Great Barrier Reef

My planned trip to the reef hit a huge snag before I even got on the boat; at around 7 pm the night before, the tour I was on to say that they had to cancel because the boat didn't work. Of all the things!!! So that left me scrambling at the last minute to find an overnight trip I could take instead. I wound up on one called ReefQuest, which really wasn't bad, except that I would have preferred many fewer people.

My big accomplishment is spending two days on a boat and not throwing up (not much of an accomplishment, I know), although I was feeling a little queasy on the return trip. They made us wear wetsuits to get in the water, even though the temperature was pleasantly warm. I guess it's for buoyancy, but man are those things uncomfortable. The second day I wore a stinger suit (a thin suit with long arms and legs). It made me look like a demented speed skater, but it was much more pleasant to wear.

I went snorkeling four times over the course of the trip. What really disappointed me was how washed out and dead much of the coral was in this area. I don't know if it's from people diving or other environmental factors, but it's very sad. We even got up to do a trip at 6:30 am the second morning, just as the sun was starting to come up. My favorite snorkel was the last one of the trip. I don't know whether I had finally gotten the hang of it, or was just in a better area, but there were fish everywhere. I saw a white tipped reef shark, giant clams, anemone fish (like Nemo), schools of little tiny fish, lots of very colorful parrotfish, angelfish, and surgeonfish. The waves and currents were quite strong, so you had to fight to stay in your desired position. Other than that, the trip was amazing.

The boat we spent the night on is very nice, with spacious cabins (no bunk beds), real showers, and several nice common areas. I still would have preferred to be on my little 12 person boat, but I can't complain too much about this one. There were a number of people on board doing either their PADI open water certification, or taking an advanced dive course. I have to admit I was a bit jealous. Someday I will, I keep telling myself :)

It was nice just to hang out on the deck of the boat, feel the breeze and the sun on my face, and look at the ocean. I read an entire 400 page book on the trip, so obviously it was very relaxing. tomorrow I'm off to explore the Atherton tablelands. See you soon.