Finding Nemo

Fishy...yes I have no idea its true name. But there were heaps of them!

I woke up early this morning to head to the Reef Fleet Terminal to board the Ocean Freedom, for my trip to the Great Barrier Reef. I didn’t want to miss the boat, so I left the hostel at 6:30AM, to ensure I made it there before 7AM. The terminal was only a 5-minute walk from the hostel, so I made it to the boat with plenty of time to spare. On my way there, I ran into one of the girls I had met the previous evening at the Night Market. We talked and then went our separate ways. I also saw in the ticket area, the “Santiagos” (the Spanish couple from the Rock Tour). Once again, it was weird to see people I had met around the city, but it did however start to make me feel like I knew people and that I was less alone here in Oz.

Our boat...Ocean Freedom

Boarding the trip I met the skipper and the crew and quickly delighted in the breakfast offered. Fresh fruit was lacking in my diet, so it was nice to have it on board. As the boat filled with tourist, we pushed away from the marina.

On our way out to sea I sat on the upper deck of the boat. As Cairns seemed to disappear off in the distance, I drifted off for a little nap. I awoke to the beautiful sites of the Great Barrier Reef. From the boat all you could see was the brilliant blue/teal color of the water…the excitement came in what we all knew lurked below us.

The GREAT Barrier Reef

We all quickly put on our snorkeling gear and jumped overboard. For people wanting a little extra buoyancy in the water, they supplied life jackets on top of a snorkel and mask. I took them up on the offer, as I had never been out so deep into the open ocean water.  Some of the crew also offered guided snorkeling for those of us who had never been. I decided to go with one, as they would be able to take us where there was the best opportunity to see wildlife and they would be able to tell us what we where seeing too.

My picture of the turtle I saw...

And the professional one taken at the same spot, of the same turtle...

One of the first things we saw was a turtle! It was lying on the bottom of the reef, but it was pretty big. At that moment I had remembered where I was and became ever so giddy. To list everything I saw on my snorkeling adventure would take a while, partially because I saw so much, and partially because I’m not sure I would be able to identify everything I saw. But her are some highlights: a turtle, string ray, small reef shark, heaps of colorful fish, including a small clown fish, otherwise known as Nemo!

Nemo! or a tiny version of him...

Back on the boat we dried off before getting a tour of the reef in a glass bottom boat. It was pretty neat, as the driver of the boat was a marine biologist that talked about the reef and what we were seeing along the way. However, it didn’t take long for me to get nauseous on the boat. Returning back to the main boat I sat in the lower deck trying to recover.

Shortly after, a lunch buffet was served. There were large prawns, leeks, deli meats, pasta and potato salad, green salad, a veggie salad, bread, and grilled chicken wings. I slowly ate mine and by the end of lunch was feeling better. While most people went on another glass bottom boat cruise, I stayed behind, not wanting to get sick again. It was pretty neat to be on the boat with so few people because the crew still on board was really attentive and easier to get to know during this time.

Our 2nd snorkeling spot...we snorkeled off the island back to the main boat.

Then everyone came back to get their snorkeling gear to snorkel some more. This time I was feeling much braver and more comfortable in the water so I snorkeled about on my own for a bit. Then the guide said she knew where a shark lived so a few of us went with her to see it. I couldn’t dive down to see it as I was wearing a life vest, but the guide went down and it got nervous and swam out the other end where we were all snorkeling. It was only a meter or so, so it wasn’t too scary. It quickly swam away and was gone, just like that.

The reef shark we saw was 2 meters long!

The only picture I took that looks semi-good of a lonely starfish.

From the island that we snorkeled around we swam back to the boat.  The weather had started to change and with it sprinkling out, the water became cold, so we escaped back to the boat.

Onboard, most of us changed into dry clothes and then watched as we sailed away from the Great Barrier Reef. The crew came around with a fruit platter and asked each of us to initial by our names to make sure everyone was on board. (I guess they didn’t want to leave anyone behind like that boat did a while back.) Then we cruised onward, delighting in cheese and crackers and cake.

Upon hitting dry land, the crew thanked us, and just as the day started, we went our separate ways. One particularly funny scene was a man kissing the ground as he departed the boat. He had sat by the back of the boat the entire trip, obviously feeling much more seasick than I had.

I could easily go back to the reef and spend day after day there, snorkeling, no doubt about that. After a long day though, I was quiet tired and gave into one of the backpacker “deals” for a $10.

It had been a GREAT day. I guess that’s why they call it the GREAT Barrier Reef.