My first post

This is my first blog post ever. Well to start off I am more than excited about this trip and with the way school is going, I wish it was already May. This will be my second trip to Australia, a once in a lifetime adventure that I get to return to. My first trip was amazing and what committed me to becoming a marine biologist. When you're out on the Great Barrier Reef, its like being in a whole other world. My experience went like this: the tide was low so we couldn't go over the reef but go around it, the water was terribly cold due to their winter weather, my legs were cramped and numb from kicking to stay. To this day, that was still the most amazing experience of my life...

 

To be honest, this is probably where I fell in love with giant clams. Mind you I have always had a deep love for molluscs, but giant clams were just amazing to see in the wild. I also have a crazy love of Cnidarians, so seeing all those lovely corals and anemones left me breathless. Note that all of these photos are taken with a Kodak water sport camera, I probably got the best underwater photos of all my friend who all bought fancy housing for their cameras before they left. The only down side was I had to keep swimming back down to take a photo, trying vigorously to not float up. I still can't figure out if that is a feather star or a Crinoid in my last picture attached to the coral...

This upcoming trip is the most amazing opportunity for me because it involves everything I love all in one course credited trip. I look forward to seeing the Reef again in a whole other environment, to swim over giant clams, chase butterfly fish, and take as many more photos as possible.  From the tiniest polyps to the largest of clams, this trip will be worth every second and cent.