Blog Day 129 Monday 12th September 2011

Today is Great Barrier Reef Day!!! We are up early and there doesn't seem to be much life at the hostel, so we decide to walk to the terminal which is about 45mins away.

When we arrive there we have about a 20 minute wait before Sharne turns up, during which time the Nomads shuttle bus pulls up. Turns out they do take people to the terminal! DOH!

Sharne arrives and gets us all checked in, she has managed to get hold of an underwater camera for us to use in case we want to scuba dive. We are both a little apprehensive on the scuba thing and will have to wait and see when we are out there.

The company we are going to the Great Barrier Reef with is called Ocean Freedom. We picked these guys because we had heard some great reviews on what they were like. Not just in terms of what we would do on the trip but also because of how they dealt with people who weren't great in the water i.e.…………. us!

On the boat every crew member comes up and shakes our hand, introduces themselves, and spends a couple of minutes chatting to us. It makes a real nice change from some of the trips we have been on in recent months. Some of those guides probably didn't even know their own names let alone give two hoots about ours!

Tea and coffee are offered and are free all day long along with a selection of breakfast snacks. With tea/coffee and cake in hand we make our way out to sea. Dan plucks up the courage to put his name down for the trial scuba dive (the fact that its half price sells it completely). Trish still isn't sure about it though and decides to stick to the snorkelling ……………..maybe.

When we reach of destination at the outer reef the boat drops anchor and its safety demonstration time! Now having gotten on and off of so many planes in the last 5 months we have become a little bit blasé when it comes to safety demonstrations, however this was the funniest one we have ever seen. The guy was a typical Aussie surfer looking fella, but he had the driest sense of humour, and a one liner for every situation. We could tell that he had mastered the art of the safety speech as he had us in stitches at some points. Once he had finished the snorkelling speech guy was next. He looked as much of a surfer and had exactly the same sense of humour. It was like having an hour of comedy before we jumped into the sea!

After the speeches we were all given a set of flippers! Well Dan got a set of flippers, Trish was handed what could only be described as a pair of fancy dress duck feet. These things were bright yellow and tiny. Bless her!

Next came the debriefing for the scuba divers. This involved sitting in the dining area and being told about the scuba equipment. Then filling out a bunch of forms, whilst one of the crew members prepared lunch in the same room. Dan's concentration just about held out and he was rewarded with a plate full of pasta, cold meats, crisps, bread, prawns etc. etc. it was a really good spread.

After lunch we headed out on the glass bottom boat. The safety briefing guy was our driver and his first question he asked was 'Is anyone here a marine biologist?' and when nobody said yes his reply was 'Great ask me anything you want to know!' This got a laugh and off we went. The glass bottom boat thing was great and in all fairness our guide did know a lot about the reef…………we think. As we were heading back to the boat a huge turtle popped its head above the water to have a look around. One of the scuba divers were lucky enough to be right behind it and must have got the most amazing view as it dived back under the water.

Back on the boat Trish still was sure about pulling on her duck feet and getting wet and it wasn't long before Dan's group were called up to dive.

Dan and another couple from Ireland were in the final group to go out. The girl had done it before but the guy hadn't and was pretty apprehensive, just like Dan was. The scariest part was standing on the back of the boat and having to jump into the ocean with all the kit on. Dan managed this and had to take a good 5 minutes to calm himself down and get used to the whole breathing thing. The other guy wasn't doing so well however and another instructor had to jump in to take the couple for their dive. This left Dan and the rather nice instructor lady to head off for their own private dive. Holding hands all the way (so Dan didn't float off) it was a pretty special first dive, and where better to do it than in one of the Seven Wonders of the World!

Half hour later Dan was back on the boat signing himself up for a second dive. The reef is such an amazing place it looks like something from outer space. There were thousands of multi coloured fish just floating along on the currents with the star of the show being the clown fish (NEMO!)

Once all the divers had been out we made our way over to a tiny sand island, which is only visible at low tide. One of the crew ladies on board asked Trish if she had been snorkelling yet and when she found out she hadn't insisted that she take her out. She told us that because Dan was going out for a second dive we would have to make our way to the island (on the little shuttle boat), take some photos, then she would being us both back to the boat on the first snorkel tour. So this is what we did. The little sand island looked like a small oasis before a boat full of tourists descended on it. We tried to do our 'writing Australia in the sand' picture but it was spoilt a little by all the people and we didn't have long before we were back in the water again making our way to the boat.

They lady that took us on the snorkelling tour had bought over a life ring for Trish to hold on to. Basically all Trish had to do was hang on and put her face in the water. Nemos, stingrays, sea cucumbers were all pointed out and it was great because some of the fear of the open ocean was taken away and Trish could enjoy the experience. This was exactly what we were after.

Dan's second dive was just as good as the first. Only two of them had put their name down for a second dive so again it was quite personal and private. Also there was no holding hands so it took a good few minutes for Dan to sort out his buoyancy (always knew he was full of air), once that was all sorted though he was snapping away with the underwater camera. Down there again the Nemos were playing, they came across a stingray that was covered in sand and took off once it was tickled, some amazing coral formations and some big fish just hanging about under the boat. He also got some great pictures of him sitting on the ocean floor like a little underwater Buddha.

On the way back into the bay we were served cheese and biscuits as well as cakes and sweets. These would have gone down so much better if the boat wasn't rocking all over the place. Handshakes and hugs were dished out as we got off the boat and we were left to think about what a great day we had had. A short walk back to the hostel followed by a packet curry sets us up of a good sleep that night. Top Day!!