Some photos from a four day Mike Ball Dive Expeditions dwarf minke whale trip.
This trip boarded in Cairns on a Thursday at 6pm then steamed overnight to the northern Ribbon Reefs to an area where dwarf minke whales congregate for several weeks in June and July. The three days (friday to Sunday) revolve around diving sites like Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Pinnacle, Challenger Bay, Two Towers and Cod Hole whilst also looking out for whales. Dwarf minkes are curious and approach the boats. There is a strict code of practice where snorkellers hold onto float lines trailing from the back deck (so no diving whilst minkes are around). Snorkellers are not allowed to swim towards the whales, let go of the rope or use strobes. The interactions are on the whales terms and can last for several hours. After diving on Friday (including a night dive), Saturday (another night dive available) the last diving is on Sunday afternoon before heading to Lizard Island for the night in the anchorage at Watsons Bay (11 dives on the trip). The following morning a small plane took us back to Cairns on a one hour low level flightalong the coast.
Some passengers stay on for the return journey but most travel one way. The planes bring new divers who then do a similar trip heading back down to Cairns for Thursday morning. Out of minke season the trip has a similar itinerary but the northbound journey heads to the Coral Sea. In between these Ribbon Reef and Coral Sea trips the boat Spoilsport also does expeditions to Yongala, Northern Coral Sea and up as far as Raine Island and Ashmore Reef (these expeditions book out well in advance!)
The pictures were taken with an Olympus om-d e-m1 mark ii in an Isotta housing and 8mm Olympus fisheye and 60mm macro with 2 x Inon S2000 strobes.
It is a fantastic trip and the reef is looking really good, with very strong coral recovery since Cyclone Ita (2014) Cyclone Nathan (2015) and coral bleaching with the El Nino in 2016/2017.
