Day 30 - Green Island in the Great Barrier Reef (9 January)

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Surprise, surprise we managed to get down to the harbour one hour before the catamaran was due to leave. So at 9:30 am we arrived for a trip that was leaving at 11 am. Time for coffee. The Australians call their café americano a tall black. So it has become nicknamed by us a Long Tall Sally!

We boarded the cat and set off for Green Island to see the Great Barrier Reef. Don added snorkeling to the tour and gave his driver's licence as a deposit for the snorkel kit.

The little cat took us to the mother ship moored at the island where you could get fruit and water and sit in the air conditioning when you needed to get out of the heat.

We went on a glass bottomed boat out to the reef. It is a magnificent sight. The area is a national reserve park and so there is no fishing allowed nor taking any coral. The fines are very hefty if you are caught. We saw giant clams, soft corals and hard corals, sea grass and of course lots of different coloured fishes, big and small. The one fascinating fact I can remember - a pearl obtained from a giant clam would be about 20 cms. A bit too big for a ring or necklace. Maybe an overpriced paper weight :-} The trip was too short.

Don donned his lycra suit (a guard against jelly fish) and his goggles and flippers and my caption for the photo is 'The man from Atlantis (out-take 1)' This gives rise to a caption competition. Suggestions please - keep it clean. The best ones will be published!

I meandered around the island which is a mini rainforest spoiled by concessions selling all sorts of tat. I went back to the mother ship to wait for Don. We were sitting drinking water when the cat starts moving and we should not have been there. Remember his driver's licence is somewhere else, so he ran off to see a member of the crew. No worries (Aussie phrase we have learnt) the two vessels were going back to the same place and would get there at the same time.

However, you know that you have behaved like an idiot when a voice comes over the PA system advising all passengers that we are about to dock and to collect all your belongings and oh will the persons (clots my word not theirs) who left their deposit with the other cat please wait at the quay for the other cat to return.

A quick walk about town to look at the multitude of fruit bats and an early night. The sun and heat really took it out of us.

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Photos

Giant Clam in the Great Barrier Reef
seen through glass-bottom boat off Green Island

The man from Atlantis (out-take 1)
caption competition suggestions welcome

Comments

[Ed]

Caption
" Lesley couldn't you have just bought some mosquito netting? Although it is quite effective "