Ein Tag am Great Barrier Reef

Last Sunday (that was the 23.10.16) the time had finally come: We could spend a whole day at the world-famous and beautiful Great Barrier Reef! With diving, snorkeling, boat trips, delicious food and everything that goes with it. This trip was really one of the major highlights of our journey. This is how the adventure unfolded above and below the water:

Early in the morning we had to get up, as we had to check in on our ship between 7:15 and 7:30. The good thing was that there should be breakfast on the ship, so we only had a small snack in the morning at the campground. After we had found a parking space in the city (fortunately we didn't have to pay anything, as parking is free all over the city on Sundays), we walked to the marina where all the excursion boats depart. It was quite crowded and had a nice atmosphere with all the ships. We had to check in at the harbor building, where a decent queue had already formed for our ship Ocean Freedom. After our names were checked off, we received a sheet that we had to fill out because of our first dive. It was about medical issues and the signature stating that we are aware of the dangers. Andi, for example, also indicated that he has problems with his ears when flying, but that was no reason to be excluded from diving. He just had a short extra conversation with one of the instructors.

We filled out the form on the ship while getting fruit and pastries for breakfast. Everyone on the ship greeted us very nicely, there were shelves where we could put our stuff, and because the ship wasn't that big, we felt a bit like on an exclusive yacht :D Even if it's probably not comparable, but if you've never been on an exclusive yacht, that's how it felt^^

At a little after 8 o'clock, the ship left the harbor. On the way to our first spot on the reef, which took about 75 minutes, we received instructions for diving and snorkeling. There was also cool fruit, water and tea. When we arrived at the spot, we had a fantastic view. The water shimmered in all colors and a little bit away we could see a small sand island. The Glass Bottom Boat took us to the island and then we could snorkel back to the ship. The island only existed at low tide, otherwise it was flooded, so we went there first. It was an incredible feeling to stand on such a mini-island in the midst of water. We then had 2 guided snorkel tours from the crew members back to the ship and we joined one of those tours. The instructor showed us different spots on the corals and explained some things about different fish. Unfortunately, it was difficult to understand her if you weren't very close, and you could rarely get close because some people couldn't handle the fins and didn't check if there were other people behind them. But well, the reef was still beautiful. We then went on a discovery tour ourselves and marveled at the thousands of different fish, the colorful corals, and the white sand. In this section of the reef, there was a lot of sand and small coral islands in between. Plus, the water wasn't that deep, maybe 4-5 meters right by the ship and shallower towards the sand island. We could have stayed there forever!! It's incredible what you discover underwater. One highlight was that we saw a reef shark that was swimming away. That was cool! They don't show up very often and you have to be a bit lucky to see one. Snorkeling itself was also really easy, I just had some problems with cramps in my foot because of the unfamiliar movements with the fins.

At some point, Andi got a bit cold and we swam back to the ship to put on wetsuits. We arrived just in time to get ready for diving. So we put on the suits (very stylish) and had the heavy diving vest with oxygen tank and hoses put on. And then it started. To get into the water, we had to stand at the edge of the ship and then jump into the water with a big step. It was maybe only 1.50m high or so, but because of the heavy gear, you fall quickly and sink quite deep in the water :D But the instructors had already inflated the vest a bit beforehand, so that you quickly came back to the surface. Somehow my weight belt was not properly fastened, so I lost it at first. Thank goodness the water wasn't that deep and someone could retrieve it for me.

After Andi also jumped into the water, the diving started. We both had our own instructor because this ship always has 2 people diving with one guide. On other boats, it's 4 people with one guide. Only 2 people is definitely more pleasant. Shortly below the water surface, there were the two initial tests that everyone has to do. First, blow air into the diving mask through the nose to get any water that may have entered out, and second, briefly take the mouthpiece out, blow air through the mouth, put the mouthpiece back in, and blow forcefully to get water out of the mouthpiece. Everything worked perfectly for Andi and me, and we were ready to go. With our instructor, we first went down and then slowly over the bottom and around the corals. Luckily, I had no problem with my ears at all and only had to equalize the pressure occasionally. Andi had a bit more trouble, but it worked out anyway. After 5 minutes, we had also gotten used to the breathing and could really enjoy the underwater world. It's definitely something different to dive than to snorkel. You are much closer to everything, only hear the silence of the water and your own breathing, and don't have to resurface. We even saw a few clownfish, a stingray, and a pretty big, well-camouflaged fish. It was really great.

Way too soon, the diving excursion was over and we surfaced. I didn't look at the watch to see how long we were underwater, but it was probably about 20-25 minutes. That's actually very short if you consider that Elia promised us 30-40 minutes when booking the tour, but at that moment we didn't think to ask how long we were down there. It was just an amazing feeling and definitely worth it. On the ship, the whole body was still swaying and it still felt like being underwater.

Just as we were coming back from the dive, lunch was served. We undressed and helped ourselves to the buffet. There was all sorts of delicious food. The highlight for many were the fresh prawns (not my thing) and there was also smoked salmon, sweet potato salad, coleslaw, green salad, pasta salad, chicken legs, a salami-ham platter, and bread. And everything was really good! We ate on the upper deck of the ship and got to know a nice couple from Germany who were on a vacation trip in Australia. During lunch, the boat moved from one spot on the reef to another. We had the whole afternoon to snorkel and take part in the Glass Bottom Boat tour. But first, we lazily finished eating - Andi got second helpings of the prawns twice :D

Afterwards, we got on the glass-bottom boat. The guy driving it was quite funny and told us many interesting things about the reef and the animals there during the ride. For example, that the reef consists of thousands of individual reefs, which are all different sizes. He also told us that sharks (except for reef sharks, of course) don't come into the reef because they can't swim backward and would die if they got into a dead end of the reef. While he was talking, we suddenly saw a turtle swimming underneath the boat and everyone got very excited and shouted "Turtle, turtle". It was pretty funny :D But seeing a turtle is something special. They are always on their own and it's considered a special experience when you see one while snorkeling or diving. Through the glass bottom of the boat, we didn't discover that much. We saw much more while snorkeling. But the information was good.

After the boat tour, we went snorkeling again. This time it was a bit creepy at first because the water was much deeper and you couldn't see the ground. But when you swam away from the ship a bit, you could recognize the reef under you again. It looked quite different from the other spot because large parts were destroyed, the water wasn't as clear, and there weren't as many fish around. Personally, I found the other spot much more beautiful and was glad that we had our dive there. For 50$, we could have dived again at the second spot, but we didn't want to. What was cool about the second spot: there were many brightly blue starfish, which I thought were really beautiful. And Andi and I were almost alone in the water because many people were already in the water when we were on the boat tour and then got out again. And that's why we were able to swim behind the turtle together, which I had discovered. That was really great. It just appeared in my field of view and after I somehow managed to tell Andi, who was 10 meters behind me, we swam together with the turtle for a few meters. We could watch it feed on the ocean floor and calmly take some pictures and videos. Really beautiful. At some point, we let the turtle go and snorkeled a bit further. Then we went back to the ship.

When we were underwater there, I had a little shock because suddenly a giant fish with clearly visible teeth looked at me. It swam away and on the surface, we found out that it was a barracuda that quasi owns this reef and shows up at the spot of the boat every day. As soon as we were out of the water, everyone gathered at the edge of the ship and we found out that the barracuda is also fed. Every day, the crew members provide a small amount of fish for it. They have a license to feed it and it's happy. Barracudas are actually deep-sea fish, but according to the stories of an instructor, this one was injured, retreated to the reef, and has been living there ever since. Pretty funny.

Now it was already three-quarters to 4 in the afternoon and the ship set course back towards the harbor. We made ourselves comfortable on the deck, chatted with the German couple, and let the wind blow around our noses. By now, the sky was quite cloudy and it was quite chilly. On the way back, we first got cheese with crackers and shortly before the harbor, we got cake. Both were very good and I had as many refills of the cheese as Andi had of the prawns :D

Arriving at the harbor, the whole crew stood in front of the ship and shook hands with every passenger to say goodbye. Really nice and a nice conclusion to an amazing day. We then made our way to our car and drove to the campground. We didn't need dinner after the day, so we had a very cozy evening :)