In 1911, the SS Yongala was due to port in Townsville, but disappeared in a cyclone and never arrived. When the body of a racehorse she was transporting washed up on a beach days later, it was realized the worst had happened and she was lost. Nobody knew where she was until the wreck site was discovered in 1947. The 100m ship lies listing on her starboard side in 30m of water, she's in one piece with her masts lying over in the sand.
They say you can still spot some coral-encrusted bones in the hold, but I couldn't tell. It's a three hour cruise out to the site, but completely worth it! We did two dives, about 50 minutes each. The wreck is literally teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes and at least three turtles, sea-snakes, eels, and a quartet of giant potato cod (local name for a goliath grouper, I figure.) Jenn thought she saw a shark when we hopped in but couldn't tell the species... The other divers were a great bunch - some marine bio types and lots of trekkers so I got some great advice for my future wanderings. It also helped keep my mind off the 71F water temp - brrrrrrr in my 3mm! Jenn was toasty in her 5mm PLUS hooded vest and I just know I'm gonna be hearing some "Remember when Clement called the dive because the poor baby was chilly?" comments in my future.
The dive crew from Adrenalin Dive was very sharp and they had meals and snacks galore for the long ride home. When you consider they picked us up from home at 6:30 AM and dropped us back off around 7PM, it's a looong day for those guys...
Off to Bangkok next, I'll keep you posted!
Ciao and stay wet,
C
