wj lost in translation: DAG 110: Last day of the year.

So what do you do on the last day of the year? Well that thing that you enjoyed the most during the whole year: i went diving again. This time i dived the SS Yongala, one of the largest and most intact historic shipwrecks in Australian waters. It is also a mass gravesite.

Built in 1903 the SS Yongala was one of the biggest passenger and freightsteamers at that time. It routed from Melbourne (south east) to Cairns (southwest) and had room for 110 1st class and 120 2nd class passengers. At 1:40op on 23 March 1911, the Yongala left Mackay bound for Townsville on what would be its final voyage. Five hours later, the vessel passed the lighthouse keeper on Dent Island in the Whitsunday Passage, steaming into what was described as 'worsening wheater' With no radio onboard (the radio was to be installed in Cairns later on), the captain had little warning what lay ahead. This was the last sighting of the Yongala. All 122 people onboard lost their lives. The wreck was discovered in 1947 by the navy, but was first marked as a coralboomie until it was first dived in 1958. They discovered it was the Yongala by the serialnumber on a safe recovered from the wreck.

So at the end of 2007 i m floating above the Yongala and the view is amazing. Surrounded by sand the wreck has become a dynamic artificial reef that attracks a lot of small and big fish. The Yongala has become a real fishmagnet. I am surrounded by big groups of batfish, Mangrove jacks, sweetlips, trivallis and thousands of small fish. But the big winner this time is the leopardshark that is just resting in the sand outside the ship. A giant seaturttle (never have i seen such a bg one) and an enormous Queenland grouper, that has been nicknamed 'VW' by the divecrew. VW because the fish equals the size of a small Volkswagen .

Did i mention in my blog that snakes freak me out? Well where ever i look i spot the olive seasnake, the most poisonious snake in the world. Luckily he cant bite hard, or he must get to your earlob, otherwise you die in a sec. Nice to know. But i survived the last day of the year!

The Yongala dive was one of the most impressive dives i did so far. Floating around on a depth of 25m (never felt so bouyant in my life) looking through the holes of the wreck and spotting so much sealife. Not a bad way to end my year.

The next day i wake up at 09:00 excactly, midnight in the netherlands. They started celibrating New Year at that moment. Someone explained to me, that someone must have been thinking at me at that mioment :) Thank you!
TO EVERBODY: HAPPY NEW YEAR AND I HOPE THAT YOUR WISHES WILL COME TRUE IN 2008!!