Great Barrier Reef on School Holiday

Posted by on August 12, 2014

This is one of the items on the bucket list. We spent the day on a boat and snorkeling at one of the many reefs in the Great Barrier Reef. It was windier and choppier than we would have like making it hard to snorkel. Another thing we wish we had done, in retrospect, was take some diving lessons prior to hitting the reef. We just weren’t confident enough after the short instruction to commit to heading deep underwater. There were a few tests we had to do before heading down like clearing water from the mask and reinserting the mouth piece that, on the surface seem simple, but underwater, when it is life and death, we just weren’t ready. If we had some time in a pool with scuba gear where we could test and troubleshoot in relative safety to build our comfort level.

Nevertheless, we did not regret the time out there snorkeling around the amazing coral formations with the remarkable diversity of ocean life. Alicia and Carlen got out for a second swim with a marine biologist that brought up a couple things for them to examine more closely. Part of the tour was a bacon and egg sandwich for breakfast, fruit and coffee/tea, a nice lunch with several hot items and salads, then wine and a cheese tray on the way back to Cairns. We did rent an underwater camera and snapped a few photos, but underwater photography is a completely different animal than on land. We did get a few neat snaps, but it is probably worth getting a pic or two from the professionals that are usually on board.

2 Responses to Great Barrier Reef on School Holiday

  1. jessica

    Looks like fun! We’re going on exchange in 2015 and would love to do a blog like this, can you help?

    • milesmac

      Congratulations on your match! Sure is exciting 🙂 There are several popular blogging platforms. WordPress is the one I use bur blogger is another popular one and integrates nicely with Google Apps. If you head to one of those sites, there will be some info on how to register and get started. Nice thing with blogs is that you really only have to focus on the content – the platform has lots of options for the appearance and other features.

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