Great Barrier Reef

As you can see from the morning photo, it was a cloudy, drizzly morning in Cairns. We took a bus to the wharf to board our boat to see the Reef. It was still a bit wet out but I needed to be outside for fresh air and a view of the horizon to avoid seasickness. After awhile the clouds opened and there was some sun and blue sky. It took 1 1/2 hours to get to the pontoon where we docked. It is a big platform with equipment for snorkeling, a glass bottomed boat and a submersible boat. Our friends went snorkeling and we went to the glass bottomed boat first. We took a 30 minute ride across the reef and saw lots of coral formations. Not too many fish or animals. Someone saw a turtle but it was gone before we could get to it. It was a fun ride. When we got back ,they had opened up the buffet. It was a pretty extensive with cold meats, cheeses, salads, and several hot dishes. I was pretty careful to limit myself to the ham, white rice, slaw and a chicken wing. I made a sandwich with a roll and the ham. Then we went to get in line for the submersible. We climbed down into a pretty narrow area. We were the first on so we were in the back of the boat. If I were to do it again, I would be in the middle. We went to a different part of the reef. We saw lots of fish, and I saw the tail end of a reef shark. A green sea turtle floated by. I was so enthralled with watching it, I almost forgot to get a picture. It’s the blue photo with a little blob in the middle-that’s the turtle swimming away!

We saw our friends, Betty and Rudy as they were packing up their gear. They showed us a viewing area below the platform. So we went down there and saw tons of fish. There was a yellowtail banana fish, and a pretty one with red patches on it. The one photo of the surf, has hundreds of small fish swimming just below the surface. Then it was time to get back on the boat to head back to Cairns, pronounced Cannes by the locals. It was another 90 minute ride to get back. The seas weren’t as rough, but I still sat outside where I could see the horizon. We saw a pretty waterfall which I forgot to upload. I will show it tomorrow. We have another day at sea so there won’t be much to report. I also forgot to include the turtle! Manana.