Reef-lections ;)

On Thursday morning at 3:45 AM, three friends and I departed Brisbane and flew north to Port Douglas, "where the rainforest meets the reef." Our first day was the basic wander-around-town, lay on the beach, check out some shops, kind of 3:45 AM day. The funny thing about Port Douglas is that I was fortunate enough to be in this exact same town 4 years ago with my family. Normally I don't like to do the same thing twice, but was a sweet little gift to return to such a paradise. After grabbing some delicious and well-deserved Thai food, we hit the beach. We instantly ran into the water, stunned by the warmth. There was no acclimation necessary, it was like dipping into a freshly drawn bath. The waves crashed into us as we made up little games, threw seaweed at each other, and floated with our eyes gazing towards the clear blue skies. Ironically, we had just had a lecture about jellies in Northern Queensland the size of a fingernail that can cause insatiable pain for 2 weeks. We even watched a video of the lecturer's colleague who had been fatefully stung. But, we pretended those images didn't reside in our memory as we drifted on the salty sea. Back on the beach, I finally realized that this was the same exact beach my family had been to 4 years prior. To my left was a cliff with a staircase leading to a lookout. Me being me, ditched my snoozing friends to check out the tidepools that I knew lay just on the other side of the stair case. As I climbed the rocks, crabs scrambled all around me, afraid of the human who had hopped the fence that probably wasn't meant for hopping. I sat on the cliff, letting the waves crash just in front of me, sending white water into the air.

I began to think about what I've been through in the last four years. Then, I was a junior in high school, looking forward to her senior year because it would mean she was that much closer to college, the land of opportunity. My 17-year-old heart bustled with emotions as I watched the sea and caught crabs. That Sara longed to begin her career as a marine biologist. She had an eagerness that couldn't be calmed. And now, four years later, the 21-year-old Sara has begun her career as a marine biologist. She has learned unimaginably wonderful things about the oceans. She has met professors who have inspired her to dive deep into the oceans depths. She feels certain that she has chosen the right path. She has met Jesus, she has lived without regrets, she has loved infinitely, and she's only 21. Most importantly, the Sara that sat on those rocks October 9, 2013 looking out at the horizon, was proud of who she had become. I promise, this post will get more lighthearted, but right now I'm on the hostel computer, tearing up because I am just so happy and I can't believe how blessed I am. I'm only 21 and I feel like I've lived such a full life. I have fully loved every marine biology class I have ever taken and my future holds such grand surprises. I really don't know what kind of job I'll have when I graduate, but it's going to be SO COOL! I'm a marine biologist, gosh darn it! I did it, you guys! I feel like I've already fulfilled the dream that I've had since I was four! And I'm still in school! Haha, this all sounds so ridiculous, but I'm just really stoked on life right now.

 Now, for the fun stuff. On Friday, we dived the Great Barrier Reef. Holy moly guacamole. There are simply no words. The entire boat ride out there (which was gorgeous) there was a smile plastered on my face. I kept hitting the people next to me when I threw my arms in excitement. The first dive was spectacular. As we descended, the blue depths transformed into a beautiful, alien world. Corals bigger than me hid parrotfish, butterfly fish, angel fish, and so so many more.

We probably saw at least 100 or 200 species of fish.
Swimming slowly, I glided over corals that probably share their birthday with Caesar. Pinks, purples, blues, iridescent greens. The ocean floor beheld every hue of the rainbow. One of the most wonderful parts is that we've recently had about 10 lectures on corals and reef ecology. So, most of the things I saw I could actually identify and understand. Instead of thinking, "Oh wow, this is beautiful," I was thinking, "Oh wow, I can tell that these coral polyps are very healthy because of all their brown-pigmented zooxanthellae." And that's how I know I'm a marine biologist. Our very funny and friendly dive guide, Herald, brought us down to a sandy bottom where we peered under a coral ledge. Laying beneath the outcropping were three blacktip reef sharks! Ooooh, I love sharks! Their mouths hung open, letting the current flow through their gills, oxygenating their organs. They just relaxed in the sand, letting us stare down their throats. What great guys. I climbed along the coral face, amazed by the diversity. I feel like I hardly saw the same thing twice.

 There were organisms that could have been a fish, coral, or a snail, their morphology was so incredibly different. The creatures of the sea are so incredibly unique.

I spotted one of my all time favorite animals, the nudibranch, slithering across a brain coral. It's white and yellow spots glowed like moonbeams against its black body (left) and another had a bright ring of orange circling its body (right).

The next dive was just as wonderful. And the next! Yes, three dives total! Each was about 45 minutes long. I was in heaven. Literally. When people say "heaven on earth," they're talking about coral reefs.

Within the first 10 minutes of our third dive, we saw my second favorite animal... a turtle! I love turtles. Love love love. This particular green sea turtle, about a metre long, was busily munching on branched coral and didn't seem to mind us as we snuck closer and closer. Every once in a while, he would lift his head and check us out as if to say, "What's up guys? I'm just eating my lunch, it's pretty chill." Oh they're so cool! If Herald wasn't there, I would have been petting him like mad. We said goodbye to our turtle friend and checked out some more of the most beautiful things on earth. There were some scenes where the structure of the coral created a little valley filled with fish and other goodies that were just too beautiful, I had turn away or else I would start crying. I'm not kidding. When your amount of air determines how long you get to stay down for, crying while scuba diving is not a good idea. The one time, when I decided to break my no-crying rule however, was when I saw...cuttlefish!
 Yes! Cuttlefish! Those crazy cute, colour-changing cephalopods you see in the amazing Planet Earth documentaries, but never think you'll actually ever see in real life! I saw it! Herald pointed him out about 3 metres from us, but just as I started swimming towards him, I realized there was one only 3 feet from me! The tears started flowing. Happy is not a big enough word. Ecstatic is not a big enough word. This adorable, cuddly, slimy, alien-looking thing undulated its pectoral fins and remained right in front of me, as if on display at a museum. His mottled brown and white skin glistened with the sunlight breaking through the sea surface. His tentacles flopped over his mouth like a little moustache. His big, hazel eyes gazed at me and I'm sure he was thinking, "Look how cute I am!" Well Mr. Cuttlefish, I agree, you're pretty darn cute. And I will keep the memory of you forever imprinted in my mind. Definitely the top five coolest things I have ever seen in my life.

On day three, we gathered all of our courage, rented a car, and drove on the LEFT side of the road. Admittedly, I only gave it about four minutes but it was just too weird for me. Luckily, the boys in the group performed their manly duty and drove the girls around while we joyfully gazed out the window. Port Douglas borders Daintree National Rainforest, a beautiful landscape filled with ferns, vines, epiphytes, and all of the wonderful flora our professor John Hall had taught us about. We popped into Mossman Gorge, an old aboriginal site along the river of the rainforest. Unfortunately, we were unable to really see the aboriginal cultural ceremonies that were happening later that day, but the drive into the park goes right past a sort of aboriginal neighborhood. It reminded me a lot of the dilapidated Native American village I had seen a few months ago in Havasupai, Arizona. Both the Aboriginal and Native American villages I saw were a forced gathering of government-built shacks filled with children who run amok shoeless and shirtless. I was filled with a sense of sadness as I realized that this culture who had once ruled this land was now forced into a life of driving tourists on old shuttle buses.

In my Australia Studies course, we learned a little bit about the Aboriginal culture; they migrated to Australia 45,000 years ago and adapted superbly to the arid climate, surviving off of kangaroo and other Australian flora and fauna. Problems arose when the Europeans came in the 1600s (go figure). Almost identical to the story of the Native Americans, the Aboriginals were quickly told that the land did not belong to them and disease soon swooped in. Aboriginals were not even recognized in the Australian census until the mid-twentieth century. Since they had never “cultivated” the land by farming, which would have been near-impossible in arid Australia without today’s water technology, they had no Native Title to the land. It wasn’t until a few good court cases and brave activists that Aboriginals were given both the right to vote and the right to their land in the 1960s. However, much like the Native Americans, their lifestyles have been severely affected by the white man and many of them are given to alcoholism and gang violence.  They certainly seem to have a lack of respect in Australia, which I find overwhelmingly ironic as their artwork, didgeridoos, and boomerangs coat Australian culture.

Back to the rainforest… we took a little hike through the lush green forest and discovered a swimming hole, which our sweaty bodies were more than happy to jump into. In fact, a fallen log made the perfect diving board for our refreshing little plunge. Back in the car, which by the way was affectionately named “Jammy” for reasons unknown, we headed up the coast. Within five minutes, we spotted a little ice cream hut tucked away behind some palm trees. The sign for “Floravilla Ice Cream Shop” boasted organic and biodynamic ice cream treats. Well, we certainly weren’t about to let that go by untasted. We knew the area was known for its exotic fruits so we indulged in some mind-boggling rhubarb, mango, and passionfruit ice cream. The creamy, mouth-watering flavors tickled our taste buds in a way that only homemade ice cream can.

Jammy took us a half hour further up the coast where we prepared sandwiches and strolled along the crocodile-infest beach at Cape Tribulation. Okay okay, maybe not crocodile-infested but there were some pretty terrifying signs warning us to not go in the water, near the water, or to even think about fish because a croc was surely just around the bend. Crossing our fingers, we breathed in the sweet salty air and kept our eyes open for any of those pesky 7 meter long lizards with giant teeth. We meandered under the shade of the coconut palm trees with the soft white sand beneath us and safely made it back to Jammy, without even the slightest sighting of a crocodile.

The next day was spent in typical Port Douglas fashion, with a good 8 hours of just lying on the beach. Calming sounds of waves surrounded my ears, the sun warmed my skin, and good friends delighted my soul. It was one of those perfect days in Paradise you dream of: lay in the sun, flip, read a little, flip, jump in the water, walk along the beach, lay in the sun some more, collect some seashells, relax. After writing three heavy-duty research papers the week before, we felt like we thoroughly deserved such a day. Paradise does come at a cost, however. When we decided it was finally time to call it a day, we stood up and admired our wonderful, bright, glimmering red sunburns. Yep, my first Australian sunburn. I can’t say I’m proud of it, but at least it will make a nice little souvenir. I survived the sharks, the jellies, and the crocodiles, but it’s that life-giving sun that will get ya every time.

Some more amazing creatures we saw on the reef dive: