Australia boasts several claims to the ‘biggest this’ and ‘grandest that’; standing proud in Western Australia is the world’s largest monlith, Mount Augustus; in Queensland vast sweeping beaches make up the world’s largest sand island, Fraser Island. And then of course we have possibly the most well known and best loved of all these ‘Aussie boasts’ – it can be seen from space and is home to some 500 species of vibrantly coloured and wonderfully textured coral, 1500 varieties of fish and 4000 kinds of molluscs - the largest marine reserve in the world, it is of course the fanstastic Great Barrier Reef.
Recently, I was lucky enough to experience this incredible natural wonder and this is the story of one of the (many!) greatest moments of my trip to Australia - snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef...
With clear blue skies and calm, glistening waters, we spritzed on the sun cream, donned our sun hats and from the elegantly tropical Port Douglas boarded our Reef bound vessel, the Quicksilver. The 90 minute trip from land to the Reef pontoon was filled with a brief commentary from the captain and a refreshing ‘wind-in-hair’ experience sat atop the top deck – a great way to blow the cobwebs of a few days’ coach travel away and feel ready to fully embrace the wonders of the Reef!
The anchored glass-bottom platform on which the pontoon sits was our base for the rest of the day and was a real haven of activity for all things aqua! I was so impressed by the range and quality of options; certified divers could explore the depths and wonders of the under-water world, while novice divers and snorkellers could immerse themselves in the turquoise waters and experience the colours and textures of the stunning marine from the platform.
Intrigued by the sound of the Bond style ‘semi-sub’, I decided to also experience the reef the dry way. As the sub vessel glided smoothly alongside the coral and fish, I felt a real sense of just how vast and complex the reef is – for me, it was great to have a guide to draw our eyes to various features and to explain exactly what we were looking at. Being so close, you can really appreciate the intricacies of the coral and the kaleidoscope of colour as you find yourself alongside an exotic fish. My highlight of the semi-sub experience was floating alongside two baby turtles swimming and splashing around in their underwater playground!
I felt both relaxed and exhilarated from our day on the Reef; the marine life is absolutely stunning and the Quicksilver was a perfect way to experience it. For anyone visiting North Queensland, a trip to the Reef is an absolute must!
Josephine Ball, Australia Specialist
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