Snorkeling in The Great Barrier Reef

[10 May]

 

Today was a big day! We went snorkeling in The Great Barrier Reef. This was unlike anything I had ever done before, and was an amazing experience. The only thing I wish I had done differently was listen to advice about sea sickness and take a motion sickness pill! The boat ride was a bit rough especially on the way back. Despite that though, I had a great time. Once we arrived to the first area where we were going to snorkel everyone had geared up in their stinger suits, which was quite a funny thing to see :) At this snorkeling site the boat stayed out away from the beach and we took a small boat in from it to the beach. Once on the beach it was time to dive in, almost literally. Once we figured out how to get into the water with flippers on we could dive in. It took a few minutes to get somewhat used to the snorkel mask, but once I did there was a lot awaiting me beneath the surface of the water. I got to see a variety of fish and coral. My favorite fish at this spot was the Unicorn Surgeon fish. It had a horn like hump on its head and two brightly colored blades on either side of its body. I also like the Giant Clams a lot. They were big, as their name implies, and beautifully colored with deep purple and vibrant aqua. While trying to get a good look at all of the ocean life I tried to stay close to friends, but quickly found myself separated from them because I had been to distracted. Thankfully the boat and the beach were not too far away, otherwise I might have been freaked out. After time was up at this spot we boarded to boat again, struggled to get our stinger suits off, then got in line for lunch. By the time we finished eating we had almost made it to the second snorkeling site, so it was back on with the stinger suits. When the boat stopped we were all a bit confused because there was no beach this time, we didn't think we would be snorkeling out in the open ocean. Once it was confirmed that yes, we were actually snorkeling in the open ocean, some of us braved to get of the boat and attempt to snorkel. I say attempt because the waters were very rough at this spot. It was hard to keep water out of the snorkel mask, and hard to keep your bearings with the big waves. So, after a seemingly short amount of time I headed back onto the boat. At the last moment I was surprised to see a big Maori Angelfish. This was cool because he was so close to me, and I also was not expecting to see anymore fish before getting onto the boat. Despite getting a bit sea sick snorkeling was great! I got to see a lot of amazing fish as well as coral.

 

-Kathleen D.