On February 28th, we arrived into Cairns (pronounced ‘cans’), Australia. Admittedly, we didn’t do anything in the city itself (nor did we do much in rainy Newcastle a few days before other than find Wi-Fi). Rather, we spent the day at the Great Barrier Reef – a must-see when this close!
Of course, when I say “this close” I should clarify that the reef itself is huge – so it’s not like we were limited to seeing it while in Cairns. The Great Barrier Reef is the actually largest living thing on Earth and is even visible from outer space! At more than 1,200 miles long and between 37 and 155 miles wide, it is roughly the same area as Italy or Japan – or as one estimate said, roughly ’70 million football fields’. So, we’re talking huge.
Anyway, we took a boat to the outer reef for some snorkeling and other fun stuff. On the way there – about an 80-minute trip – we filled out paperwork for snorkeling and a helmet dive we planned to do. We also heard a little about the reef itself from the staff. Fun fact: there are 600 types of hard and soft coral (many with ‘obvious’ names that match their descriptions, like ‘spaghetti coral’), 6 species of turtles, 215 species of birds, 17 species of sea snakes and more than 1,500 species of fish in the reef. It’s incredible!
When we arrived at the reef, we transferred to a pontoon boat that had all the snorkeling gear, lounge and food areas, and access to a glass bottom boat and semi-submersible sub. It was definitely going to be a day of awe.
Our first step was to get into some suits that would protect us from jellyfish stings, in the event we encountered any (because there are some that could be particularly hazardous). I must say, we looked sharp, because who doesn’t look good in Lycra? 😉
We then made our way to the part of the pontoon that was set up for our helmet dive. Here, we entered the water below the pontoon and inserted ourselves into the white helmets that would allow us to walk below the water and view the fish, etc. It was a little surreal to be able to walk and breathe naturally while seeing fish swim around our heads. Plus it was a little eerie to walk into an area where there were no other humans and you could only see so far in front of you. Our guide scuba dove next to us and used a little underwater pad and pencil to tell us the types of fish we were seeing. I’m not going to lie – I was overly impressed with the pad and pencil… We were only underwater for ~30 minutes, but that was plenty for me as I started to feel the weight of the helmet on my shoulders after a while. Overall, it was a cool experience.
After we emerged from the helmet dive, we got a little food in our bellies and then bolted for snorkeling. We brought our own masks, which we were thankful for as they really are so much more convenient than the traditional two-piece ones. We got many comments from others wishing they had ones like ours, so it was a good move for sure. The snorkeling was incredible! Flippers on, we made our way around a large section of the reef, teeming with colorful fish and amazing coral. Unfortunately, we have no photos to show how awesome it was. We don’t have underwater cameras, and are convinced that even if we did, the photos wouldn’t do it justice. The variety of fish in the wee area we explored far surpassed what we expected. John even swam with a turtle for a while!
At some point, I stopped snorkeling while John continued a bit longer (which was when he saw the turtle) and made my way to the glass bottom boat. That was pretty cool as well, as it went to a different section of the reef and we saw endless types of coral below our feet. While exploring in this manner, the guide gave us facts about the indigenous people and how they would use the reef in their daily lives, demonstrating how hunting of fish and turtles would look in years past.
Once I got back, John joined me on the semi-submersible sub, which went to yet another area of the reef and allowed us to see even more coral and fish.
This submarine-like experience also had some great educational commentary. John snapped a few photos here, but they just don’t do the actual experience justice.
When we got back, it was time to head back to the main boat to depart. On the ride back, the guides showed us some didgeridoos and clapsticks, and demonstrated how to play them along with some traditional dances. It was pretty interesting to see the guide demonstrate how he produced the sound in the didgeridoo by vibrating his lips and using circular breathing techniques.
Then we had a guide come and tell us about Crown of Thorn Starfish – some native species of starfish that are important for the reef but if not kept in check would kill much of the reef off. They are quite dangerous, so she must have said a half dozen times to not touch them. I imagine people must constantly reach out for them during such demonstrations. Anyway, they were interesting to learn about – and the efforts to keep their numbers in check. You can’t cut them in half or they’ll just regenerate and double their numbers. Instead, they inject them with household vinegar multiple times to kill them.
For the remainder of the ride back, we relaxed and enjoyed some local beers. I assure you one of the beers in this photo was John’s… I wasn’t double fisting! 😊
This concluded our trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. We would absolutely visit again and urge everybody to do so. Such an amazing experience!