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Published: April 30th 2012
Snorkeling at the Reef
Excited and nervous for a full day of snorkeling!To preface this day, let us first take a step back to planning of the trip. From the start, we have greatly anticipated and also slightly feared snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.
Both of us have snorkeled before and really enjoy it, and the Great Barrier Reef is one of those things you have always heard of and wanted to see. However, what our elementary school books never said (or at least ours didnt) was that from November to May is what is known as Stinger Season. The warm water off the coast brings in the Irukandji Jellyfish, a 1 cm box jellyfish with a sting that has been described by people as the worst pain they ever felt (almost always requiring several days/weeks of hospitalization) and has even killed several people.
The prior day, while making the reservation we were told the season is ending and we were 90 to 95% safe. This still sounded too high, however, we heard from friends that you can use stinger suits (imagine a sexy Tellitubi outfit, all in black) that protect you and cover 95% of your body. Doing the quick math, we figure our chances were low and we
Snorkeling at the Reef
Our stinger suits. Chris was disappointed they did not have one in pink, orange or purple :) just couldnt leave Australia without visiting the reef.
Our voyage started at 8am, and we were reached the first of the two locations we visited by 9am. We went through the typical safety talk and then were in the water. Although we imagined the water to be clearer, the reef and biosphere lived up to expectations. Everywhere you looked there were schools of fish, massive clams, lush valleys of coral, and even stingrays, sharks and turtles. The pictures from the first location are minimal as Chris manned the new unwater camera we had bought and had some issues working it (he eventually figured it out). After 1.5 hrs in the water, we moved to a glass bottom boat to get some more information on the reef and it's many critters (i.e., Clown fish can change sex, so Chris believes it should have been known as "Finding Nemo/Nema" as the dad had no idea what he would find when he tracked down his kid). After lunch we went to a sand cay where the water was more shallow but the critters were in full force. At the end of the day, we were exhausted but really happy with how the
Snorkeling at the Reef
Our first "snorkel" of the day day had gone
Overall, it was an amazing day at the reef, well worth the risk of stingers 😊
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Dave
non-member comment
Totally fair
If Cheri gets a kangaroo, the least Chris should get is a starfish!