The Crown of Thorns starfish Acanthaster planci (COTS) has contributed greatly to declines in coral cover on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and remains one of the major acute disturbances on Indo-Pacific coral reefs.
I hadn’t seen them much around Guam for the first couple of years that we were here. I saw my first one at Dadi Beach on the Navy base. I ran into two at Fish Eye Marine Park, and so on.
However, I had heard that they could sometimes breed like crazy and take over an area. Last weekend, I finally saw that happen.
We were swimming from Gun Beach towards Tumon Bay. As we passed the Beach Bar and the stage where they have traditional dances, we began to see Crown of Thorns star fish. First just one, then another, then another, then another…
By the time we were even with the wedding chapel just past the beach area, we were in the midst of a huge bloom of Crown of Thorns, at depths of 10 feet to 30 feet all along the coral.
It is always discouraging to come upon these very poisonous and very evil star fish who gobble up healthy coral and leave barren wastelands. However, it is even worse at Gun Beach, where last year’s bleaching had already taken so much of the coral. Now what little is left is being gobbled up!
For anyone who snorkels or dives regularly, remember that it can make a huge difference if you report these Crown of Thorns blooms right away to whomever handles such things in your area. Here on Guam, it’s up to NOAA, who do reef monitoring, and who are piloting a program to begin killing Crown of Thorns star fish.
It’s harder than one would imagine to kill a Crown of Thrones. I always figured it would be a good idea to just grab them from the water and let them dry out and die on land. However, it turns out that they spawn when they feel threatened.
If you scare or upset a Crown of Thorns, it will essentially spray babies out. Therefore, it is up to the professionals to strap on a dive tank, and carefully inject each arm of the Crown of Thorns with poison.
This way they are killed without being jostled or moved, and so they don’t know it is happening. (They are only star fish after all, so it’s not like they have brains.)
So the takeaway here is: These evil star fish are killing what coral we have left. If you see something, say something. Don’t try to kill them yourself, or you could make a bad situation worse. And avoid contact because they are very poisonous.
It’s unfortunate that rays are such a rare sight on Guam. My husband and I have been snorkeling nearly every weekend that we have lived here, but we never say one.
Yesterday, we finally saw one for the first time ever and it was glorious. It went gliding along the ocean floor in front of us and it was beautiful. It’s hard to tell scale under water, but it was big. I would guess about four or five feet across; maybe a little more.
If it helps for scale, we were snorkeling on the surface of the water about 30 feet from the ocean floor. Anyway, it was a magical experience and I am really glad that we got to have it before we moved to Hawaii.
One more of the Manta Ray.
If you check out my YouTube Channel, you can find a lot of the other amazing sea life that we have seen here on Guam.
We have come across a lot of stunning things, from turtles to cowrie shells, and even a friendly barracuda. It has been a real adventure living here, and I’ll miss it when we go.
I have written before about Gab Gab, a reef inside the harbor on the Navy Base. This is juts some pictures from one of my snorkels there, so you can see what it is like.
There are anemones, turtles, schools of fish, and all about a million awesome corals. It’s a beautiful place.
This is a masked puffer. There are a lot of types of puffer fish here, but I don’t see them as much except in June and July (which seems to be when they are getting friendly with each other.)
The masked puffer is in front of some beautiful hard corals.
These are soft corals growing on hard corals. The ocean is (for the moment) full of species competing for space.
I like how the soft corals seem to pop up and grow on things like mushrooms.
There are several sea turtles that are usually seen around Gab Gab. I have looked online a lot, and it seems to me that they are Green Sea Turtles.
Several military spouses and insisted rather vehemently that they are hawksbill turtles. However, I don’t think that is the case.
Above, you can see a cleaner wrasse eating parasites off two larger fish. One is a standard Parrot Fish, and one is a Rainbow Parrot fish.
Parrot fish have these tiny, silly-looking fins. I have no idea how they move to fast.
At fist I thought these might be cuddle fish. However, upon more searching online, it looks as though they are reef squid.
I had never seen them at Gab Gab before August of 2017, but it seems that there is an explosion of squid and other invertebrates going on. I am glad, because I love the way they change color.
Anyway, this is what it looks like swimming along the reef at Gab Gab.
It’s a really amazing experience to swim through these underwater gardens. I am grateful that I got to see them.
For the second time, I went to Electric Beach on Oahu. This time I went on a Sunday, and boy was it crowded! Apparently weekdays are much better.
I was extremely upset to see two random men come along and punch a sea turtle on the back. I have no idea what that was about, but it seemed like some kind of macho thing. I wish people would respect endangered species and keep the required two meters away.
Anyway, as I have said before, Electric Beach is where the heated water from inside the power plant on the shore pours out of big pipes.
Lots of things like to come there. Last time I saw a sting ray. This time, several small green sea turtles.
The coral is small. It’s not like Guam, with huge coral stacks that build reefs that dwarf me. There are mostly rocks, and then some small corals living on them.
Even without big corals, there is no shortage of interesting sea life. There are some very pretty sea urchins that live among the rocks.
If you go to Oahu, take the trip out of Oahu and up the coast. It’s worth it.
Particularly if your goal is to see turtles, Electric Beach is a good spot. I noticed that most of the people on the Great Barrier Reef tour with me were out to see turtles. They really are some of the cutest things in the ocean.
I am still sad about the loss of our resident turtle by my house at Fish Eye, whom we called “Larry.” The other turtles here are great, but they are strangers who come and go. Larry was like a friend who was there every day to go for a swim and play.
This will be my last Australia post. I think I have finally covered nearly all the things I wanted to say. There are just a few loose ends that I will sum up here.
The main takeaway is that you should definitely go to Australia. I felt like I stepped into a parallel universe where everything was the same; and yet just a bit off. It’s not like England were even the recent immigrants and decidedly English.
It’s actually shockingly like the US (in that they lack an established culture), while somehow simultaneously being nothing at all like anywhere else on Earth. I know that sounds crazy, but when you get there, you will see.
The big highlights to note from the trip are:
The bills are plastic and feature the Queen of England, and the coins are heavy and weigh you down. Still, very neat. I love foreign money.
1. Stay at YHA hostels if you are by yourself and on a budget. They are mostly wonderful, and extremely affordable. Make sure to buy through their website, and look into package deals (sometimes they run a special on a set amount of days like: 10 days for $200.)
I stayed at the YHA in Bondi Beach, Railway Station Sydney, and the one in Cairns. All were good, with the usual hostel bothers (sharing a room with a stranger) and the usual perks (kitchen to cook in and knowledgeable staff.)
Bronte Beach on the coastal walk trail.
2. Snorkeling and diving on the reef will be warm, but if you go around Manly Beach or other popular locations around Sydney (or anywhere south of Sydney); get a wet-suit. It was freezing in the middle of summer (January.)
On a side note, it was totally worth it. I hadn’t been in a cold-water environment since middle school, and the kelp dancing in the waves was magical. So were the groupers.
Kangaroos hopping away from us in a National Park.
3. Go to the Blue Mountains, but maybe not with a tour (so you can hike around at your own pace.) I am sorry to say that I can’t recommend the company I took a tour with, though maybe you’d have better luck?
However, I do recommend the Blue Mountains. The land is wide and open like Northern Arizona, and it has the same stark and empty beauty.
Sweating up a storm in the rain forest.
4. If you’re going to Cairns for a reef tour, it’s worth it to go to the tourist town rain forest for a day. I got great pictures in Kuranda.
If you like shopping, they have oodles of that. I am not a shopping person, so we went to the butterfly garden and the wildlife park, and ate at a restaurant. The whole thing was really very nice.
We took the Skyrail up, and the train back. I definitely recommend that. Someone here in Guam told me to take a bus up to Kuranda, but if I had, I would have missed some of the best things I saw on the trip! Don’t settle for a bus. Take the Skyrail and the train. Getting there really is half the fun.
Angel Fish with dead coral behind it on the Great Barrier Reef.
5. I did the live-aboard through Cairns Dive Center and stayed on a boat called The Kangaroo Explorer. It was the most affordable option, but the staff was amazing and the chef was top-notch. Seriously, he blew me away with the food. I had a great time! I cannot recommend these guys enough for kindness, fun, and really creating the best experience they could for all the passengers.
However, the impression I got was that tourists only ever get to see the parts of the reef that are the most damaged, and this is both good (for the reef) and bad (for you.) So… take from that what you will. But I see better turtles and coral in Guam on a Tuesday.
Big Bus Tour, Sydney.
6. The Big Bus Tour was good. I mean, it’s better to see stuff by just taking the regular trains, because it is cheaper and you don’t feel rushed. However, I didn’t do it to see the sights. I did it to listen to the commentary and enjoy a day of sitting down (after all the walking as a tourist, and then all the running at full speed in the Blue Mountains.) For what I wanted it for, The Big Bus Tour was perfect.
If you, too, need a day of rest; give it a shot. You can do the central Sydney area and the Bondi Beach area all for $50 for the day. Sit on top (wearing a hat and sunscreen) for good pictures, or sit below in the AC and just watch the stuff go by.
As an aside, I have also done this tour in Paris and London. Both were good. Honestly, the Big Bus Tour was the only place I picked up those fun tourist facts (like how the guy who built Oxford Street was paid in rum because that was Australia’s first currency.) The locals don’t like to repeat that stuff over and over so they just stop telling people, but the recorded voice on the Big Bus Tour will say it over and over.
In the Chinese Garden in Sydney.
Final Thoughts:
Most of the places I spent money on tourist stuff were great and I have almost no regrets on that score. As for the people, they were fabulous. I found Australians to be kind, well-intentioned, and welcoming. People gave me directions and helped me book trips and purchase things with ease as long as I stuck to the tourist spots.
Now, a few of the pubs I went to refused to try my (US) card and asked for cash. They were off the beaten track, and I imagine they don’t see many Americans (only 30% of us even have passports.) So, I don’t think that was too unreasonable.
Actually, I was surprised how few Americans I ran into. With the exception of the reef tour, I didn’t actually meet any at all. Unfortunately, that did not save me from having to think about Trump. Every Australian I met had a go at me for Trump. Seriously, all of them teased me about living in a country run by a madman.
Trump actually personally screwed me while I was in Australia as well. He shut down the government so that the value of the US dollar plummeted. The exchange rate (which is usually very favorable) dipped surprisingly close to 1:1. So, I guess I can’t escape US politics anywhere in the world, even down under.
From the Blue Mountain Tour.
Anyway, I would recommend the crap out of Australia if you were choosing a place to visit. I know the Maldives look attractive and Europe calls to everyone. I know Japan is top on all the anime-geeks lists. But, Australia has something about it that is magical, and I am really glad I took the time to go. You should, too.
And if you are worried about those stories you heard about Australia being dangerous, let me put that fear to bed right now. I saw nothing dangerous. Not one thing. Seriously, they say it’s dangerous, but it’s super tame in the cities, in the Blue Mountains, and even out on the reef.
I suppose you should take into account the fact that I grew up in Arizona (think: scorpions in your shoes, rattlesnakes with skin-rotting venom, Gila Monsters, and Tarantulas.) And, I guess, the fact that I live in Guam and am frequently harassed by Giant Beach Roaches and Huntsman Spiders here. But even so; I expected to see more dangerous stuff, and I really didn’t. I came back with a few black aunt bites, but that is all.
This map is full of lies. It’s actually quite safe in Australia.
The Chinese Garden, with the city of Sydney in the background.
One of the best things in Sydney was sitting and resting by the pond at the Chinese Gardens.
A window looking out at the garden.
Granted, it’s a little odd to look at a serene garden and see skyscrapers in the background.
A window in the tea house within the garden.
However, as long as you keep your eyes down and in the garden, it is really relaxing.
Look out from the tea house at the pond and the viewing area across the water.
I particularly liked all the animals. None of them are in cages or technically considered part of the garden. They just visit and/or live there by choice.
An iguana in the Chinese Garden.
I saw iguanas, birds (including the much hated White Ibis,) turtles, and ducks.
A duck and a turtle in the pond.
Of course they do keep koi there, which is awesome.
Koi in the pond.
Anyway, it’s a peaceful place and there are lots of benches. I brought a book and some water, and i just hung out for awhile.
A viewing pavilion by the waterfall.
If you need a break, and you are tired of the hustle and bustle of being a tourist; this is the spot to visit.
Of all the things I saw and did in Australia, the two best things were the Great Barrier Reef and the Butterfly Garden.
Cairns Birdwing butterfly on a
My YouTube Channel has the best of the Great Barrier Reef stuff, because video comes out better than pictures in water full of sediment.
Butterflies feeding at a sugar-water feeder.
However, the pictures from the butterfly garden are better than the video, so I wanted to do an entire post just to show off the butterfly pictures.
Overview of the garden.
The butterfly garden in Kuranda has a building full of caterpillars, so you can see what the juvenile butterflies look like.
Two Chocolate Argus butterflies getting friendly.
The main building is the garden, which is full of all kinds of amazing flowers and water features.
Common Eggfly on a leaf.
Now, I know butterflies are not everyone’s thing. I am sure most people would have been more excited by the markets and the shopping opportunities.
Cruiser butterfly on a leaf.
However, I like watching butterflies. You can just sit down and watch them flutter around. If you hold very still, one might even land on you.
Blue Banded Eggfly on a leaf.
When I traveled with the Renaissance Festival (way back in my early twenties) there was a butterfly garden at one of the fairs in Texas. I used to love to sit in there and watch the butterflies.
Case of butterflies in the gift shop.
If I ever have a back yard again, I hope to fill it with flowers so I can attract butterflies to my yard. Of course, I won’t catch them and pin them under glass like the gift shop, because that is horrifying.
Monarch butterfly display between the garden and the gift shop.
I spent about a week in Sydney while I was in Australia.
The rail car I slept in at the Sydney Railway YHA hostel.
I stayed in the Railway Station YHA, which I definitely recommend. It was cheap, clean, and nice.
Shari and I on the train.
Some of that time was just for sight-seeing. Some of that time was to visit my fabulous friend Shari, who flew up from Melbourne to see me.
Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Sydney was harder to get around than I expected, since the buses do not have posted routes inside them and they don’t announce stops. Getting around South Korea was actually easier since the stops were announced, and the routes were posted on bus stops and inside buses.
Looking into one of the Sydney trains (while standing on the platform.)
I did like the train system though. That was quick and efficient, and the stops are announced on the trains.
A Cockatoo at Central Station begging for food.
I did all the usual stuff, like visiting the shops in The Rocks and going to the Sydney Aquarium. It was lots of fun.
A look at the old and new buildings that make up Sydney.
I also saw all the famous sights, like the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.
Me in the common room of the Railway Station YHA.
Of course I love plants as much as I love fish (which is a lot.) So, the very best part was the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Plant wall at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney.
I tried the Big Bus Tour since a roommate at the hostel gave me her ticket for her second day. It was actually really awesome to just sit for a day and listen to the headphones talk about the history of Sydney, but it’s better to use the train to get to the tourist spots.
Shari and her friend when we got vegan Chinese by the opera house.
I tried all kinds of food. Some of the best Chinese dumplings I have ever had, avocado toast, and some German pastries to name a few. There are some very good restaurants in Sydney.
Noodles at my friend Mel’s favorite Chinese place in China Town.
I loved Sydney. The mix of old and new is very cool. You’ll see a Cathedral from colonial days next to a brand new building; all glass and plants.
St Mary’s Cathedral across from the Sydney Museum.
Plus, I met a lot of cool people. An Egyptian immigrant named Sayeed helped me when I was lost. A French girl on vacation gave me advice on things she liked to see. And several ozzies took the time to sit down with me and tell me about their country and what it is like to live there.
Avocado Toast at a cafe in Newtown.
We have talked about moving to another country when Rich gets out of the military. We have thought a lot about Canada, Mexico, France, and Thailand. But honestly, Australia was the best I have seen so far. I think it’s at the top of the list now.
There is a village up in the rain forest called Kuranda. You can get there by bus, but savvy people know that the best way to go is either the train, or the “Sky Rail.”
Skyrail Building
Thankfully, I went with my friend Melissa, and she knew all the best things to do. I am so grateful for her!
Mel in the Skyrail
So, we took the Sky Rail there, and it offered places to get off and walk in the rain forest, as well as amazing views from within the cable cars.
Skyrail End in Kuranda
When we got there, we went to a wildlife park with koala bears and kangaroos, which was cool.
Kangaroo
Then, we went to a butterfly garden, which was even better. (I love butterflies!)
Butterfly from the butterfly garden
And, I tried a kangaroo steak, which was way better than a kangaroo burger.
Kangaroo Steak
Finally, we took the train back to Cairns.
Train through the mountains
The train ride was amazing, and we even stopped to see the waterfall!
Waterfall and clouds
It was a really good day, and I loved the rain forest.
I took a tour of the blue mountains through a company called Barefoot Down under. I chose them specifically because the flier claimed that only a “moderate” level of fitness was required (while other tours said the hiking was “hard” or “difficult.”)
As a cancer survivor with a heart condition, I struggle. I mean, I am not unfit. I run three times a week at the gym and I swim nearly every day. I can and have hiked all day. In fact, just last year I did the 888 stairs to the top of Ulsan-Bawi in Seoraksan.
Stairs that the tour operator thought we should run up. Not walk, mind you. Run like a mountain lion was chasing us.
That said, I can’t go at break-neck speeds. I can’t run up and down trails. I do need to hike slowly. And that is why I chose the tour group that said the difficulty was only moderate.
Unfortunately, the tour group leader decided that running was the only way to hike.
Honestly, it would have been fine if we got to Wenworth Falls recreation area, and then he pointed out the easy trail to me to get to the falls. It was short, and I saw children and old people on it. After all, I had disclosed that I had a heart condition, and if he was planning on running wildly down the trails, then he should have let me do my own thing and given me a time to meet back up with the group.
However, he didn’t.
Just sat by myself in the woods. All alone. Waiting for over an hour.
He took me into the jungle and then told me the path he was taking to the falls would be “too hard for me” and to “just sit at the trail fork.” I sat. And sat. And sat. He never came back for me and the group did not return. I ended up deciding to hike back out on my own, and I sure am lucky I did! The tour guide had decided to take everyone out going a different way, and I would have missed them all and got left in the forest by myself.
To add insult to injury, he had his wife e-mail me to say “You have wondered off. Please return to the tour or you will be left behind.” When I got back to the city and had wifi, I checked it and when I saw that i was livid. He told me to stay behind, and then planned to say I wandered off and it was my own fault.
Luckily, I decided to hike out on my own.
Upper pathway, which is nicer than the lower trails.
However, I couldn’t very well yell at him in front of everyone when I re-joined the group (and boy did he look surprised to see me.) After all, one of the other girls on the tour told me that he had pretended to try to come and find me (which I know he didn’t, because I did not move.) Ergo, he played it up for them so that he could make sure it looked like my fault.
I took the high road and tried to act cheerful for the rest of the day. We went to a restaurant with overpriced kangaroo burgers, a street full of graffiti, and an overlook to take pictures. However, the whole time I was thinking about how the guide had tried to leave me in the woods because I confessed to having a heart condition and he wanted to run all day.
Kangaroo Burger. Not really very good, but I had to try.
The thing that gets me is this: He could have just said “This hike is rated difficult” on the flier. If he had done so, I never would have gone on the tour. I wouldn’t have paid a bunch of money to see Wentworth Falls (which I never got to see.) I would have looked for another tour, or taken a bus up to the park and hiked at my own pace like my friends did when they went to the Blue Mountains.
So basically, the tour flier is misleading. It is not “moderate” in difficulty. It is “hard.” That is something they should change immediately. I have no idea how Wenworth Falls looks, and I spent about an hour in the woods reading my book instead of finding out because the tour guide told me that I was “breathing too hard” as he was literally running up a hill and I tried to follow, and so he told me that I should “wait here until the group returns.” I was pretty disappointed.
On the upside, we did come across Chris Darwin (the great-great grandson of Charles Darwin) completely by chance. So, I got to meet him. At least that was something.
One of the only good pictures I got, from an overlook we drove to.
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