fully packed with my two outfits for each day (one daytime & one glamorous for dinner) I set off the airport. The flight was extremely quick, although turbulent. I was tempted to pull a “Bridesmaids” and yell out ‘There’s a colonial woman out on the wing churning butter’… pity only I thought that was amusing.

When I finally got on the cruise ship, let me tell you it is far more impressive than I expected. You really feel like a movie star anyplace on the ship. The service is beyond impeccable and the décor is fantastically surprising. I don’t think two weeks is long enough. Oh, and make sure you bring some elasticised pants – The food is delicious!

If I wasn’t writing by the pool, shopping at every port (or in the ships mall), or taking tropical kayak tours, the family would wind down by congregating in a bar for cocktails and swap stories on our various adventures on the island of the day while belting out at music trivia. It was only then I noticed that my skin had slowly been getting pinker and pinker… yes I had gotten sunburn despite my numerous applications of Teflon strength sunscreen many times throughout the day!

 

Boasting an ice skating rink, theatre, cinema and nightclub there isn’t a moment for you to stop and think ‘I’m bored!’  I feel as though I’m boasting about the great time had – but in all honesty – go! Have a blast! Just make sure you can swim and don’t get sea sick.

You don’t need a life threatening illness to prompt you to create your own Bucket List; so get itemising those adventures and must-haves today. Who knows you may be screaming “I’m on top of the world” from the bow of a cruise liner too?

© Casey Carlisle 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Casey Carlisle with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.