Snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef

Day 457, February 27, 2012

With so many different companies to choose from, deciding on whom to take for a trip out to see the Great Barrier Reef can be daunting. I ended up spending a good part of an afternoon pouring over brochures and pamphlets from numerous dive shops, trying to pick out the one I wanted to go with. In the end, knowing how gorgeous the Reef was meant to be, and how colours tend to dull the deeper you dive, I decided to do one day as a snorkelling trip and then a separate two day diving trip.

The company I ended up going with was Deep Sea Divers Den for both trips. I also decided to rent a camera with an underwater case as well to try and capture the beauty of this natural wonder.

Canon Powershot G10 (Not pictured)

The day began super bright and early. There was probably about five of us from the hostel that were heading out to the pier. We were picked up by a shuttle and taken down to the docks where we quickly boarded the vessel SeaQuest. Once everyone was signed into the boat, we settled back for the 90 minute trip out to reef.

The ride was, well, it was as one would expect zipping over ocean. A few people did get sick from the ride, but for the most part everyone did well. When we arrived at Hastings Reef, there was a quick briefing, including information about the possibility of there being jellyfish. Though, we were assured that we were too far from the shore for there to be any real issue, but we were given access to Stinger Suits if we so chose. I opted just for a wet suit.

Parrot Fish

Trigger Fish

After the first journey into the reef, we all climbed back on board the boat for a buffet lunch and to rest up. Not too long after, we were back in the water for the second little snorkel fun.

The fun part for me was taking the camera in the underwater case and seeing how far I could free dive down to get a photo before needing to come back up for air.

Nemo!

And just like that the day was over. We clambered back aboard and the boat took us back to Cairns. All in all, the snorkel trip was a great way to get acquainted with the Great Barrier Reef. There was a spectacular amount of wildlife to see and great food to eat. Most definitely a great way to spend a day.