We visited the Great Barrier Reef today!

We had to get up really early to be at the harbour for 7.30am. We had chosen to go with a company called Passions of Paradise who have won loads of tourism awards. They have a fairly small catamaran as opposed to a huge boat like the other companies. It had a room with a bar and lots of tables inside, and out the front were two trampoline type things for sunbathing.

The sky was a bit cloudy but we went to sunbathe anyway and luckily the sun came out. Morning tea, coffee, muffins and biscuits were served too which was a nice touch. The journey out to the reef, called Paradise Reef, was about two hours. It was exclusive to our boat,
so there were no crowds which people often complain about.

I am a wuss when it comes to the sea, so I was really nervous about swimming in open water. It was recommended that we hire stinger suits to protect us from the jellyfish as it is stinger season. They were pretty flattering blue catsuits complete with attached mittens and a hood. With my snorkel and mask on, and a pair of luminous pink flippers, I looked like a fashion icon. I decided to just go for it as soon as we got to the reef, and tried to put sharks, stingrays and jellyfish to the back of my mind.

I was so glad I did! After a 15m swim over very deep water where the reef drops off, I reached the coral where it is only around three metres deep. I saw some amazing schools of colourful fish, from teeny tiny ones to pretty big ones. The colours on some of them are so bright that they are almost luminous. I was really glad I'd bought an underwater pouch thing for my camera so I could take pictures. I even taught myself to dive down so I could take a closer look, it hurt my ears a bit but it was cool. It made me want to learn proper scuba diving! There was the oppurtunity to learn on board but it cost quite a bit extra so I'll maybe go another time.

After nearly two hours exploring the reef we went back to the boat for lunch, which was a really nice cold buffet with pasta and a choice of sauces, with fresh fruit for afters.

It was only ten minutes to our next stop, Michelmas Cay. It is a tiny island in the middle of the sea, just a pile of white sand really. It has loads of protected birds living on it too. Vicky, Hannah and I didn't go onto the beach (not much tanning to be done in a stinger suit). The coral here was even more amazing than the last place! There were fields of sea anemones swaying with the waves, and absolutely giant clams (as big as a car door and about a foot wide) - I heard one girl saying she accidentally put her foot in one and it shut on her and she got stuck. Some people saw a sea turtle but unfortunately I didn't, but I did see a yellow stingray with blue spots!

We had about an hour or maybe more here, and I was sad to have to get out. Unfortunately it started to rain quite heavily on the two hour journey back, but we had a nice afternoon tea with cheese and crackers and an interesting talk on marine life from one of the staff. Did you know female clown fish - Nemos - are in charge, and if the main female dies, and there isn't another to take her place, a male turns into a female. So in Finding Nemo, Nemo's dad should have actually turned into a mum. Hmm.

Back in Cairns it was chucking it down, so we hurried back to our hostel and showered, and then checked out my pics on a computer. Considering my camera isn't amazing, they came out quite well! We also booked our hostel for Townsville (£15 for a night, Australia is so pricey).

We headed to the Woolshed for our nightly free dinner, and by 8pm I was back and in my bed - where I am now! I'm looking forward to an early night tonight and out first Greyhound trip tomorrow.

xxx