Cape Tribulation

The alarm went off super early alarm as we had our Great Barrier Reef Ocean Safari snorkelling trip booked for 8am. The early wake up wasn't too much of a problem though as we both had the best nights sleep ever! There were no creepy crawlies so it was a million times better than the caravan. The meeting place was directly opposite our hostel so after a quick bit of toast we walked on over.

After a quick briefing and squeezing into our wetsuits we made our way to the beach to board the boat. On the way there we were told that a film crew would be onboard filming for Monday's 'Today Show'. Our 5 minutes of Aussie fame! Once we were all on the boat it took around 25 minutes to get to the reef. Unfortunately we soon realised we picked the worst seats when we got an earful of sea spray right in the ear hole!

No sooner had we made it to the first mooring point, we saw our first turtle in the water. As if by magic he came up for air just as we were about to get in the water. Turtles are so relaxed in the water. This fella really wasn't phased by us all being there, diving down and taking selfies. This was the number one thing we had wanted to see in the water here along with the obvious Great Barrier Reef. We both felt we saw a lot more fish when we snorkelled in Fiji however on the reef all the fish were a lot bigger, especially the parrot fish of which there were loads. These colourful creatures swim with their side fins as opposed to their tails and are the reason for all the reef sand in the area. They nibble and feed on the reef all day and out the back comes a daily dose of reef sand.

The second mooring point had slightly less fish but did have a lot of giant clams. These things were the size of a suitcase and close shut when anything went near them. We were also told this is where we could find Nemo but no such luck on that front. Just before we made our way back to the boat I caught one of the film crew about to land his drone on the boat. It looked good until the boat went over a wave and knocked it on its way down causing it to spin out of control, hit the side of the boat and then land straight into the water. Needless to say this thing did not float and sank like a lead balloon. Luckily the sound man was in a wetsuit so dived in after it. OOPS!

For lunch we decided to eat at the Turtle Cafe next door to Ocean Safari, due to a good recommendation from Fowler. Although just swimming with them I went for fish and chips. Blake had a delicious looking chicken wrap. To walk it off, much to my dismay, we took the beach path to Cape Tribulation Beach. To me a beach is a beach but we had to see it apparently. We managed to catch the last bit of sun before strolling back along the road back to our hostel.Read more