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We awoke to the sound of birds singing and the ocean breeze blowing. It was one of the most beautiful mornings we've had so far this trip. Our snorkelling tour didn't leave until 9:00 so we had some time to chill out and enjoy the warmth of the Northern Queensland before we headed down to the boat launch. Upon arriving we saw a large sailboat already leaving and we panicked thinking we were supposed to be on it. The tour company was a bit sketchy on the details and all I had was a google search that I had found them on and a mobile number. We ended up walking down to a power boat moored on the dock and as luck would have it, that was our boat! Gary and Kerryn were very friendly and inviting and after paying for the tour, we were off, speeding along the pacific ocean toward the Great Barrier Reef. Layla was overjoyed at all of the waves we had to crash through on the way and had an absolute blast.
We arrived at our lagoon on the reef about 45 minutes later and put on our stinger suits and flippers and hopped into the 20 degree water...it was amazing. Immediately we saw coral, clams, fish, and sea creatures that you only see in movies on in pictures. It was absolutely surreal to be surrounded by such beauty. Leanne had to head back to the boat to get smaller flippers and luckily she did because right on the bottom of the ocean, under the boat was a reef shark (it's size would be a topic of discussion all night long). Gary then took Layla under his wing and we all followed them as he dove for us to be able to hold and touch a sea cucumber, starfish, and a giant clam. We unfortunately never saw a sea turtle, but it was ok with us as this tour of the reef was brilliant!
We got back in the boat about 3 hours after dipping in and were off, back to shore. Gary was at the wheel this time and let Layla drive us in...she is way too lucky!
After getting back to Mission Beach we decided it was time for Leanne to get going on her paper and Layla wanted as much time in the pool as possible, so it was a very chill afternoon. Tomorrow we head North again, past Cairns to see what Port Douglas has to offer for a day of touring. Then it is camping in Cairns for the last night in our campervan.
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