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Published: September 21st 2013
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Wow. Just wow. I don't know how to even begin trying to write about The Great Barrier Reef other than by saying it was one of the single best experiences of my life.
Me and the Contiki's on tour boarded "Reef Magic" - a boat dedicated to reef trips. I was incredibly excited. Whilst I was planning my trip to Australia, the Great Barrier Reef was one of the places I thought about most. It's the world's largest coral reef system, is composed of over 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands. It contains 400 types of coral, in all covers over 100,000 square miles and can be seen from outer space. All sounds impressive and amazing, but even knowing all of that I still wasn't quite prepared for the wonder it was.
The Reef Magic boat docked at "Marine World"; a floating platform in he middle of the outer barrier reef. On the way over, all those who wanted to dive were asked to sign up, pay and attend a briefing. Now, diving has always been something that I've thought about, and always been something I've been too scared to do. It doesn't seem natural or safe to be
breathing underwater. When asked if I wanted to dive the reef, I had a dilemma. Was it safe? What if I freaked out? What would happen if I couldn't breathe? Would I be any good at it? The decision was ultimately made by telling and asking myself the following:
Lisa, look where you are. You've changed so much in the past few months. You're braver, you're more open to new and frightening experiences. When are you ever going to get the chance again to dive in the Great Barrier Reef - one of the 7 wonders of the natural world? It was then I knew I wanted to do it. I signed up and went along to the briefing. I learned about how the equipment worked, the hand signals used and what to do when your mask filled with water or you dropped your mouthpiece. I was very nervous but very excited. I collected a wetsuit and got kitted up. It was time.
We went in groups of 4 with an instructor. We had just 5 minutes to practice the breathing with your head underwater and then it was off we go. As excited as I was
to do it, I did have a minor freak out. I could breathe, I knew what to do, but there was something holding me back. The others in the group were ready to go. The instructor gave me an extra few minutes to pull myself together. Every time I was underwater I was verging on a minor panic attack - breathing very heavily and feeling like I couldn't breathe. I didn't feel nervous, and I still wanted to do it, but for some reason I didn't feel like I was breathing properly.
The others were poised and ready. The instructor came back to me and said "we're going now. Are you coming?" I took a deep breath, said yes, and I went back underwater. I was determined I was going to overcome the fear and see the reef.
For the first 2 or 3 minutes I didn't enjoy the experience as much as I should have been; I was too focused on making sure I was still breathing. Once my brain realised I was still alive I stopped worrying enough to take in my surroundings. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It's the single most beautiful place
I have ever been too. The whole cast of Finding Nemo were right in front of me. The corals were gorgeous colours and the sunlight breaking through the water made them glisten and shine. My words can't do it justice - I'm thankful for the underwater camera. I've posted some photos here - they look like photoshopped postcards, but no. That was exactly what I saw. I even got to pat a huge fish that loved people and liked attention. His name was Wally, a Wrasse.
The dive was over 20 minutes later and what a 20 minutes! I'm so glad I got over my fear and did it. I'm not sure if I'd be ready to jump straight back into diving, but after the reef I'm not sure anywhere else would compare anyway.
The rest of the afternoon I spent snorkelling, which was equally brilliant. I spotted a group of neon tetra (small electric blue fish with a red tail); I used to have some in a tropical fish tank in my bedroom. I turned around and found myself in the centre of a shoal of tetra. I was surrounded and the only thought going through my
mind was "wow".
I had the most incredible day and saw so much. That evening, we finished the day with a group dinner out; 2 courses and wine. All 48 of us took over a restaurant and it was just fab. A few of us then decided to wonder around the night market and ended a perfect day in the mosty perfect way; with churros and ice cream.
The week was already half way through, going far too quickly. Still lots more fun to be had though... all for the next blog.
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