THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
13th September 2015
We awoke after a peaceful nights sleep in Vanwell just down the road from Tropic Days. We walked over and joined the small ensemble of reef oglers at reception that were also booked aboard Passions Cruises. The hostel bus whisked us off down to the harbour and soon we were on deck of the 25 metre high-performance catamaran. A smiley bronze mid aged chap called Simon put us all at ease with the safety info and the plan for the day. We did the usual form filling out, signing our lives away (we seem to have do that a lot this trip) as we signed up for two dives.
The boat skimmed its way east, towards our first dive spot on the reef. The world-famous Michaelmas Cay, a bird covered sandy island two hours from the mainland. I had never really understood how bloody massive the Great Barrier Reef is. I guess the clue is in the name and the fact we saw it from the airplane which should have given us some idea. It is apparently the largest living thing on earth and is visible from space at 2300km long. We were lucky enough to be in the first dive group. Shortly after Cairns disappeared behind us me, Helen and another couple awkwardly waddled towards the end of the boat in our wetsuits, tanks and flippers. For something full of air they are bloody heavy. Luckily we had the lovely Simon again putting us all at ease and making sure we knew what should go in our mouths and what shouldn't. After a ten minute intro to make sure we were all comfortable breathing underwater our little party of five descended into the dark blue and headed for a nearby section of reef. At first it was all a bit murky, but as we drew closer a new colourful world came into focus. It was absolutely incredible, the colours the structures the alien life forms wobbling about. Fish of all kinds surrounded us from practically see through ones to the brightly coloured parrot fish. At one point Simon plonked a disgruntled looking coral crab on my hand, he skulked back into his shell, I don't blame him. The closest thing I have seen to liken this landscape is in the Little Mermaid and every word in Sebastian's song Under the Sea is true. Unfortunately he wasn't around to give us a performance and the crab on my hand was quite obviously not in the mood.
After a twenty five minute route around, over, under and through this section of reef we swam back to the boat. One mouth piece was swapped for another and we dived back in for a spot of snorkelling. This two was equally mesmerising as you could swim over really shallow sections that the sun would beautifully illuminate as the water was like glass. Again this colourful playground of squishy, wafty, and squiggly things tooed and throwed in the currents, and large arrays of fish sauntered by almost oblivious to our presence. Just as we climbed back onto the boat a large brown turtle surfaced briefly to catch its breath then disappeared.
No sooner had the boat set off to the next spot a massive buffet lunch was served with an array of salads, pasta, chicken satay and fresh prawns. Being in the first dive group comes with its good points and bad points. Before we had even wiped the prawn juice from our faces we were being tightly strapped into our diving gear and asked to waddle towards the back of the boat. Feeling suitably full to the brim and a tad sick (you have to get your money's worth when it's a buffet, diving or no diving) we flopped back in to the water. Spot two is called Paradise Reef and is an exclusive mooring for Passions Cruises.
This time we sank a little easier and were able to forgo the safety demonstration, saving a few minutes. This time we headed for a dark section of reef that seemed to descend deep into a whole lot of black nothingness. It was an eerie sight, but at the same time incredible. We looked up at the coral shelf and saw the silhouettes of hundreds of fishes above. Rays of light sliced the water and the odd bright alien life form would pierce the darkness below. The naming of coral is very imaginative. We saw some large plate coral the looked like... a plate, then we encountered some massive brain coral that looked like something Helen has a lot of and I am constantly told I need.
After another fifteen to twenty mins exploring this new world we had to head back to the boat. Helen was feeling a bit seasick and opted for some deck time whilst I plunged back in for one final snorkel.
We were sad to leave but bloody glad we went, again it had been a once in a life time experience and I can understand why people travel so far to see it. The photos from our rented camera really don't do it justice, the beauty of the reef has got to be seen to be believed. Truly amazing.
