I have an early start and get up at 6.30 for a 7.10 pickup.
We assemble at the harbour and I’m surprised to see a normal mix of people going to a ferry.
The boat is large and carries I would say about a couple of hundred people. I t emerges that we are in fact first sailing to Port Hamilton in the Whit Sunday Islands to drop off passengers and collect others that are going to the Reef.
The Whit Sunday Islands number about 75 islands lying between Airlie and the Reef. The biggest is Hamilton Island and is an upmarket tousist destination. The smaller ones are even more upmarket and other than one that is in private hands the remaining ones are a National Park.
Maggie says I can get only one boat.
It is so hard to choose.
We travel on with new passengers and get safety briefings on snorkelling.
I fill out a health form for the dive. This basically indemnified the company if I’m eaten, drowned or cause injury to any other person or thing. The next thing is a dive briefing. It is quite good as they cover all the important stuff in a fun and jocular fashion.
The divers are from all over. A mix of Oriental, Australian, German, British and even farther afield, the US and even Peru. They tell us we are unlikely to see any sharks. They usually come from behind. The dive leader is a Brit and apart from suffering some bad jokes in the sunup to the handover to the crew it is good.
We have a minute silence to mark the Armistice. It is interesting to note the Japanese reaction but they just let it pass. I never have discussed the war and their view of WW11 and the way it is taught in school with anyone from Japan. I suppose most are now two generations away from the events. I know in the sites we have visited in Australia any connection with those times is acknowledged and every town has a war memorial honouring the fallen.
The barge that we are diving off is large and anchored just off the reef. It is a good solution for managing so many people for a day on the reef and we move to the barge once we arrive.
I go straight away to get a wet suit. These are thin and the divers need them. The snorkelers are encouraged to get stinger suits which are like a wet suit made of thin material and cover you completely to avoid jellyfish stings.
It is all very well organised and as long as we stay of the top of the reef to avoid damaging the coral we are free to do as we wish.
We do not see any jellyfish but I suppose it stops people getting sunburnt. This is why I am happy to get a wetsuit. The water is warm and you wouldn’t need it otherwise.
I am one of the first in the water and it is magical. From word go I am surrounded by hundreds of fish and so it goes for the whole day and when not diving I snorkel. Loving it.
I even get to make a new friend.
I am especially fascinated by the giant Molluscs. The way they react to you and the rich deep colours they exhibit.
They seem to weigh up the threat and start to close then change their mind.
Really until I unpload some video you can’t really grasp the beauty from stills.
3.30pm and the start of the journey back comes around in a flash. The journey is about 2.5 to 3 hours and everyone is tired and quieter than on the journey out. We I think are all reliving the beauty and experience of the Great Barrier Reef.
To top it all off we get another beautiful sunset over the water as we approach landfall.
Truly another memorable day to log away in my memory.
