Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef

Teny writing today...

Well, you can't go to Cairns without going snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! So we decided to make that our first excursion, on Friday, April 4. Cheree brought us to the dock at 8:00 am, where we boarded the Reef Magic, wearing our hats and taking along our swimming suits, towels, and sunscreen. As it turned out, it was a cloudy and windy day, so the ride out was pretty rough.

After a 90 minute boat ride, we arrived at Marine World, a floating platoon from where we could go snorkeling. The brownish spots are where the reef comes closest to the surface and are the best for snorkeling. 

We donned Lycra suits to avoid getting stung by sting rays. Life jackets kept us afloat, and snorkels and flippers allowed us to move around easily in the water and look just below the surface.

I am in the middle of the picture with my blue flippers. What an amazing sight underwater right off the dock! A whole new world of corals and fish! We certainly stand in awe of God's creation under the water. I had no idea how beautiful the reef and fish were. Such a great variety! We spent a few hours in the water, just looking at everything. The fish just swam along with us, and we could almost touch them.

Below are shots of some of the fish and the coral reef we saw. The coral reef is actually alive, made of plants and animals.  Swimmers are asked not to touch it lest they damage it.

A cool picture of me snorkelling.

I touched this beautiful fish.

We also went on a glass-bottom boat out over the reef where we saw great schools of fish, and even a turtle.

Lunch was provided on the boat. Some people went scuba diving as well, but we were thrilled just to snorkel. At 3:30 we took the boat back to Cairns, arriving at 5:00 after a most memorable day of enjoying God's creation.  Here we are approaching Cairns.