06.05.2026

Today was yet another day from dark to dark, in short: it was long. It was a 'Sea Day' to a special destination, the destination was 'Moore Reef', which belongs to the 'Great Barrier Reef'. We were picked up early in Palm Cove, and the drive to the port in Cairns took about 40 minutes. The booking confirmations had to be exchanged for tickets at the Reef Terminal. We had booked a 'Full day Tour' with 'Sunlover Reef Cruises'. This means: transport on the pictured catamaran, ride on the glass-bottom boat, the underwater observatory, snorkeling from the pontoon, and a proper lunch. The water is turquoise again, very clean, and you can really see many fish, corals, and sea anemones. However, the colors are not like in an aquarium. You have often heard that the reef is 'suffering', and you can see it too. At one part of the pontoon, there are windows embedded underwater, and the fish swimming by were explained there. It was never boring at all! Everyone had to wear these black suits for the 'water activity' due to jellyfish. Before snorkeling, staff explained the handling of the equipment, which was also on site. There was a lot of young staff present, and they were kept busy with 'assistance' during the crossing - the Pacific had strong waves again - monitoring the snorkelers in the designated area, accompanying those who booked diving or 'Helmet Diving'. We had added the latter. You get a weight belt put on and a helmet weighing about 35 kg placed on. Under this, you are supplied with oxygen when you submerge. You walk along a platform over the coral world and through schools of fish that are being fed a bit by divers; there are naturally no sharks, and we were accompanied by several divers and a photographer, so there are also pictures of this 'experiment'! We do not regret this 'Helmet Dive'! You could also have flown over this part of the reef by helicopter. Just as international as the crew was the group of guests, this time there were even announcements in Chinese and Japanese. The return trip was quiet; once the waves were lower, and most visitors fell asleep after so much activity in the fresh air! Our transfer also went quicker as the rush hour was over. We now listen to the ocean from the balcony, accompanied by the calls of a night bird; it’s not the kookaburra, which you hear here in the morning around 6 o'clock...