man i need to get certified.

Man that picture of the Ray is just unbelievable! I love the picture of the grouper. It shows a ton of character!

If you could; next time you go down, snap some macros of some of the table corals!:D

Some more photos:

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/HeronIslandSharkBay.jpg[/IMG]
Heron Island, not a bad place to do research work eh?

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/HeronIslandReefFlat.jpg[/IMG]
The reef flat on Heron, good for inspecting the corals at low tide, or for a snorkel at high.

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/Bluey-3.jpg[/IMG]
Who wants a sea urchin?

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/Bluey-2.jpg[/IMG]
I think Bluey does.....

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/Bluey-1.jpg[/IMG]
Yup, someone is hungry. (and so is his entourage!)

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/Bluey-4.jpg[/IMG]
Bluey being dark and mysterious.

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/?action=view&current=MoreRCPhotos-4.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Miscellaneous%20UW%20Photos/th_MoreRCPhotos-4.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
And a movie of a surface feeding mega school of chromis on the reef.

wow, that video of the chromis is amazing

Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous I could cry :mixed:

Do you know what those white spots are on Bluey? :fish2:

Thanks again for all of these GREAT pictures & video! Your really getting me pumped up for a trip to Palau!;)

Some of the spots are just scratches, he has really thick skin. But most of them are just backscatter.
I have some more movies here, and photos.
Now where are they........

Here we go,
These are from Heron Island, the turtles were all over the place as i was there during the breeding season.

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-5.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-5.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Akindynos clowns in an LTA

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-4.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-4.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-3.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-3.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-2.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-2.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-1.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
This turtle was a little annoyed that i disturbed its nap.

Heres the rest of them:

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-7.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-7.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
A very photogenic Green Turtle, i think he liked me.

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-6.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Grazing parrotfish

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-9.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-9.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Stacked clams

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/?action=view&current=RCheronmovies-8.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Heron%20Island%20Movies/th_RCheronmovies-8.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
A little blue spot ray hiding in the corals.

Now where are those photos hiding...

The video with all of the effo's and hyacinthus is INCREDIBLE!!!!:eek: :eek:

I put it on my space:D

Thanks :) . Those were quite nice - besides the turtle, my favorite was the one with so many fish, I think the second one. Well, the one showing the color of the corals was fabulous, too.

Do you see many angels?

Surprisingly, the only really big angels were the six lines, which are quite skittish. There far too many small angels around to even think about counting. Bicolours are quite numerous, and i've seen a few regals, but not many of the huge ones.

Here's some more:

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/IMG_0267.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/IMG_0337.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/IMG_0338.jpg[/IMG]
This softie is almost as big as me!

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/IMG_0343.jpg[/IMG]

[url=http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/?action=view&current=MVI_0316.flv][IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r23/edr42/Wheeler%20Reef%20Trip%202006/th_MVI_0316.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I enjoyed the videos. Reef Shelf Corals was my favorite, with just tons of SPS for meters and meters.

wow, all those videos are very nice. thanks for posting

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9018464#post9018464 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by edr42 [/i]
[B]Surprisingly, the only really big angels were the six lines, which are quite skittish. There far too many small angels around to even think about counting. Bicolours are quite numerous, and i've seen a few regals, but not many of the huge ones. [/B][/QUOTE]

My impression is that angels are skittish in general and are therefore perhaps not the number one food item on the reef. That said, I've eaten angel myself. It was delicious, but in the last year or so I can't seem to really enjoy fish any more, least of which would be angels!! ( & probably groupers & triggers, too)

I love Centopyges the most (not to eat ;) ), do you know which ones swim in your area?

And I hope you don't mind all these questions :( ... But how long would you say the the largest bicolors are (nose to end of tail)? And what length do you see most of?

And I hope you also don't mind, but I must fess up & tell you that your photos have become my slide show screen saver. And Bluey is my wallpaper. :D You not only have great subjects, but you are a great photographer.

how big is that black clam with blue circles?

That clam was about 3 feet end to end. There are a large number of clams that size on the reef, with the majority over 1.5 feet end to end.

The bicolours range from about 3 inches, up to big ones 6 inches or more. The big ones have blue cheek spines that are quite distinctive. Most of the ones you see are 4 inches or more, with the little ones being very close to the coral for protection.

Bluey is quite the photo ham! he loves attention and regularly tries to taste my camera. Chosing a desktop is quite a drawn out procedure for me these days, so many photos!

the pics are amazing I'd like to see more

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9025731#post9025731 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by edr42 [/i]
[B]That clam was about 3 feet end to end. There are a large number of clams that size on the reef, with the majority over 1.5 feet end to end.

The bicolours range from about 3 inches, up to big ones 6 inches or more. The big ones have blue cheek spines that are quite distinctive. Most of the ones you see are 4 inches or more, with the little ones being very close to the coral for protection.

Bluey is quite the photo ham! he loves attention and regularly tries to taste my camera. Chosing a desktop is quite a drawn out procedure for me these days, so many photos! [/B][/QUOTE] Thanks for that info - I hope to come check out those blue cheek spines & 3 foot clams personally :). I keep showing my husband pictures of Bluey. Finally last night he was looking up Townsville on the internet - he liked it! According to one source Cactus Jack's doesn't sell liquor? I've never heard of a Mexican restaurant that didn't serve margaritas - maybe a liquor license is hard to get in Queensland (?). I'll have to check into it

The airfare is unbelievable from Houston, but he sounds interested in a visit. :D

What's up with those killer jellies? Some sources made it sound like during jelly season you'd be crazy to set a toe in the water around there :confused:

vacation im thinking of moving there that is paradise problem is they dont let americans immigrate anywhere

[QUOTE][i]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9037111#post9037111 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSMguy [/i]
[B]vacation im thinking of moving there that is paradise problem is they dont let americans immigrate anywhere [/B][/QUOTE]

I am trying to move there also, my husband is not quite on the bandwagon yet - anyway a visit seems like a good place to start...

I didn't know about the immigration problems :(
I had checked out New Zealand, but concluded it to be a little on the cool side for us -- the way it worked there, as I understood it, was that as long as you could show you had enough money and were not going to take jobs away from the natives, you are welcome - if you are buying or starting a business which would provide jobs for New Zealanders, even better. New Zealand has a list of professions that they would welcome immigrants for.

I had kind of hoped Australia would be similar, but have not looked into it yet.

Have you checked out Australia?

I can definately tell you that Catctus Jacks does indeed sell alcohol, and they do a mean margarita! Liquor licenses should be quite easy to aquire in Townsville, drinking is almost a national pastime.
Immigration shouldn't be a problem for americans, it's pretty much as NZ would be, and Townsville would welcome any new buisness with open arms.
Townsville itself didn't impress me much, (then again i'm comparing it to Sydney, where i grew up and live outside of semester times) but it has grown on me, and the climate and the reef are unbeatable. You can run a reef tank without a heater or lights if you just put it outside.
Also you can collect corals and fish direct from the reef.
The "killer jellies" deserves a post of its own, so.....

yes you need to have allot of money to start a buisness the same as for a german or brit here in the US
i have not checked austrailia particularly but i lived in england for 2 years and never was able to get a work visa it is hard
MY ideas hire Scientist start some soret of foundation get grant money move there to do reasearch for global warming lots of money for that flying around.

There are two kinds of jellyfish in Northern Austalia which can kill you in minutes, the box jellyfish (or sea wasp, stinger, etc), and the irukandji jellyfish.
The box jellys hang in quite close to shore, and are very rarely out on the reef, even in the middle of the wet season. However they are inshore on the coast from about october to march each year. A marginal sting will leave you in excruciating pain, but you can get through it. A really serious sting can kill you in under 10 minutes.
The good news is that all beaches have some vinegar handy (this neutralizes the stingers), and you can protect yourself against stings simply by wearing any sort of lycra suit or covering. The basic rule is that it's safe if you cant see through it. Lycra bodysuits are all you need for warmth anyway, so it's no big hassle.

The irukandji is a nasty little critter; they are tiny (one of my friends gor one down his snorkel on a field trip) and cause about 3 weeks of incredible pain. The same precautions apply as for box jellies. I wear a lycra suit, gloves (needed to stop coral cuts anyway), boots (for fins anyway), and sometimes a lycra hood (nicely helps with sunburnt ears!). That means the only part of my body that can be stung is that tiny line between snorkel and mask, and i have never been stung.

So, yes there are 2 jelly species that can kill you, BUT given some common sense precautions and a little dilligence, the chances of you getting stung are tiny.
At any rate, they aren't out on the reef. :)