On Wed 20th Sept we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. We took a boat called Compass (the oldest, slowest and cheapest in Cairns) to the outer reef. The weather was pretty awful and it rained loads but it didnt matter as we were going swimming anyway. The journey was fairly rough and a few people were ill but thankfully not us. On the way to the Reef we saw some dolphins in the distance which was a fantastic sight.

At the reef we got our snorkel and fins on and jumped off the boat. The Reef was amazing. It is so hard to describe and far more beautiful than i imagined. There are so many colours and different types of coral. It looks just like a child has drawn a picture using all the colours and shapes they can imagine. It is so strange being miles from the coast and the water being so shallow. The reef literally comes out of the water in places. We saw some fantastic coloured fish and giant clams. Unfortunately for Simon we didnt encounter any sharks but i was not too bothered. We also caught a glimpse of the elusive Nemo.

After lunch we had a second snorkel at a different reef. It was not as beautiful as the first but was still full of fish and wonderful coral. We then headed back for our last night in cairns.