The Great Barrier Reef

Tuesday, June 8 we went on an all day trip to the Great Barrier Reef--“The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms.”

We chose a smaller but faster boat which got us to the outer reef in 1.5 hours. There were about three dozen passengers on a boat that could carry up to 60. At peak season, some of the boats out of Pt. Douglas will carry up to 300 passengers on one trip. Our boat visited three different Agincourt Reef sites on the outermost edge of the GBR and we had almost four hours of snorkel time. The trip also included a very nice buffet lunch and hot drinks.

The sun was out although it was windy and the water was a little choppy. Both air and water were about 75 degrees. The boat carried a few prescription masks which we were happy to use as well as full body stinger suits and wetsuits. I struggled some with my mask since it was a one-size-fits-all and was really large for my face causing it to leak periodically. However, once our heads were under water, I joined Mark in paddling in ecstatic circles.

waves crashing on the edge of the reef

We were prepared to be charmed by the fish but found ourselves equally as enchanted by the corals. The corals were white and gray and blue and orange and brown and green and purple and pink. There were massive shelf corals and multiple branching corals. There were hard brain-like looking corals and soft pasta-like corals. One looked like white broccoli. The variety seemed endless. At times we paddled carefully so as not to hit the coral with our fins.

The fish were too diverse and numerous to begin to catalogue but, like the coral, the colors and shapes and sizes seemed myriad. Some nestled down amongst the coral, some were swimming in large schools. Some were tiny and others up to a couple of feet long. A flounder or two could be seen just under the sandy bottom in the open spots and we saw one old clam that must have been a couple of feet long. At one point, the snorkel guide brought up a couple of sea cucumbers. We petted the first soft one and watched the second one spew a defensive sticky white spaghetti-like substance out its end. We watched the colorful parrot fish with their fierce grins pecking at the coral (looking for tasty algae) and later excreting pulverized coral in a steady stream. What a wonderland from our Creator.

By the third snorkel time we were a little shivery and a little tired but mostly sick of the taste of salt in our mouths. We happily stripped out of our wetsuits and indulged in the onboard free standing hot shower. Back into dry clothes and with a hot drink, we luxuriated in the sun streaming through the windows on the ride back to the harbor. We don’t have a waterproof camera so our saved images are all mental memories.