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So today I was lucky enough to go on yet another free day trip to the Great Barrier Reef - this time with Quicksilver. These guys run a huge operation with approx 500 staff, and the boat I'm on holds 420 people, and takes them out to a permanent pontoon on the Agincourt Reef which is the outer Great Barrier Reef. It takes about an hour and a half to get to the pontoon by boat. On the pontoon there are showers, changing rooms, a restaurant, a place to snorkle from, a dive platform, a place to put a glass bubble on your head, fill it with air and walk on the sea floor looking at the fish, 2 submersible boats with glass sides for crusing around fish spotting, and an underwater walkway. I may have missed something, but you get the picture - a huge operation with loads to do on the reef.
On my way out a guy I'd met once before came over and had a chat. His name is James, and he's from England. Last time I met him (about 2 weeks ago) he'd been talking about looking for work on a dive boat in Cairns.
I told him Port Douglas is way nicer and that he should look for work up here instead. So today, he's going out with a possible job opportunity, and is seeing if he might like to do the job as an underwater photographer for the Quicksilver guys. If he takes the job, he'll be moving to Port and looking for a place to live, so I told him he could sleep on my couch for nothing for a week till he sorts himself out.
Fastforward to two weeks later, James has now moved in as my flatmate - and I love him! He's cooked me dinner 5 nights this week, he washes the dishes, puts the rubbish out every night (you saw what happened when you don't in those earlier photos), and is generally the best flatmate I've ever had (sorry to those who I've lived with before - this guy is awesome). He's pretty quiet but is very funny, and I'm so lucky to have such a great flatmate in a town where good ones are hard to find.
Anyway, back to the day on the reef. I went on a snorkle tour with a marine biologist
for 45 minutes as soon as the boat dropped us off at the pontoon. We saw quite a lot and it was great fun. After that, I had some lunch, and then headed off to the submersible boat thing for a 20 minute ride around the reef. We saw so much life and different types of coral - and I saw my first turtle in the water! I can't believe I managed to get a photo, but I did. After that there wasn't enough time to go snorklling again, so I just took a few photos and hung out a bit.
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Faye
non-member comment
Photographer? Travel Guide?
Hi Vicki - your photos continue to be awesome. How come you are getting these free trips? atre you a travel consultant now? (You should be!). Great to hear all your news and that life is good over there. It's "bloody" cold in CHCH at the moment! Cheers - Faye