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Published: December 8th 2022
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1. Leaving Port Douglas
View from the stern of the Quicksilver VIII as we left Port Douglas behind We woke up to another cloudless sky and souring temperatures today, which was good as we had a trip booked to the Barrier Reef today.
First port of call was to reception so that we could extend our stay at Port Douglas by an extra night as it is such a nice place and we have lots we want to do. Then we headed down to the marina to check in with Quicksilver and collect our boarding passes. The tour was quite busy but there was still plenty of room on the boat and complimentary tea and coffee until we left the birth at 10am. An hour and a half later we arrived at the activity platform on the Agincourt Reef, at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. The main plan for the trip was to go snorkeling, as with everybody else, so we hung back a bit to avoid the crush. As we are in ‘Stinger’ season we all had to don lycra stinger suits…….. very fetching!
There was a strong current running with the tide, so we had to wear buoyancy aids as well, I have to say they were a godsend as they saved
2. The snorkel area
Snorkling off of the Agincourt Platform a lot of energy. We got suited up, found our flippers, goggles and snorkels and headed for the launch platform, getting kitted up, especially the flippers, was challenging but we were soon dropping into the water and out into the beginner area. This was quite small and busy so we ventured out in to the larger roped off area….. WOW!! No matter how we try we will not be able to explain the experience here.
We headed off to the left to start with and the coral was amazing, they did a talk on the way out, so we had an idea of the different types, they change so much with the different depths of the water. After a while we turned and headed off in a different direction and what a change, we ran in to soooo many fish of all varieties, and they looked so close through the goggles. The parrot fish were the most incredible colours and we even spotted Nemo! Unfortunately we couldn’t take our phones in the water so couldn’t get any photos to record the experience for the blog but it is something that we shall never forget.
After being in the
3. Barracuda
A school of Barracuda from the Semi-Sub water for around 45 minutes we decided to head back in and get out of the suits, (easier said than done!), as there were other things we wanted to do. Having got dried and changed we headed off for a trip in the semi-submersible glass bottomed boat. This took you on a 20 minute tour around the reef with a guide to point out bits and pieces, we did get some pictures but the thick glass affected the quality, we did however manage to see a Green Turtle floating by and a bit school of Barracuda.
There is also a section of the platform that allows you to walk along below the water surface but after having been in the water it was no match. There was lunch available on the boat but we missed it whilst doing the activities so sat in the boat bar and had a beer and some crisps.
We landed back in Port Douglas about 4pm and drove over to 4 mile beach, just to have a look. At this point it was around 35°. We then drove back to the digs and went for a swim to cool off. I even managed
4. So many fish
You could see so many varieties of fish an after dark swim once we had cleared up from dinner, it was so peaceful as I was the only one about. Tomorrow we are heading out for a half day back to Hartley’s Croc Adventures to finish off what we didn’t fit in yesterday.
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