Great Barrier Reef WARNING LOTS OF PHOTOS! - Page 4

GSMguy · 01/21/2007, 05:27 PM

sounds good to me lycra is all u need or would a one peice 2mm wetsuit too hot?
can we see a pic of your tank if you have one?

Angel*Fish · 01/21/2007, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by edr42
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.....

Do you sleep? It doesn't seem like you should be up when I am -lol

Well, as much as I'd like to be the only place in town offering a Texas margarita, I have to say it's a relief to hear there isn't some weird problem getting a liquor license.

Every time you post I get more excited about Townsville - Outdoor reef?? Oh my gosh

Yes, I'm sure Sydney is wonderful, but I've had enough big city life already. The only thing that I'm having trouble warming up to is the Townsville architecture & high cost of housing. You wouldn't believe what we can get for the same price here in Houston. If I come to Townsville that aspect of my standard of living will go down.

It looks like some of the homes must be built with hurricane/cyclone issues in mind. Along the Gulf of Mexico no one seems to care - homes get wiped away and the government pays to put them back - it's really irritating to see my tax dollars go for that kind of thing. Sorry to rant - I'm just tired of it here - I need a 15-20 year break

edwing206 · 01/21/2007, 10:50 PM

wow that clam is big. thanks for the pics

edr42 · 01/22/2007, 10:56 PM

There are some pretty dodgy houses in Townsville, but it is quite cheap. Sydney is many times the price in terms of housing than Townsville, i was quite surprised how cheap it is when i first arrived. A good 3 bedroom place in a nice suburb (like riverside gardens) is about $300 per week to rent. Look at Riverside if you need a place to live, it's quite nice.
Anyway, the reef is the real attraction.
My tanks are going to have a HUGE overhaul when i get back to uni in mid February. I'll put some pics up when the surge tanks are settled, and the corals are all in place.

Angel*Fish · 01/23/2007, 11:14 AM

Thanks for the heads up on Riverside. I did notice that rental housing is very reasonable. But for some reason if you want to buy, the cost doesn't seem to be proportional.

edr42 · 01/26/2007, 02:31 AM

I thinks thats because most of the people who live around there are uni students who only rent, so the prices stay relatively low.

Angel*Fish · 01/26/2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by edr42
I thinks thats because most of the people who live around there are uni students who only rent, so the prices stay relatively low.

I understand what you're saying, but at first glance, an unusually high demand for rentals should drive the price up. I guess it's an unusually high demand by people who can't pay that much - thus if you want to lease your house, the price must be low enough -

My situation has gotten complicated - my mother had a stroke last week - doesn't look like I'm going to be trekking off on an Australian adventure anytime soon. The cost of her care is amazing.

More pics, please!! Say hi to Bluey for me & tell him he has fans in America!

edr42 · 01/26/2007, 04:28 PM

So sad to hear about your Mother!

I think your right about the renting thing, most people have bought up just as a place to rent out, so there are heaps of rental places, but places to buy are a little more elusive, (and also uni students are notoriously poor!).

I'll be back up in Townsville on the 14th, and i'll be back out on the reef soon after, so there will be more reef pics in the near future.
In the meantime, i'll have to go say hello to Bluey again and see if he's in a photogenic mood (which is almost always!).

Stay tuned.

Angel*Fish · 01/29/2007, 10:38 PM

Thanks, my mom is improving some everyday.

Was shopping yesterday & the checker at Wal-Mart happened to be from Queensland. Lovely accent! I suppose all you Aussies talk like that - I asked him if he liked it here, he tactfully said he was trying to get back home - lol.

Enjoy the rest of your holiday

edr42 · 02/01/2007, 04:47 PM

Alright, heres some more photos that were lying around:

Heron island from the chopper.

Quite a nice view.

Mmmm, clams. They are littered all over the reef flat, you really have to watch out for them at low tide.

Some nice cowries.

A big cushion star.

And a epaulette shark that was cruising around in the ankle deep water.

edr42 · 02/01/2007, 04:53 PM

And just a few more:

One of Bluey's children.

I haven't got an ID on this wrasse yet, any suggestions?

And one of the female groupers.

Additions could be delayed for a while, as yesterday someone decided to walk into the house, whilst i was making lunch, take my mums laptop and printer, and walk out with them. As my sister said "aargh! I hate people, they suck!"

Ah well, such is life.

melev · 02/01/2007, 04:58 PM

Quote:

That is WAY Cool!!!!

GSMguy · 02/01/2007, 05:28 PM

wow i love it that reef is calling to me hundreds of miles of reef

vijaym85 · 02/01/2007, 09:06 PM

Did anyone do any documentries on the reef over by where your at?
I feel as though I saw something on the Discovery channel regarding the crown of thorns starfish or some other subject where they visited a school that was adjacet to the ocean and reef.
Awesome pics. I would love to collect a bunch of stuff if I lived there! Thank you for sharing!

Angel*Fish · 02/01/2007, 09:24 PM

Quote:

I haven't got an ID on this wrasse yet, any suggestions?

Try posting here - they'll bend over backwards..and I don't think I've ever seen them come up empty handed yet

Link to the RC Fish Forum

Angel*Fish · 02/02/2007, 12:52 AM

Actually it looks like this red scribbled wrasse in this thread

LisaD · 02/07/2007, 10:36 AM

I'm sorry about the computer and printer being stolen, hope you can recover them. Those pictures are priceless!

speckled trout · 02/08/2007, 12:19 PM

Angel*Fish, sorry about your mom.

I spent over a year travelling back and forth to Houston after my mom's stroke. She never regained much movement. Her body was pretty much wiped out after the stroke. Her mind was a different story. Having your mind trapped inside of a non-functioning body is horrible. She, however, usually kept her spirits high, at least when I was around her she acted that way.

My dad had to take care of her and yes, the costs were insane even with good insurance. Worrying about where the $$$$ is going to come from creates its only problems. A $1,000,000's doesn't just grow on trees and the bills can be staggering after a short while, especially after a long hospital stay in intensive care.

My words of advice is be there for her. She will need you and other family members in more ways than you can imagine.

Good luck and hopefully things will improve. Faith that she'll improve is what will keep you all going.

Angel*Fish · 02/08/2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by speckled trout
Angel*Fish, sorry about your mom.

I spent over a year travelling back and forth to Houston after my mom's stroke. She never regained much movement. Her body was pretty much wiped out after the stroke. Her mind was a different story. Having your mind trapped inside of a non-functioning body is horrible. She, however, usually kept her spirits high, at least when I was around her she acted that way.

My dad had to take care of her and yes, the costs were insane even with good insurance. Worrying about where the $$$$ is going to come from creates its only problems. A $1,000,000's doesn't just grow on trees and the bills can be staggering after a short while, especially after a long hospital stay in intensive care.

My words of advice is be there for her. She will need you and other family members in more ways than you can imagine.

Good luck and hopefully things will improve. Faith that she'll improve is what will keep you all going.

Thanks for the very kind words. It actually helps.

I'm sorry for what your mom and your family had to go through

.

Angel*Fish · 02/08/2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Additions could be delayed for a while, as yesterday someone decided to walk into the house, whilst i was making lunch, take my mums laptop and printer, and walk out with them. As my sister said "aargh! I hate people, they suck!"

edr42 , after reading LisaD's post I had to scroll back to find what I'd missed.

Besides losing the items, being robbed can really leave one traumatized and feeling violated (which you were). Kind thoughts going out your way - so sorry it happened .

speckled trout · 02/08/2007, 03:23 PM

edr42,

First of all, I'm intensely jealous of your "backyard", so to speak. I'd love to have that kind of access to coral reefs, it looks amazing.

Living on Texas' gulf coast ain't so bad, though. I get to dive on oil platforms and wrecks out in the Gulf of Mexico where the visibility can be 80+ at times. Here, we encounter sharks, rays, drum, blennies, gobies, angelfish, wrasse, goatfish, butterflys, triggers, puffers, snappers, etc., but not the variety of corals.

Yes, occassionally I find some sps, but they are few and far between. It's mainly filter feeding gorgonians and sponges that we encounter. Your variety is awesome and beautiful and I'm very very very envious!

edr42 · 02/08/2007, 10:48 PM

Well, thankfully they only got my mums laptop, not mine, so i still have most of my photos.

I'm quite fond of my backyard!
Heres some photos and movies i took yesterday:

this fellow clearly isn't fond of fish.

A little silver trevally

The resident pair of "old wives".

And a little nudibranch i found hiding on the rocks.

Hope you enjoy!

edr42 · 02/08/2007, 10:55 PM

I leave for Townsville on Sunday, so i should arrive on Tuesday night.
There will be lots more reef pics when i get out to the reef again, hopefully within the first week or so.

SERVO · 02/09/2007, 06:51 PM

Can't wait!!!

I was really waiting for Bluey to chomp on some Urchins! He was eyeing one for a second

davidhughes85 · 02/10/2007, 02:15 PM

egr42 how hard is it to ge a job in australia if you live in the us? I am graduating with a finance degree in a year from texas tech and really just want to go somewhere...always been in love with the ocean but lived in the wrong place. Probably would have tried to become a marine biologist if I hadnt been in the middle of BFE. I just got a job as an intern with morgan stanley that goes into a salaried part time position this summer (not exactly sure how that works, heh) =I should be able to transfer within the company and they are located in sydney....anyways i guess im asking do you know if its pretty common for people to transfer over there esp. finance related?

01/21/2007, 05:27 PM	#76
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	sounds good to me lycra is all u need or would a one peice 2mm wetsuit too hot? can we see a pic of your tank if you have one? __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

01/21/2007, 10:50 PM	#78
edwing206 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Shoreline,Washington Posts: 4,518	wow that clam is big. thanks for the pics __________________ The name's Luis. :) Current Tank Info: 50G cube

01/23/2007, 11:14 AM	#80
Angel*Fish cats and large squashes Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston Posts: 5,951 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks for the heads up on Riverside. I did notice that rental housing is very reasonable. But for some reason if you want to buy, the cost doesn't seem to be proportional. __________________ Marie So long, & thanks for all the fish! __________________________ Current Tank Info: Pairs: flame angels, cherub angels, Red Sea mimic blennies, yellow fin fairy wrasses, clowns, mandarins, blackcap basslets, shrimp gobies, damsels, dispar anthias, yellow clown gobies, threadfin cardinals --- Tanks: 100g reef, 2 x 30g refugiums

01/29/2007, 10:38 PM	#84
Angel*Fish cats and large squashes Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston Posts: 5,951 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks, my mom is improving some everyday. Was shopping yesterday & the checker at Wal-Mart happened to be from Queensland. Lovely accent! I suppose all you Aussies talk like that - I asked him if he liked it here, he tactfully said he was trying to get back home - lol. Enjoy the rest of your holiday __________________ Marie So long, & thanks for all the fish! __________________________ Current Tank Info: Pairs: flame angels, cherub angels, Red Sea mimic blennies, yellow fin fairy wrasses, clowns, mandarins, blackcap basslets, shrimp gobies, damsels, dispar anthias, yellow clown gobies, threadfin cardinals --- Tanks: 100g reef, 2 x 30g refugiums

02/01/2007, 05:28 PM	#88
GSMguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northern New Mexico Posts: 17,420	wow i love it that reef is calling to me hundreds of miles of reef __________________ Nick. Conehead. Shallow Reef club. Current Tank Info: 48"x27"x14" Envision Acrylic rimless, 6x39w ATi Sunpower, Custom ATB Deluxe Skimmer, 4x tunze nano stream,ATB flowstar 1500, ACJR, Tunze osmolator.

01/22/2007, 10:56 PM	#79
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	There are some pretty dodgy houses in Townsville, but it is quite cheap. Sydney is many times the price in terms of housing than Townsville, i was quite surprised how cheap it is when i first arrived. A good 3 bedroom place in a nice suburb (like riverside gardens) is about $300 per week to rent. Look at Riverside if you need a place to live, it's quite nice. Anyway, the reef is the real attraction. My tanks are going to have a HUGE overhaul when i get back to uni in mid February. I'll put some pics up when the surge tanks are settled, and the corals are all in place.

01/26/2007, 02:31 AM	#81
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	I thinks thats because most of the people who live around there are uni students who only rent, so the prices stay relatively low.

01/26/2007, 04:28 PM	#83
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	So sad to hear about your Mother! I think your right about the renting thing, most people have bought up just as a place to rent out, so there are heaps of rental places, but places to buy are a little more elusive, (and also uni students are notoriously poor!). I'll be back up in Townsville on the 14th, and i'll be back out on the reef soon after, so there will be more reef pics in the near future. In the meantime, i'll have to go say hello to Bluey again and see if he's in a photogenic mood (which is almost always!). Stay tuned.

02/01/2007, 04:47 PM	#85
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	Alright, heres some more photos that were lying around: Heron island from the chopper. Quite a nice view. Mmmm, clams. They are littered all over the reef flat, you really have to watch out for them at low tide. Some nice cowries. A big cushion star. And a epaulette shark that was cruising around in the ankle deep water.

02/01/2007, 04:53 PM	#86
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	And just a few more: One of Bluey's children. I haven't got an ID on this wrasse yet, any suggestions? And one of the female groupers. Additions could be delayed for a while, as yesterday someone decided to walk into the house, whilst i was making lunch, take my mums laptop and printer, and walk out with them. As my sister said "aargh! I hate people, they suck!" Ah well, such is life.

02/01/2007, 09:06 PM	#89
vijaym85 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Queens NYC Posts: 1,296	Did anyone do any documentries on the reef over by where your at? I feel as though I saw something on the Discovery channel regarding the crown of thorns starfish or some other subject where they visited a school that was adjacet to the ocean and reef. Awesome pics. I would love to collect a bunch of stuff if I lived there! Thank you for sharing!

02/02/2007, 12:52 AM	#91
Angel*Fish cats and large squashes Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Houston Posts: 5,951 Blog Entries: 1	Actually it looks like this red scribbled wrasse in this thread __________________ Marie So long, & thanks for all the fish! __________________________ Current Tank Info: Pairs: flame angels, cherub angels, Red Sea mimic blennies, yellow fin fairy wrasses, clowns, mandarins, blackcap basslets, shrimp gobies, damsels, dispar anthias, yellow clown gobies, threadfin cardinals --- Tanks: 100g reef, 2 x 30g refugiums

02/07/2007, 10:36 AM	#92
LisaD That's not a salmon Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: central North Carolina Posts: 6,986	I'm sorry about the computer and printer being stolen, hope you can recover them. Those pictures are priceless! __________________ Keeping saltwater tanks since the late '70s Current Tank Info: tankless at the moment

02/08/2007, 12:19 PM	#93
speckled trout Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: South Texas Gulf Coast Posts: 696	Angel*Fish, sorry about your mom. I spent over a year travelling back and forth to Houston after my mom's stroke. She never regained much movement. Her body was pretty much wiped out after the stroke. Her mind was a different story. Having your mind trapped inside of a non-functioning body is horrible. She, however, usually kept her spirits high, at least when I was around her she acted that way. My dad had to take care of her and yes, the costs were insane even with good insurance. Worrying about where the $$$$ is going to come from creates its only problems. A $1,000,000's doesn't just grow on trees and the bills can be staggering after a short while, especially after a long hospital stay in intensive care. My words of advice is be there for her. She will need you and other family members in more ways than you can imagine. Good luck and hopefully things will improve. Faith that she'll improve is what will keep you all going.

02/08/2007, 03:23 PM	#96
speckled trout Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: South Texas Gulf Coast Posts: 696	edr42, First of all, I'm intensely jealous of your "backyard", so to speak. I'd love to have that kind of access to coral reefs, it looks amazing. Living on Texas' gulf coast ain't so bad, though. I get to dive on oil platforms and wrecks out in the Gulf of Mexico where the visibility can be 80+ at times. Here, we encounter sharks, rays, drum, blennies, gobies, angelfish, wrasse, goatfish, butterflys, triggers, puffers, snappers, etc., but not the variety of corals. Yes, occassionally I find some sps, but they are few and far between. It's mainly filter feeding gorgonians and sponges that we encounter. Your variety is awesome and beautiful and I'm very very very envious!

02/08/2007, 10:48 PM	#97
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	Well, thankfully they only got my mums laptop, not mine, so i still have most of my photos. I'm quite fond of my backyard! Heres some photos and movies i took yesterday: this fellow clearly isn't fond of fish. A little silver trevally The resident pair of "old wives". And a little nudibranch i found hiding on the rocks. Hope you enjoy!

02/08/2007, 10:55 PM	#98
edr42 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Townsville, (on the Great Barrier Reef) Posts: 355	I leave for Townsville on Sunday, so i should arrive on Tuesday night. There will be lots more reef pics when i get out to the reef again, hopefully within the first week or so.

02/09/2007, 06:51 PM	#99
SERVO Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Keller, TX Posts: 1,305	Can't wait!!! I was really waiting for Bluey to chomp on some Urchins! He was eyeing one for a second

02/10/2007, 02:15 PM	#100
davidhughes85 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 493	egr42 how hard is it to ge a job in australia if you live in the us? I am graduating with a finance degree in a year from texas tech and really just want to go somewhere...always been in love with the ocean but lived in the wrong place. Probably would have tried to become a marine biologist if I hadnt been in the middle of BFE. I just got a job as an intern with morgan stanley that goes into a salaried part time position this summer (not exactly sure how that works, heh) =I should be able to transfer within the company and they are located in sydney....anyways i guess im asking do you know if its pretty common for people to transfer over there esp. finance related?