On of reasons i wanted to go to Cairns was to take a look at the Great Barrier Reef. The GBR is the largest living organism in the world, and is visible from space. Unfortunately because of climate change, and other human interventions much of the GBR is under threat and some predictions say that if things do not change it will be gone in 50 years. It has already suffered from bleaching the last few years, affecting about 50% of the reef. Sometimes the reef can revive bleaching, but not if it occurs too many times in a row.
For the short time i got to snorkel on the reef at Fitzroy Island I certainly saw the effects of the bleaching. The reef was certainly "blotchy". There were certainly bleached parts in-between the healthy parts of coral. I tried out my new underwater camera bag. It was okay, but I couldn't really see through the camera to see what my camera was seeing so I wasn't sure how it was doing. Hence, I didn't use it on the second dive where I saw all the fish! Oh well. Next time I think I will hire the go pro's that the dive shops offer....... enjoy the video.
