Monday we took our first trip to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Though we had snorkeled a bit on fringing reef further south, this trip was more elaborate. We boarded a large catamaran that sailed out to the Low Isles reef – part of the GBR. This reef actually has two permanent islands associated with it so after the catamaran moored, we took smaller boats in to the shore, from which we snorkeled around the beach/reef. Right away we saw green turtles, giant clams, all colors of soft coral and lots of cool fish – butterfly fish, parrot fish (Dory), angel fish, etc. Though we didn’t see Nemo we DID see a bunch of reef sharks. They were all about 6-7 feet long and really neat! I was a bit nervous when we saw the first one, but after the next few it became less rattling. Jonathan tried to catch a big 2’ fish that was quite interested in us, but the fish was a little too slippery for him.
Even though it is not stinger season, I chose to wear a HOT lycra suit(which provides protection from marine stingers or box jellies) – it was also 100% UV protective and you can never be too safe. Below is a pretty picture of me getting into it. I wanted to take it home so I could be a smurf for Halloween…no luck though.
No photos of the actual underwater stuff yet (we had a non-digital camera).
We are going to the outer GBR on Thursday and are looking forward to what we’ll see out there! Grab shell dude!
Self portrait on the catamaran
Think this will pass for professional attire when I start working?
Another boat sailing to the Low Isles
Life is rough for Jonathan
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