The REEF
So Jim returned from his diving trip yesterday and he had a great time. He saw sharks and huge turtles and lots of things.
Today we went on a snorkeling trip just for me, since I can’t go by myself and I need Jim to help.
We got on the boat at 8 and it took about 2 hours to get to the outer reef.
The boat was full of Americans, which was a shocker. We figure that the only place you find Americans are the higher-priced package deal tours and things like that, because they are too afraid NOT to do that.
It seemed like everyone was from NY, and we talked to some cool retired professors from Vermont. Our catamaran went thru a small storm and everyone came inside and one of the teachers hurled into a bag right next to me. I had to calm myself so I didn’t get sick but after the storm passed, everything was fine.
The first snorkel was right off the boat. I was surprised how wavy the water was. So I put on the flippers, life jacket and got a mask and Jim jumped right in and I started to climb in down the ladder. The water was so wavy and it felt cold (even though it wasn’t that cold) and seemed so deep and it was so scary. I don’t feel like talking about it anymore.
Here’s a picture of the reef. Not a very good one; arial shots are awesome, though. You can see a little where the reef is by the different colors.
So next we went to a tiny sand hill in the water and they took us out on the promised “glass bottomed boat.”
“Glass Bottomed Boat”
Classy, huh?
We got to the sand bar and were able to walk right into the water. Finally Jim got me to calm down and go under and it was great. The water was less wavy but still a wavy enough to worry me. It was quite shallow but there were still lots of pretty fish.
The coolest thing we saw were a couple blue-spotted rays. He swam right towards us and you could see his angry looking little eyes. It was awesome.
Jim took a bunch of pictures with the disposable water-proof camera we bought.
This is what one looks like (I took this from another site).
Here is a pic of the ray from our cheap underwater camera.
A close-up from the same pic. The colors are dreadful even after I photoshopped it and you can’t see the bright blue spots. He has mean little eyes, though. I gave it the finger and made myself laugh and water come in my mask and I freaked out.
There were also some bright blue starfish. They were such a beautiful color; a bright royal blue! It doesn’t seem a like a color you’d see in nature. Unfortunately we ran out of film for that.
This is what one looks like.
We also saw some sea cucumbers, lots of coral and some amazing giant clams. There are also fish that look like they glow in the dark.
Cool fish
The one with the string on his head is a “Moorish Idol.” Not to be confused with “American Idol.” [groan]
Jim was great, and let me hold onto him the whole time. At first I had my arm around his back then later I felt better and we just held hands. Whenever I tapped him a lot it meant I had water in my goggles, and he would reach over and help push me up in the water so I could clear them. It was so nice. Also because I know whenever he did that it meant he usually got water in his breathing tube.
So the snorkeling was good. It’s amazing what you can see down there. It made me wish I cuold have done it more and seen more. Some lady saw a shark and a guy saw a turtle. I only saw the ray and tons of fish. It was still cool though.
Then we came home.
Oh, by the way, THIS TIME TOMORROW WE’LL BE IN NEW ZEALAND! We fly to Auckland for a stopover then it is down to Christchurch in the south island. Time for cold weather to begin! Yikes!
Bye bye Australia!! I’ll miss ya!
P.S. I am surprised I didn’t say anything about Jim’s jellyfish sting from when he was diving. To answer your question, he said it hurt but it wasn’t anything very bad. Another funny thing- he took this picture while we were sitting in the Air New Zealand office at the airport a few days later.
Tags: Australia
Kelly