Hello! Hopefully if you have found your way to this page, you want to hear about my experience in Heron Island. Well, I'm not one to disappoint, so stay tuned! First, though, a little about myself: my name is Brynn, and I am studying fisheries and aquatic sciences at Utah State. I only have three semesters of my degree left, so I can almost call myself a college graduate. After that, I plan to attend graduate school and get a Master's degree in aquatic ecology, then hopefully a PhD in marine science. This summer I have had the incredible opportunity to come to Heron Island to study coral reefs! Heron Island is a small island off the coast of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia. Half of the island is a resort, while the other half is a research station run by the University of Queensland. We are staying with the research station and will be working with them to conduct research projects concerning the reef. As a class, we started our journey yesterday, May 28th. However, I have been in Australia since May 23rd exploring the Rocks in Sydney. I spent a lot of my time with my lovely classmates, Cat and Sam. I also spent a day with Sean, Russ, and Zach, so we have all become good buddies before even stepping foot on the island. After exploring Sydney and enjoying the Vivid lights festival, my classmates and I met up at a cute little hostel in the city of Gladstone, a mining town in Queensland. We spent the night then boogied on over to the Heron Islander ferry first thing this morning. The water was calm, and the weather was beautiful. Overall, it was an incredibly pleasant ride, and the two hours flew by. Nothing beats the feeling on sun on your face and wind in your hair! Once we got on the island, we got a brief tour from one of the research station staff members. Every one here is very friendly and has made us feel very welcome. After the tour, we ate lunch, sandwiches and salad. This may sound like a typical, boring lunch, but let me assure you, it was not. The chef here (also very friendly and welcoming) is amazing at his job. So far, all of the food he has fed us has been much better than any food I eat as a poor college student. We're off to a great start! After lunch, we lugged our baggage to our dorm rooms before we checked out our snorkel gear and got a basic run down of the rest of the day and the plan for tomorrow. During this little rendezvous, we decided that an evening snorkel was in order. We got into buddy pairs (I was paired with Sean), and set off for the beach. The snorkel was the highlight of the day. We saw endless amounts of coral and hundreds of little fish (plus a great deal of big fish)! One of the most common fish that we saw was a parrotfish, which are also my favorite sight under the water. They grow to be pretty sizable fish that are brightly colored and have a beak-like mouth that looks like they're always smiling. You can't see a parrotfish and not smile. My classmate Russ and I decided to go back in the water for a few minutes after everyone had gotten out. This is because we saw a few fins of black tip reef sharks. The top of my list of animals I want to see is sharks. Unfortunately, they were too fast for us, and I didn't see them. Soon, little sharks. Soon. As great as the fish were, though, nothing is better than being able to breathe when underwater. It's a completely different world down there, and it's truly a surreal experience. It's easy to let all of your troubles go when you're in a place as serene as a coral reef. The best part is we get to snorkel every day! After the snorkel, we went to the jetty to watch the sun set. I've never seen a sun set like that in my life. Sunsets are never bad, but there's something different about watching one over an endless body of water. We were also able to see a few turtles off the jetty just chilling. They came up for air a few times, which was pretty stinkin' adorable. What is it about turtles that make them so cute? I personally think it's everything about them, but a few of my classmates think that it's the eyes, mouth, and head, which is true. After the sea turtle encounter, we ate dinner: personal lasagnas, salad, and a muffin type dessert with syrup and cream. My classmates can attest to this: that dessert was truly enlightening. Like I said, the chef is amazing. Thanks, Pat! That concludes our first day on Heron Island! I'm so excited to get into this class! Hopefully it will put me a bit ahead in the marine biology world. It's competitive, but it truly is my passion and calling in life. Thanks for reading! Until tomorrow night, I bid you adieu! But first! PICS!
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