Another of the must do items on our list for the GAA was to visit the Great Barrier Reef and today that is what we did. Although it rained as we arrived at the cruise terminal the rest of the day was warm, the sun shone and the clouds kept away and our journey to and from the Reef was in relatively calm water. During the outbound voyage the onboard marine biologist gave an interesting illustrated talk on the origins of the reef and different coral types for those who wanted to know more about the environment they were about to visit.
The company we sailed with used a large powered catamaran to get us to and from a moored pontoon out near the rim at Moore Reef. Alongside the pontoon, which was equipped with tables, benches, sunshades and an underwater observatory, were a semi submersible and a glass bottomed boat. A small tender was also used to transport folk, who had chosen to take a helicopter flight over the reef, from the pontoon to a helipad also moored nearby.
The cruise boat remained moored alongside the pontoon throughout the day and provided additional facilities including a galley, toilets and wifi.
I am neither a confident nor strong swimmer and I was apprehensive about snorkelling, something I have never attempted, and on seeing the depth of water around the boat decided I would engage with all the other activities first and then consider whether to snorkel. Lesley got changed before we arrived at the pontoon so was ready to go for a guided snorkel safari with a marine biologist beyond the area set aside for general snorkelling.
Meanwhile, I took trips out from the pontoon on both the semi submersible and the glass bottomed boats. Both provided different perspectives on the reef but I preferred the latter which floated slowly over the reef so that we got really good views of the different sorts of coral and saw many fish. The semi submersible, being of deeper draught, tended to steer through gulleys and gaps in the reef so we saw a range of coral and other sorts of fish but the quality of that view was dependent to some extent on which side of the boat you were occupying.
Back at the pontoon and feeling hungry I visited the lunch buffet and found a table outside to enjoy the view across the ocean. When Lesley returned from her guided snorkel tour she joined me for lunch and told me of her adventures including meeting up with a large green turtle as the group were returning from their tour. As we had encountered Loggerhead and Flatback Turtles on the beach at Mon Repos, this sighting meant Lesley had now seen three of the species of turtles found around the coast of Australia.
After lunch Lesley joined me on another glass bottom boat tour and we both spent time in the underwater observatory from where a selection of coral were visible and a wide range of passing fish could be seen. Lesley spent more time in the water snorkelling and during the last hour at the pontoon the marine biologist conducted a handing of simple marine animals such as sea cucumbers and everyone was invited to join in a fish feeding activity from the back of the pontoon which brought a number of larger fish into the area including red bass.
The time went surprisingly quickly. The weather remained hot, the water calm and we enjoyed the return journey to the cruise terminal at Cairns.
Once back at the apartment we set about packing ready to leave for Sydney the next morning. Having been fed quite well at lunchtime we made a salad of a variety of bits and pieces left in the fridge and enjoyed a couple of glasses of Wild Oats Chardonay.
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