The Great Barrier Reef

We just got back from our trip to North Queensland. We flew up to Cairns, pronounced "cans" on Wednesday with JetStar - Australia's version of Southwest. Let me just say here, everyone who is interested in coming to Australia must read Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country." This is our Bible - he has done it all and tells about it in such a funny way. If you want to read about the Great Barrier Reef and the rainforest, please read his book. Bill Bryson is just so much funnier than I am. I'll dedicate this first blog to the reef and come back and post on the rainforest in a day or two.

First of all, for any squeemish men, look away now. As all women know, it is a law of nature to get your period at the most inconvenient time. Because I usually get my period every time we go on vacation, I was very worried about it this time. Bill Bryson doesn't cover this. Here you are - you know two things 1) this is an opportunity of a lifetime to swim at the Great Barrier Reef and 2) sharks attack when they smell blood. I could just imagine the head lines "Tourist mauled by shark!" Is this the kind of question you can ask the skipper of the boat? Still, I don't know the answer to this question because I actually didn't have my period...but I still worry because surely next time we visit I will.

OK - it's safe reading for everyone. We chose to go out on the reef with a tour operator "Down Under Dive" that seemed to be a compromise sort of option. The boat left directly from Cairns and went out an hour and half, as opposed to taking a bus for an hour to Port Douglas and going out 2 hours from there. We would visit 2 spots on the reef. Our boat came with the option of a glass bottom boat tour, but not the platform at the reef. We thought that would be sufficient for our first trip out.

When we arrived at the terminal, we were warned of "Rough Seas." Wind was at 23 knots - whatever that means. I was told that over 20 was considered rough. The glass bottom boat would not run in rough weather. So this means all day on the boat. I start having flashbacks to a ferry crossing to France where I threw up for 6 hours. I beg Tim to reconsider, but he is determined we are all going.

Armed with Dramamine and Ginger Tablets, we start off. What is amazing about the Great Barrier Reef is the sheer magnitude of it all. It is made up of many many sections of reef, stretching 2000 km long and 80 km wide. We snorkelled at two spots on the reef, but really we saw only a minute portion of it. I will say this for our friends, Linda and Michael, Cat Cay in the Bahamas is still probably the best snorkeling we have ever seen so far. Where we were, we saw a lot of evidence of coral bleaching due to the higher temperatures of the ocean. Also, the starfish called The Crown of Thorns has damaged large sections of the Reef. This starfish can grow up to 21 legs and its stomach actually comes out of its body, attaches itself to the coral and sucks out the nutrients. We would definately like to go back to different areas of the reef to see what is around further out. We did see amazing tropical fish, turtles, anemones, and sea biscuits. Tim saw a reef shark, which thankfully, I missed.

We all got in the water - Sophie, Elliott and I all had wetsuits. I mentioned the warm temperature of the ocean, but it felt pretty cold to us! The first place we stopped was fairly choppy and the swells were about 1.5 metres. I have to give Sophie and Elliott a gold star for being so adventurous. The second place we stopped was a bit more sheltered in a reef lagoon of sorts, so there were fewer waves. They did end up running the glass bottom boat so we had a look around without being buffeted by the sea.

We then headed back to shore. Those who had the sea legs for it could sit inside, enjoy a glass of wine and some live musical entertainment. For the rest of us, it was another dose of dramamine and a white knuckle ride on the outside deck. All in all, it was a good trip. We are already planning our next visit and what we will do. There is so much to see up there in North Queensland - two World Heritage Sites in the Great Barrier Reef and the Rainforest. My next blog I will talk about the Rainforest, which I enjoyed even more than the reef. My apologies about the spelling in here. It is early in the morning and the last time I used spellcheck I lost the whole post.