Snorkeling the Tangalooma Wrecks

My residence in South Bank is a block from a cineplex so I escaped late afternoon heat and humidity on Sunday by seeing an advanced screening of 'The Hurt Locker'. The film's premise is revealed in an opening quote from Chris Hedges, a former war correspondent for the NY Times:

The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.

I know exactly what Hedges is getting at, man. I mean, I live it.

I'm a coral reef junkie.

Got an extended fix at Moreton Island on Saturday. Snorkeled an artificial reef there called Tangalooma Wrecks, which is composed of 15 majestically decaying hulks. First one was scuttled in 1963, the last 21 years later. Mostly dredges and barges that are now barnacle and coral covered and alive with a variety of tropical fish.

Won't go into details of the day, as it involved certain tourist-y elements that I strive to avoid. Met a few extremely pleasant German, French and Turkish tourists, but an illness that a West End doctor has since diagnosed as flu was already bashing me about the sinuses so I only wanted to snorkel and sleep. Still without my beloved Canon digital camera so I picked up a cheap waterproof Fuji disposable. Along with the photos above, here are the results.
Looking back at the Micat ferry, the main mode of transport to Moreton Island. Many passengers drove onto the vessel in 4WDs, which they use to get around the mostly uninhabited sand and scrub-tree island. It's a 75-minute ride from the Port of Brisbane.
I battled high tide currents to explore the wrecks twice before my group donned wetsuits and protective gloves later in the afternoon for a 'guided' exploration. It was low tide and much easier to access so at least two other groups of snorkelers descended on the wrecks. Wetsuits provide buoyancy so I put off taking photos until this last visit. Like previous underwater photo-taking endeavors I went through film like a kid attacking a bag of Halloween candy. Was glad to capture sunlight streaming through to the sea floor but missed a later appearance by a pair of pied cormorants that swam and dove beside my snorkeling group as we chucked chunks of bread to swarming fish.
In the water ... wreck dead ahead.
Of course I've been spoiled snorkeling for hours among soft coral in Fiji. But a junkie doesn't whinge about texture.
Bones of a wreck.
Streams of sunlight flood a wreck.
My group takes a break.
Back on the Micat, looking north (via awful camera phone).
Final look at Moreton Island as the Micat pulled away, looking south (via camera phone).