Under the Sea!

It's wonderful how quickly I'm "hooked" into each and every National Geographic Magazine article.  Try this out and see if you agree: "If the sea went dry along the east coast of Queensland, a thousand miles of coral "maze" would be revealed."  So writes Charles Barrett in his September, 1930, article, "The Great Barrier Reef and Its Isles: The Wonder and Mystery of Australia's World-Famous Geographical Feature."  "Then there are the isles, mountainous and forested of the inner zone, and the atolls and cays that are true coral islands" (p. 355).  I must read on, and hope for lots of color photos.

In addition to the history of the Barrier Reef's explorations, the dangers of navigating amidst the reefs, and the various theories of the origin of the reef, Mr. Barrett details "boring" ventures.  Not what you might think, this concerns drilling cores into the reef at different points to try to determine its age.  The evidence provided no conclusions, even to a depth of 1,100 feet.

Imagine the great proliferation of animal life, both under the sea, on the islands and beaches!  Sea turtles are one of the most fascinating of creatures, living in both worlds.  "Sea turtles are seldom seen out of the water in the daytime.  They steal ashore at night to lay eggs" (photo caption, p. 360).
My sister-in-law has a friend whose daughter is a doctor of marine biology who has made numerous trips to Australia to study the sea turtles.  "They attain a length of five feet or more. . . we counted nearly 300 one morning along the western beach (Masthead)" (p. 375).

A photo on page 373 shows the author in a small rowboat leaning over the edge looking into a sort of long metal cylinder.  "The water telescope reveals beauties of submarine gardens far below."  In the background is a lighthouse on an island complete with palm trees.  Sigh!  I love lighthouses!

Palm trees on Waikiki Beach, Hawaii, July, 2013.  Not as far as Australia, but I met several friendly families from Australia. Does that count?

St. Augustine Lighthouse, June, 2013.  Who could NOT admire these stately edifices!

I was having visions of the movie, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."  Remember that?  The undersea life was spectacular.  My friend, Rosemary, took scuba lessons in a local pool in preparation for going snorkeling in the ocean one summer.  Maybe I should try that. . .

Snapped out of my fantasy by crocodiles!  "There are two species of crocodiles in northern Queensland: the huge seagoing variety, which has taken toll of human life, and this small species that frequents only inland waters" (photo caption, p. 377).

The author noted thousands of sea birds on the beaches.  "Some light-keepers are bird lovers, and at the North Reef I found the herons so confiding that close-up photographs were possible.  But the gulls, the dainty silver gulls which nested on the fringe of vegetation, were suspicious" (p. 378).

Seabirds rest on my kitchen counter in the seascape in the summer.  They've flown north (upstairs) for the winter already. They are fairly quiet and don't require frequent feeding.  Good pets.  But I couldn't say the same for the orange octopus attacking the sailboat!

I collect sea shells and never tire of arranging them in decorating for the summer.  Now I have a new name I can call myself, "conchologist!"  "A conchologist might be content to spend a lifetime collecting and studying the mollusca of the Great Barrier Reef" (p. 379).

"The coral's living beauty may not be captured in words.  An hour on a reef at low tide, or a cruuise in a boat equipped with a water glass, reveals a new world of loveliness.  Or going below, with the diving helmet on, one discovers fresh beauties in familiar things" (p. 382).

Mr. Barrett concludes, "Crocodiles bask on the mud banks of north Queensland rivers and lurk among the mangroves by the sea.  Nature has not yielded all her secrets yet, in this country of the cassowary and tree-climbing kangaroos.  But the Great Barrier guards a hundred secrets where the mainland has one.  Is is not a wonder of the world?" (p. 384).

(p.s.: for a view of an unusual, beautiful, flightless bird of Australia, Google "cassowary."  I had never heard of this before.  BTW, by the time I got to the end of this article, I didn't mind at all that there were no color photos.)