And no, weβre not talking about the place that Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow visit in the Wizard of OZ. This posting is about the amazing land down under, Australia.
Before I talk about the AMAZING Great Barrier Reef (the true topic of discussion for those post) congratulation are in order for Director Symon Hay who has been recognized by Tourism Australia, the official tourism ministry of Australia, as a certified Aussie Specialist! What a great honor.
Now β¦ the Great Barrier Reef, the largest living organism in the world, a world heritage site and arguably the best snorkeling and SCUBA diving site in the world.
For starters, the reef is larger than the Great Wall of China AND is the only living thing on earth visible from space.
The reef is home to:
- 1500 species of marine fish
- 360 species of hard corals
- 600 species of starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers
- 500 species of seaweed
- A variety of marine mammals including whales, dolphins, dugongs
- 6 species of marine turtles
- 200 species of birds
- 125 species of sharks
You may recognize some of the creatures from Disneyβs finding Nemo.
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- Puffer Fish β Bloat
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- Puffer Fish β Bloat
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- Regal Tang β Dory
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- Regal Tang β Dory
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- Eagle Ray β Mr. Ray
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- Eagle Ray β Mr. Ray
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- Moorish Idol β Gill
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- Moorish Idol β Gill
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- Pacific Cleaner Shrimp – Jacques
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- Pacific Cleaner Shrimp – Jacques
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- Clown Fish β Nemo
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- Clown Fish β Nemo
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- Crush β Sea Turtle
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- Crush β Sea Turtle
Snorkeling or SCUBA diving here is an unbelievable experience. Australia is an amazing place to visit and if youβre looking to venture there this summer, check out our Australian Outback Plus Hawaii Program.
GβDay Mate!
The Westcoast Blogger
