Blogs from Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 9

The Great Barrier Reef...yes the world-renowned Great Barrier Reef. Now this was going to surely be an experience of a lifetime! I want to first note that although I am not a marine biologist or a scuba/snorkel junky, I have an impressive resume of snorkels. I have been out in the Caribbean several times as well as the Galapagos Islands. So on to the GBR! Man was I excited...and later somewhat disappointed. I guess I can't be too negative, it was cool.. However it did not live up to my wildest dreams. I had to snorkel as diving was not an option because of certain health requirements, i.e. asthma, sinus problems. So we booked a large boat tour from Cairns as recommended by the travel agent we spoke to in town. I later came to ... read more

Hey, So i did the great barrier reef today! It was pouring down again when we boarded the boat but it didn't rain too much throughout the day and the water was really warm and not too choppy. I did loadsa snorkelling - unfortunately didn't see any sharks or the turtle that is apparently always there! But did see loadsa cool bright coloured fish, just like you see in photos and finding nemo apparently - the guides kept banging on about that! I also did an introductory dive which was really cool. It lasted for about 20 mins and we went down quite far and saw loads more cool stuff - it was mainly cool looking fish and coral everywhere tho - i really enjoyed the sensation of diving tho! We also had a talk from ... read more

Thanks to a birthday gift from Mom and Dad :-) I spent the first week in January learning to dive on the Great Barrier Reef! I can't imagine a better way to do it. The first two days were spent at a dive center in Cairns learning technique and taking tests. This is the wet season for Cairns, so the weather is usually pretty bad. Thankfully the first two days were sunny. Pool diving would have really sucked in thunderstorms. The training and tests went well and everyone in the class was heading for the reef. Wednesday morning started off really early with the boat leaving around 7am (ouch!) Thankfully they had coffee and breakfast to tied us over. The schedule for the next couple of days was four training dives and 5 fun dives. We ... read more

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF New Years eve a fantastic day out on the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling around the coral seeing all the amazing fish and coral colours. We took an amazing Helicopter trip from the reef pontoon over the Reef all the way to heart reef seeing a manta ray from the windows with pictures gallor we landed went on the semisubmersable with the glass bottom and felt like we were floating over the reef seeing all the amazing underwater life, including a sea turtle, and billions of fish big and small. We had a Wonderful buffet lunch and free drinks all day (curtesy of sharon and the big boss). After we left the reef we had a leisurly cruise back via hamilton and day dream and got ready for a crazy night out...... We ... read more

We leave Singapore at 10pm aboard a Jetstar plane, the budget airline subsidiary of Qantas. It’s basic but comfortable, though we have to buy any alcoholic drinks to go with our food. We decide to indulge after our travel traumas (amazing how far you can stretch a story like that!!), C having some red wine & a Jim Beam, while M has a red label scotch whiskey (which he the proceeds to spill all over himself - what a waste!) We fly into Darwin and have to get off because of the strange customs/security arrangements but it does give us a chance to stock up on duty free - 2.25 litres per person which is very generous - and not what we were told in Singapore; get your act together guys! We then have a 2 ... read more