In Touch with the Great Barrier Reef (without actually touching anything)

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This was the moment I had been most looking forward to all trip, and it did not disappoint. I doubt I can even explain in words what an amazing experience this was, but I will do my best to try. Our purpose for the day: Snorkling on the Outer Reef. The boat ride was about 70 minutes, and we got to spend 5 hours on the reef, and visit 3 different reefs.

As soon as we boarded the boat, there was an announcement that the crew "strongly recommended" taking some of their complimentary seasickness tablets. Vlad followed the recommendations, but Shilo was too tough (and paid the price... but in her defense, there was only 5 min left in the ride and at least a dozen other soldiers fell before she did).

Just a quick side note on seasickness - I must compliment the crew of Quicksilver's SilverSwift vessel. They are seasick professionals. There were at least 2-3 crew members in the designated "sick" area the whole time, wearing their rubbers (gloves, that is) and handing out ice chips, puke bags, cold cloths, and rubbing backs. I didn't fully appreciate them until the flight home, when two Air Canada stewardesses looked at my bag in disgust and told me to just put it on the floor and someone would get it later ("someone" turned out to be Vlad). Contrast this to the SilverSwift crew, who, the moment you paused your heaving long enough to take a breath, they wisked away your soiled bag and had replaced it with a fresh one. I guess, all I'm trying to say, is that if you find yourself in a situation where you need to chunder, always choose a SilverSwift crewmember over an Air Canada flight attendant, if you have the choice.

Okay, then... back to the main event - our first reef (Miln Reef)
We were absolutely amazed at the colorful fish, and clear blue-green water. It was about 12 meters to the bottom, and we could see the ocean floor perfectly. We saw big fish, little fish, blue fish, yellow fish, and all the fish in between (I'm starting to sound like Dr. Suess here, so I'll move on to the coral).

The coral was mostly hard coral, but just absolutely massive pieces of it. Nothing compared to the off-shore snorkling we did at the Whitsundays. We saw sea clams, parrot fish, clown fish, butterfly fish (and thanks to Amanda, we could even identify all of these). In total, we probably saw at least 40 different varieties of fish.

Second Site - Flynn Reef
Wonderously enough, this was even better! There were even bigger corals (we saw a brain coral that was at least 10 feet in diameter), and these bigger corals were more challenging to manevour through, which was heaps of fun. The water was also a little warmer. It was basically more of the same - brilliant colors everywhere you look. We took a lunch break, then back out for some more sight-seeing.

Third Site - another spot on Flynn
Once again, massive corals, huge fish, tiny fish, and every color imaginable. Some of the fish were even glowing! It's like you are in a whole different world out there, interrupted only by the boat's horn calling you in. You know how relaxing it is to watch fish in an aquarium? Well, this was like that, except that you are part of the aquarium, and it's about a thousand times better.

On the way home, we realized we were tired. It was a long, tiring, but immensely rewarding day on the Great Barrier Reef.

Oz Oddities:
- Losers with noodles. The boat issued wetsuits as part of the gear, which keeps you afloat, but about half of the snorklers still opted to take an optional lifejacket and/or pool noodle for extra assurance. They looked ridiculous!

PS. Photos will appear here eventually.

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