Day 45 Sunday 25th August A Day on the Reef

We had booked a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef today as we thought we should have another snorkel before we’re too old to do it! We were up very early as we had to drive down through the mountains from Mareeba to Cairns. We have been enjoying the weather (most days 25 -28 degrees) but most Queenslanders have been complaining that it has been so cold especially at night. It was 11 degrees when we left Mareeba and we did have a little bit of fog. By the time we reached the marina in Cairns it was 19. We had been “up-graded” to a bigger and nicer boat because our boat was out of action. We didn’t mind at all. We did notice that we were probably close to the oldest people on the boat but we didn’t mind. The trip out was a little rocky but Rob was not troubled by the seas unlike a few others. We had the mandatory safety talk on the way out as well as an interesting presentation by a marine biologist. We enjoyed our first snorkel and managed very well, seeing many beautiful corals and colourful fish. We did wear wet-suits so it wasn’t too cold in the water. Once back on board it was a little on the cool side but we were served a lovely lunch that warmed us up. Following lunch the boat moved a small distance and we were able to then snorkel over a different part of the reef. Again it was quite spectacular and the sun had come out so I stayed in the water until I was extremely wrinkled! The trip back was rougher than the trip out as the wind had picked up and there were many white-caps. Once again Rob didn’t have any issues so this was a bonus. It was a fabulous day and we’re very glad we did it.