Great Barrier Reef’s blue hole, image courtesy of J. Gaskell
The largest coral reef ecosystem on earth, the Great Barrier Reef, has revealed a spectacular and previously unknown jewel. The sapphire-hued blue hole was discovered by marine biologist and underwater photographer, Johnny Gaskell.
Blue holes are underwater sinkholes. They are formed when carbonate bedrock drops deeper than the surrounding seafloor. Blue holes are characterised by their depth in relation to the surrounding limestone or coral reef bedrock and their spectacular deep blue tone. Notable blue holes are the Dragon Hole (a whopping 300m deep) and the 300m wide Great Blue Hole of Belize.
Gaskell, a resident of the Whitsunday’s, described his find on his Instagram account, “After spotting this deep blue hole on Google Maps we decided to head far offshore, out further than our normal Reef trips to see what dwelled within.” And what a find it was! At depths of 15-18m the divers discovered pristine colonies of giant birdsnest and unusually long Staghorn corals.
Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a great offer on 
The Northern Hemisphere summer holidays are winding down for many. As you return to work and set your summer vacation images as your new screen saver, do not fear, you could be under sunny skies soon while the weather turns grey outside.
If ‘size doesn’t matter’ then macro is major for you. Talking about size, macro is an adjective to describe large scale, however in diving it refers to diving with tiny creatures. The term macro diving may have stemmed from capturing images of these incredibly beautiful and unusual minuscule marine animals. Macro photography is where the subject is rendered at or greater than 1:1 on the sensor. When the image is printed, the subject appears much larger than it does in real life. The majority of marco divers will have their digital cameras at hand. Experienced dive masters will know the dive sites and will be able to lead you directly to the critters ‘homes’. Here you can wait patiently to get that perfect shot. 
Turneffe Flats Resort – Special Discount Offer
Consider the following questions:
At Dive The World we give the people what they want, and so we announce