The Great Barrier Reef

A planned boat excursion to the Great Barrier Reef is on today’s agenda. Our group boarded a good sized vessel about 8:30 and together with some other tourists we motored out of Cairns harbour. There were 44 guest and a crew of 8. It takes about an hour to get to the reef so coffee and Danish pastries were a welcome treat.

Our first experience was a 30 minute glass bottom boat trip. Not too much to see, a few fish, giant clams and blue starfish. Matt our guide gave a good explanation of what we would see on the Great Barrier Reef.

We got fitted for Lycra suits to fit over our swimwear and reminded on how to put on a mask and snorkel after the safety briefing. The sharks are small around these waters and the jellyfish are mostly harmless. Dianne must have believed them because she got into the water with her snorkelling gear as soon as got the Lycra suit on.

The water was warmer than I expected. We swam at two different locations, with a lunch break in between. The guests swam in groups with a crew member generally present. There was turtles, small reef sharks, an octopus, schools of fish, many different coral, giant clams, sea cucumbers and some jellyfish to name some of the sights. At the second location, a Barracuda and another good sized fish hung around the boat knowing they would be fed before we left. The Barracuda scared Dianne, when she was in the water, coming up behind her as she approached the boat. Dianne thought it was a shark!
On the way back to Cairns we had fruit, cheese and crackers and some sweets. All in all it was a pretty good day. Sunshine, calm water and good food.Read more