All 7 of us Canadians made it to the reef tour on time, not without a bit of drama. We were all so glad to have made it, as this was a highlight for the Aussie part of the trip, and also a rather pricey thing to miss out on!
Our cruise was a catamaran, with a double hull. It's supposed to be really stable...so I guess we weren't supposed to get sea sick...as easily. They still offered us seasick pills once we got going...for a price, naturally.
Once we headed out, we joined the "line" of boats heading out to the reef to do the same thing as us. Certainly a big tourist draw with lotsa business! We gave them a bonus income by paying for the seasick tablets. Two hours of boating to get out there! We didn't want to risk ruining our expensive day. Nathan did end up getting pretty green, and I certainly felt woozy and sipped lotsa water to try keep breakfast in and kept wondering if we'd be there soon!
Leaving Cairns far behind! We had a beautiful sunny day for our snorkeling, plus it was not windy. I was certainly happy it was calm! It felt bouncy enough without any extra height and wind!
Finally did make it to the reef. It was hard to see much of the reef from the deck...just looked like seaweed from where we docked. Once geared up we headed in the water in our snorkeling gear. We had to stay in a certain area so they could see us clearly, and I didn't want to go far...how would I recognize our boat compared to the other ones all moored in a row along the reef? Wouldn't it be weird to go on board the wrong boat with no one you knew? They all look the same to me! (after all, you aren't wearing your glasses with a snorkel mask on)
I got to borrow a waterproof case and managed to get two shots taken in the water before I got frustrated with my cell touch screen and an extra plastic layer between it and my finger. Instead I just enjoyed the reef! It really was amazing how close to the fish you could swim and what a lot of variety of life there under the water in such a small space!
This is how bright the colours were for us...you need a bright flash and fancy camera to get past the filtered light...then, apparently it is colourful like in "Finding Nemo". With your snorkel glasses things are magnified and it's hard to tell the distance of things. I even scratched myself on the reef not knowing it got that shallow where I was. It is very scratchy! There were a few fairly big fish swimming really close by me. Apparently a reef shark went by, but none of us noticed it. If you don't head out with, and stay with a buddy, you kinda end up on your own seeing your own bit of the reef.I tried find my kids, who'd ended up in the water ahead of me, but gave up after finding several "look a-likes" in a row. You really don't see much that is recognizable of the person sticking out of the water. I headed out went with Philip for a while too, but it's so hard to communicate that you still feel a bit like you are in your own little zone.
Views of the reef from the boat. We stopped for lunch, then moved to a different mooring and snorkeled again for another hour or two.
It was good that the seasickness didn't impede Nathan from enjoying the reef. And I was certainly glad when we were done the cruising part and were moored!
It sure makes you feel small seeing that this is just a small "island" of reef that we stopped by. And all of those "small islands" of reef connect over a vast space of water, and all of it (expect the bleached bits, I guess) is teeming with an abundance of life. Wow!
Ladders up and off we go to the next spot... Here we saw a bit more different kinds of fish again (not that I could keep track of all the variety!) and just got to explore different depths and "valleys" of coral as well.
On our way back we had a presentation to listen to, which included a talk about things like why it wasn't so brightly coloured, what coral bleaching is (and that it's not a crisis but a natural stress cycle that is actually pretty normal, but was blown up and misunderstood by media).
And we made it safely back safety where the ground was stable again. What a day! Lots to marvel over and be amazed at!
We SHOULD have spent our evening looking over the Air Niugini specs for luggage and carry on size and weight restrictions. But instead we just neatly filled up our bags in our own systems of organization in our own bags. At least we were careful to not leave anything behind. ;)
2 comments:
What an incredible experience. And you explained that well. When you are snorkeling you really are in your own zone. It is a unique experience for sure and I am thrilled you had this opportunity. It's interesting that it was Nathan who had a bit of trouble with seasickness and not Melanie.
wow what an amazing day! Even the two pics you took showed a little of the amazing creation of the reef! Just beautiful!
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