Day 11 - The Great Barrier Reef

Saturday June 30th we were up bright and early for our reef cruise with Sunlovers, part of our holiday package. After our buffet brekkie Jen and Craig dropped us off at the pier before heading to the Tablelands for the rest of their holiday.

We were headed to a section of the outer reef which was 40km off shore, so we had a long cruise before arriving there. After about a 1.5 hour cruise we arrived at the private pontoon at Moore reef, and after attempting to get to the snorkeling gear through the crowds of pushy tourists, we gave up and had our buffet lunch first, then a semi-submersible boat tour to let the food settle. While on the boat we saw a couple of turtles, but did not manage to get a clear picture. After the boat we hit the water. Snorkeling was great, I have only snorkeled once before and that time the fins were too boyant for me, this time was much better, I also turfed the life jacket fairly early on so that I could dive (the life jackets were not mandatory, but of course the cruise line is legally obligated to strongly recommend them). The fish and the reef were amazing, we saw big schools of little bright blue fish and zebra stripped fish, big multicoloured fish that I think were parrot fish, 4 foot long ugly buggers, and others of all shapes, colours and sizes, as well as a giant clam. No rays or clown fish, or further turtle sightings unfortunately. After a while we got out and had a cuppa and went on the glass bottom boat. On return I went back in the water, while Chris elected to stay on dry pontoon. I'm glad I went back in because this time I saw even more big brightly coloured fish, and the tide must have come in because I was able to get further over the coral. I probably could have gone even further, as others did, but I was very aware of not getting too close as coral is so delicate that one can easily destroy centuries of growth with a careless fin. I did not want to get out again but did in time for the fish feeding before our return trip.


On arriving back at the pier we went for a walk and had dinner at Bull Bar, where I tried Morton Bay Bugs for the first time (a little sweet and overpowering after a while, I think these are something best eaten as part of a buffet rather than as a main course). We then returned to the hotel for a relaxing evening.