Sad Face :(

So they were supposed to email people by midnight Queensland time (9AM here in NYC) everyone who was being considered for the top 50 shortlisting. No email.

Boo. Can't even say I'll try next time...unless someone else wants to offer something like this up again :D

Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying...

Ok, I am having the hardest time EVER waiting for March 2nd. It really doesn't help that I sit in foront of a computer ALL day and am just sitting waiting for an email to come from Tourism Queensland.

Ugh.

I need this. I need change, I need sun, I need to learn to surf, I need to learn to scuba dive...this would be so perfect.

But alas we wait, and I provide you with more pretty picture of where I want to be.







Ok, I think my heart is going to burst...

Floating Hotel?

So I was reading and article on the top 10 floating hotels and I came across one that they are planning for the GBR.

Apparently the hotel is set to open in 2010 and is supposed to be eco-friendly and backed 100% by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Now is just me or does this seem a little off, since we are trying to preserve the reef for as long as possible. I'm sure some locals are having the same thoughts I am...

A Floating Hotel in Townsville

Don't We Want to Save This?

Go Green! (two ways)

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is actually seeking out Australian governments to put more funding into GBR conservation. They hope that increased funding can help some of the areas that are most detrimental to the reef. Good Luck!

No not Crush! (and Squirt!)

More bad news for animals living in the GBR. Green Turtle hatchlings seem to be in decline as is the GBR as a whole. It is still under investigation and would take a lot of time. But still....global warming effects everyone.

Little Baby Squirt

Under the Sea...more!

Something else that's looks so interesting and a lot of fun in Glass Bottom Boat Tours. So for the people who don't want to get as up close and personal as diving does, here is an option for you.

Check out a bunch of places along the reef that offer tours!



*Personally I would still much rather get up close and personal...and wet :D

Vote or Die....not really

The GBR is up for becoming one of the New7Wonders of the World (and it is currently ranked #1), so vote now! (Come on, you know you want to :D)

Under the Seas 3D

I had completely forgotten this movie was coming out! (I had seen the preview when I saw Madagascar 2 in the IMAX) Documentary film maker Howard Hall made a 3D film documenting sea life in the GBR and the Coral Triangle.

With Jim Carey narrating, the movie has gotten rave reviews. But as shown by this site pictures of the GBR speak for themselves...

Lack of Postage...

I know, I know...it's been a little bit of a busy week, but soon I will post some more great stuff about the GBR, but for now a great travel article about the GBR from Singapore and a pretty picture to keep you going :D

The GBR From Home

Google Earth has just added a new feature to their free beta version (5.0) that will allow you to explore ocean floors and surface areas based on information from marine experts.

Now anyone can explore the GBR from t

he comfort of your own home...in preparation for a trip to see it live :D

But I Still Want To See It...

Ok, but what if you don't want to spend as much time and money on scuba diving, but you still want to experience the GBR up close and personal? Well the answer for you may be snorkeling.

Snorkeling is a great alternative to scuba diving and the only prerequisite is knowing how to swim! What's great about snorkeling is you can take some of the same boat day trips that the scuba divers do and it costs less.

I Want To Go Scuba Diving...Right Now.

So in NYC right now the temperature is 8 degree fahrenheit (-13 degrees celsius) with wind chill. After coming in from outside I can't get warm so I have decided to think warm...the warm ocean to be more specific.


After looking up all those pictures of sea animals that live in the GBR all I want to do is learn how to scuba dive. I looked up the GBR on Wikitravel it gave some useful information for travelers who want to learn once they get there.

"Most travellers learn to dive in Townsville, Cairns or Port Douglas: all have a very competitive dive industry. Most students prefer to do a two day pool and classroom course, followed by a two or three day liveaboard visiting the reef to the east of Cairns. It's possible to learn with some of the operators that travel to the Coral Sea, but check first about the difficulty of their dive sites. Land based learn to dive courses cost about $500, dive courses including a liveaboard start at about $700."

Most of the divers go out on day trips to see the best part of the reefs. These boat trips have varying difficulties and have something for every diver. Now I also read on Wikitravel that you can come day of for a diving trip and try and get on. This is risky, but if you get on the trip you can save as much as 40% of the cost.

What Makes It So Great?-Part II

Now I wanted to find out more about the types of animals that are actually found in the Great Barrier Reef...and I found out that there are a lot:

There are over 30 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises that live (or visit) the GBR. This includes Dwarf Minke Whales, Humpback Whales, and of course my beloved Dugongs :D

Dwarf Minke Whale

There are over 200 species of birds, some that only exist in the area of the GBR, including White Breasted Sea Eagle and the Roseate Tern.

Roseate Tern

6 species of turtle call the GBR home including the Green Sea Turtle and the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Interesting fact about sea turtles is that the temperature of the sand in which they lay their eggs determines the sex of the baby turtle. Cooler sand produces male seas turtles and warmer sand produces female turtles.

Green Sea Turtle (Crush!)

There are about 17 species of Sea Snakes. These snakes come to the surface to breathe, but can stay underwater for up to 2 hours. These snakes have also evolved from land snakes.

Sea Snake in the GBR

Now of course there are over 1,500 species of fish that live in the GBR. These include Clown Fish (Nemo!), Coral Trout, and Seahorses.

Coral Trout

Now there are also over 5,000 species of Mollusks, 400 species of Coral, 60 species of Seagrass, and 500 species of Seaweed or Marine Algae.

Nudibranch, a type of Mollusk

WARNING: As I was going through different animals located in the GBR I also came across many warnings of what to watch out for in the GBR. Big ones included the Box Jellyfish, Stone Fish, Blue Ringed Octopus, and Stingrays. Some are more dangerous then others, but you should always know what you're getting into and be careful.

Box Jellyfish

What Makes It So Great?

Now I'm sure everyone has at least seen a picture of the Great Barrier Reef at some point, but what do you really know? After doing some reading I found out I didn't really know that much...

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world. (But I'm sure could have guessed that because really how many other coral reef systems can you name?) What I didn't know though is that you can see the Great Barrier Reef from space...wow. It is the largest structure made by living organisms.

View of the Reef from space!

What really interests me personally in the reef are the animals. There are actually species of animals that only live in the Great Barrier Reef and no where else on Earth. There are also several endangered species located in the reef as well. This includes 6 out of the 7 kinds of endangered sea turtle, the largest mammal the blue whale and dugongs. Dugongs are a kind of sea cow that closely related to elephants. (I find them to be so cute)

An adorable dugong!

At some point in my life I really wanted to be a marine biologist, so I did a lot of reading and looking at pictures of sea life. This is something I would love to get the chance to finally see in person.

Just Keep Swimming...

So I honestly wanted to get through some how to stuff before getting to what I really want to learn about and explore...The Great Barrier Reef!

Now my goal is explore, and write about, the reef, the creatures, and ultimately what people can do and see.  First, though, I need to learn and explore more for myself.  Also I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I've never actually been to Australia.  This is just me wanting to know more and eventually see it for myself.

Now I found a really cool section of National Geographic Online that let's viewers do some exploring through an interactive virtual world.  I'm going to explore it some more and then report back, but in the meantime here are some pretty pictures :D

Welcome

The best job in the world...who wouldn't want that? If you don't know what that is, just take a look here. I am out to prove that I am the best candidate for the job.

Now I could go on and tell you that I'm special and I deserve it more than others, but I don't know if that's actually true. I live a pretty typical post college grad life working a 9-5 job and making a very modest living. Of course I would love the travel, and lay around on the beach, and explore one of the 7 Wonders of the World...but again who wouldn't?

I have decided that with this blog I am going to prove that I am the perfect candidate because I am going to start working now. I am going to use this blog to show others, and frankly learn for myself, about the Great Barrier Reef. I want to know what makes it amazing, I want to know what there is to do there, and ultimately I want to answer the question, "Why should I spend my hard earned money to travel there?"






*And before we begin I would like to say the this is not currently associated, or endorsed, by the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Also all images that appear on this site are copyright of their respective owners and I claim no credit for them unless otherwise noted. If you own the rights to any of these images and wish to not have them appear on the site, please contact me and they will be promptly removed. Also any links to outside websites are not endorsed by those sites and if they wish for them not to appear, please contact me. Thank you.