Our magical day started at 8 00 am with coffee/ tea and muffins :-) During our 1 3/4 journey out , Suz our micro biologist spent time explaining the fragile framework of reef life and the rules of the boat ie nobody touches a thing except Suz!
We were given our Lycra suits because of the stingers ( the photos say it all lol ) and told we were going to Tongue Reef , which was really lucky as it is very rare the sea is calm enough for snorkelling there as it is very deep and we were able to see deep sea Reef life We all saw rays sharks and turtles which was unbelievable ! I had a problem with my mask and seemed to be swimming in circles poor Trev was my buddy and we never got very far :-( Pat was buddied with Paul and they went off like a train When we were called in a member of our crew made me get back in with him and he sorted out the issues in 30 secs! We then had elevenses which was a platter of beautiful sliced fresh fruit and small cakes with more tea/ coffee We then moved on to our next site which was 10 mins further along on the edge of the reef where it was more shallow which was where we were shown the different levels of fish life ,even the smallest fish has an important job and everybody looks after someone else ....why can't humans understand that simple concept?
The colours and the array of fish were just amazing it was like swimming in an aquarium! Because of the sunshine and the low tide we were actually floating over the reef and didn't want to come in! This was something I have always wanted to do since I saw my first programme on the Great Barrier Reef on our colour television as a child! Nothing in words could express the sight of those shapes , colours and just general busyness of all those fish just calmly getting on with their day :-)))) Suz spent her time diving down pointing things out and explaining which fish were looking after which and without the little fish the big fish would die! She showed us anemones which were electric blue , star fish , jelly fish and the huge male fish which 6 months ago was a female ( rass? Will look it up....) but only 1 male at a time lives on the Reef and when he dies the largest fittest female turns into a male He followed us right back to the boat and was swimming in between us all It was then that we knew we had chosen the perfect company to appreciate the Reef Suz explained that the larger companies take 400+ people out each and every day will little supervision and always go to their pontoons where they actually feed the fish to keep the customers happy :-( The novice unaccompanied divers and the crown of thorn starfish are slowly taking their toll and it is predicted that if things are not addressed very shortly then by 2038 the reef will be dead :-((((((((( Suz took us to show us a dying part of the Reef .....so, so sad Our company only offered snorkelling and chose 3 different sites each trip depending on the tide and the weather The crew kept telling us that we had chosen the best day they had had for months and even they were going to different sites :-)
We then had lunch which was an amazing buffet that went on for ever ....and no alcohol with our company either , which again is how it should be Our skipper even stopped to pick up a plastic bottle which was floating by ! We then set off before our tea ( more delicious fruit and huge platter of cheese and biscuits! hungry work this snorkelling ) for Opal Reef which was to show us the different corals and a fully working part of the Reef As it is a small very secluded area and too small for the bigger groups ,there were only 29 of us , it was totally natural On the way we saw dolphins and tuna and because we were now completely comfortable with snorkelling we couldn't wait to get back in We were not disappointed The water was shallow and the corals were just underneath us it was so calm and the fish just swam in between us all! At times you even forgot you were snorkelling and it was like you were in a documentary! We saw a shelf with a deep drop where there was a shark or two but they were not even taking any notice of us and they are majestic to watch Suz then took some underwater photos of us all snorkelling just above the corals .... A fantastic reminder of one of the best days of my life
xxx