We were excited to be going out to the outer Great Barrier Reef on a snorkel and dive full day adventure (as it was advertised). The tour was on a Silverswift Cruise Boat and included snacks and lunch as well as three snorkeling locations.
The trip started off well. We were chatting with two women from Michigan and enjoying the open air. But for me the sea was extra bumpy and unfortunately my dramamine treatments didn’t work very well. However, after sitting in the cabin and finally “losing it” neatly in the ‘tosser bags’ they provided (for a number of us) I was still able to enjoy the fantastic coral and fish of the Great Barrier Reef.
I didn’t use my camera in its waterproof case for photos so I’ve copied some from the on-line brochure to provide an idea of what we saw and did. As with the other trip everyone wore black stinger suits and this time we had at least 45 minutes at each site.
Note: These photos just begin to show the colors of coral. We saw corals of bright blue, bright green, vivid purple, lavender, white with purple tips, and then so many types of coral I’d never seen before. These photos also don’t show the many varieties of fish of many sizes including reef sharks.
The second site was the best and it started after lunch, (which I didn’t want to risk:). So Dirk and I got a head start and had the area to ourselves for a long while. After we rested on the stairs I decided I wanted more and went back in – it was that good! The third stop was also excellent although similar in that there was a tall reef to swim along – both sides – with amazing coral and fish to see around each corner.
After returning to the hotel, having a shower and resting a while we found a Vietnamese restaurant and had a good meal there. My appetite was back and a vegetable noodle soup was just the thing. As we walked back to the hotel we snapped a humorous few photos.
Pat and Dirk's 2024 blog - Wandering Australia and New Zealand 