The Great Barrier Reef

March 16, 2010


We dragged ourselves out of bed for another early morning, this time for our adventure on the Great Barrier Reef. The weather was hot and humid with a stiff 33 knot wind, at 35 knots they refuse to go out. The water was very rough and the tour operators were offering many people alternate days which a number of people took them up on. Our vessel was a huge three sail catamaran however we powered out to sea as the wind was too great to put the sails up. It was rough, but exciting and none of us felt the need for the ‘breakfast recycling bags’ that were so thoughtfully provided.

We arrived on the Michaelmas Cay after 2 hours of heavy seas. A beautiful little sandy island covered in about 30000 sea birds. Unfortunately the heavy waves had stirred up a lot of sand and the snorkelling was pretty murky. After about an hour of paddling around we headed in for an amazing buffet lunch on board. After lunch we headed back out for another try and the guide pointed us in the right direction where the waters were calmer. Amazing!!! We saw two sea turtles, anemones, corals, fish and MR saw a sting ray. Duncan unfortunately struggled with the surf and Steve was challenged by the snorkelling gear (which was not brilliant). But all in all it was an amazing experience.

The ride back was very exciting as the surf was even higher. I am guessing the swells were 8-10 feet. Connor had an exciting bow ride back while MR kept her eyes on the horizon. It was better than a roller coaster! We all made it back with tummies intact and headed out for a nice dinner in town. Another delicacy Morten bay Bugs! These are sort of a flat headed crayfish or a tiny lobster and are delicious in a sweet chilli sauce.