Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Great Barrier Reef

The weather in Cairns did not improve but we had our snorkeling trip to the great barrier reef booked for yesterday already.  We woke up to rain but figured we'd be wet anyway, so we head out to the marina.  At least it was warm out!  I had booked with a catamaran that would only take up to 20 snorkelers out.  Some of the outfitters take up to 400 people out to the reef at a time on their massive boats.  Definitely not good for me and my issues with crowds. 

We totally lucked out and there were only 5 other snorkelers booked for yesterday with us!  Them along with us and 3 crew members made for an intimate trip.  The crew was wonderful and funny.  They were quite impressed with Glenn's underwater camera set up.

It took over 2 hours to get out to the reef.  Luckily I had picked up Kwells at the pharmacy since my Dramamine didn't work in Exmouth.  Those along with some ginger tablets that the pharmacist recommend, I felt great the whole day--YAY!  I was a bit sleepy but I'll take sleepy over sea sick.  Unfortunately 2 others on the boat hadn't taken anything and because of the rain and wind, the sea was a bit rough.

The reef was unbelievable.  The amount of coral and the variety of coral and fish was insane.  Even the bit of rain falling didn't damper the day.  We saw huge clams which I had to ask the one crew member if it really was a clam because it was so big.  We snorkeled for about an hour and a half then had lunch.  Glenn and another girls went back out for about an hour after lunch.  I didn't feel like getting back in after eating and the water was getting a bit more rough. I had already had a workout swimming around earlier so I chatted with a guy from Holland who had lived in the states for a while and the crew members.

The ride back was rough and I was so happy that I had taken another dose of Kwells, as most everyone else was starting to not feel well.  As we got closer in, they served us fruit and cheese and crackers.  Glenn and I were starving so we were happy to have something to hold our appetite until we could shower and get back out for dinner.


























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