October 22, Monday

October 22, Monday

Today is my excursion out to the Great Barrier Reef.  I’m not a good swimmer; I’m OK in swimming pools because I know I can reach the sides, but out in a lake I’m not brave.  Out in an ocean?  Forget it.  But this is the Great Barrier Reef, so I’ve selected an excursion that brings us out to a massive pontoon out on top of the reefs.  I needed to be at the marina for 8:30 and I was only a 15 minute walk away, so I left the hotel at 8 am for a nice leisurely walk along the water front.

 Doesn't look like it's going to be a very nice day.  I even have to use my umbrella for my walk to the Marina.  See the point of land to the left?  That's how far I have to walk this morning.

 Along the way I pass Cairns outdoor community pool.  It's all free of charge!

 The these are the ferries that will take us out to the Great Barrier Reef.  I got to the marina in plenty of time, only to find out that we could not board before 8:45 and the catamaran ferry wasn’t leaving until 9:30. 

We left on time and I started out sitting at the back of the ship so that I could catch some sun, since it was trying to peek out through the clouds, but I soon moved indoors because the seas were extremely rough. I had my seasick bracelets on so I was fine, but the trip out could have been renamed the "Barf Cruise". So many people were tossing up their cookies that the staff spent their time handing out paper bags and collecting them again to throw them out. Enough said.

 Our last look at Cairns as we headed out into the open seas.


This is a photo from the brochure, showing the massive pontoon out on top of the reefs.

During the two hour cruise they were showing videos of what to do and not do when out over the reefs.  Then they started advertising their optional excursions.  You could put on a sea helmet and walk around the underwater platform below the floating pontoon ($140: people who selected this did not see much); you could take a scuba diving lesson ($125: not interested in trying this); you could do a certified scuba dive ($80) and you could do a guided snorkel safari ($35: I would be interested in this, but not alone in the water since I’m not a strong swimmer). There were also 10 minute helicopter rides for $312.  And then I heard that even if you could not swim, you could do the guided snorkel safari with a marine biologist.  Now THAT got my attention, so when they said they were booking tours on the lower deck I made my way down to get more information.  Ted, the marine biologist, was taking the bookings and I listened as he booked other people before me who could swim and had snorkeled before.  I told him I could not swim and had never snorkeled before so I was very apprehensive.  No problem, he told me, he would be taking a life saving ring along which I would hang on to while he took me out.  Most people were just given a life jacket to wear while they snorkeled, but he said he would get me to wear a wet suit, which would provide added buoyancy (no extra charge).   

We got to the huge pontoon area at 11:30 and disembarked.  I went to select some flippers that would fit (not too snug, just like Ted told me) then walked around to explore while I waited.

 There was an underwater window in the pontoons, where they had set up a platform with all sorts of coral.  The great part was that a lot of the fish were attracted to it, so anyone who could not go into the water would at least get a glimpse of what it looked like below the water.

 
 
 This is the underwater platform attached to the floating pontoon.

I watched as others got on to the platform to start their snorkling.  Some just went in their swimsuits, but others had rented wet suits.

 Lots of fish in the water.  This shot is taken from the top of the pontoon.

 Lots of people out in the water enjoying the views.  There were a few "rest" floating squares on the water.  Great idea !

Here is a shot of the underwater platform, as seen from above.

At 12:15 I was waiting in the area for my 12:20 snorkeling excursion when Ted spotted me and waved me over.  He found a wetsuit for me to wear, then fitted me with the goggles and the breathing tube. The photographer was there to capture the moment, and although it is a really bad picture I’m posting it anyway since this is the only photo of my outing.  I practiced breathing through the tube and got in the water.  Ted was right there with the life saving ring.  I got comfortable with breathing while my face was under water (45 degree angle, not looking straight down) and off we went.  Well…. I thought I was right in a National Geographic magazine about coral reefs.  It was simply amazing.  I have to admit that I got some water in the mask and in the tube quite a few times because I was looking all around me under water. There were a lot of “Oh my God’s” and “Wow’s” until I realized that each time I reacted I was getting water inside the goggles and the tube.  Note to self:  SHUT UP, YOU ARE UNDERWATER !  I had to get my head out of the water quite a few times to clear the water out of the breathing tube and the goggles.  Because I was on a guided snorkeling excursion, Ted took me out of the security buoy area and off to another reef where we had the place all to ourselves.  We saw two large sea turtles, all sorts of coral and all sorts of fish.  I was so enthralled with it all that I forgot to be scared.  At one point the reef dived down and I was floating over deep water.  I was a bit worried then, but Ted just kept pulling the life saving ring beside him and I just floated along, not even having to take one swimming stroke or even using my flippers.  It was great !   I loved every minute of it.  At one point while I was clearing water out of my mask, I realized how far away we were from the pontoon platform.  Yikes.   But then I put my head back down and watched the coral reef. We saw a few fish, but not that many.  We saw two sea turtles!  

 Didn't have a camera with me, but this is a picture from the brochure.  We really do see them!

Really bad photo, but I just had to buy it.

 The colour of the corals was breathtaking.  So diverse with blues, greens, pinks and all shades of brown and green. We made it back to the pontoon platform and suddenly I realized that I was right in the middle of school of fish.  (The foot long blue ones with the yellow fins, see first coral photos in this blog.)  Normally I would have freaked out but I was feeling very comfortable by this time and just enjoyed it.  I reached out to touch them and they just inched away from my hand.  The entire experience was simply amazing.

I got out of the water, out of the wetsuit and went to shower.  It was almost 1:00 o’clock and they stopped serving lunch at 11:30 so I went back on the ferry to eat.  There was still a fairly good selection left of the buffet, but I didn’t over do it, just in case.  After that, I took one of the tours in the semi-submersible and then in the glass bottom boat. 

 The glass bottom boat

 Shots taken from the submersable

 It isn't as tight as I thought it would be in there

 but because of the depth required to accommodate the ship, we don't really get that close to the corals.

 and the colour of the glass does not do justice to the brilliant colours I had seen during my snorkling expedition.

I then took a ride in the glass bottom boat.  This is a shot taken from the boat, looking back to our ferry, the pontoon platform, and the submersible.

I thought that the first one would be better, but unfortunately we did not see much.  The glass bottom boat however was great; since it has a shallow bottom and can go over most of the reefs without problem.  We were in the opposite direction from the swimmers from the pontoon.

 Huge clams at least 3 feet wide

 
 Too bad about the glass being coloured because it distorts the colours of the corals.  I'm so glad I got to go out and snorkle and see all those brilliant colours.

 
 
 
 These looked like brains !
We saw a sea turtle, and the captain went back over the same area so we could take some pictures, but the reflection on the glass made it impossible at that angle.

“The Great Barrier Reef is said to be the largest structure on earth ever created by living creatures, approximately 2,300 kilometres long. The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is 347 800 square kilometres in area ( an area bigger that the United Kingdom, Holland and Switzerland combined). It is the largest World Heritage Area and marine protected area in the world. The reef contains over 2,900 reefs which includes 760 fringing reefs, and 300 coral cays.  As the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef is home to over 1500 species of fish, about 400 species of corals, 4,000 species of molluscs, 215 species of birds, 6 species of sea turtles and a host of sponges, anemones, worms, crustaceans, shells, sea stars, urchins”   It is one the of the “7” wonders of the world!

At 3:30 it was time to leave the reefs and head back to Cairns.  The sea was just as choppy as this morning and I thought that everyone would be tossing up their lunch, but this time there were only a few people who were sick.  Many of the others had opted for the bottom level. The ferry had 3 levels in total and I stayed on the second one, sitting in the middle section as much as I could.

We reached Cairns at 5:30 and I walked back to the hotel.

What a day!  BIG, BIG CHECK MARK OFF MY BUCKET LIST.