Day 9: Cairns, Australia

The Cairns pier.

I can definitely say that today was up there as one of the top 5 best days ever.  Hobbiton was my favorite part of New Zealand, but this day was definitely my favorite part of Australia.  I’ve been to the Great Barrier Reef before, but never like this.

Great Barrier Reef

The Ocean Spirit.

We took a catamaran, the Ocean Spirit, to Michaelmas Cay.  It is a low lying sand cay on the western tip of the Michaelmas Reef.  It is also a National Park and a protected sanctuary for migratory seabirds.  The whole experience included presentations by marine biologists about the reef and the different species.  In particular, they talked about the vital role zooxanthella play in the marine ecosystem.  Marine biologist Davo was awesome!

As soon as we reached the reef, our group did the semi submersible tour to see some of the coral that was out of bounds when diving/snorkeling. We saw cabbage, staghorn, brain, boulder, and many other kinds of coral. There was even a green turtle that came out to say hello!

Scarlett on the beach ready to snorkel.

Safety briefing before the dive.

The Dive

So excited in my scuba suit!

The last time I came to the reef, I did not have the opportunity to go scuba diving.  Instead, I did a tour around the coral on a scooter that has a dome helmet.  When I heard diving was an option on this excursion, I immediately knew I had to do it.

After the semi submersible tour, my brother and I suited up for scuba diving on the reef. All I can say is that it was INCREDIBLE! We saw tons of different fish and the biggest clam ever. It was just about the size of me! Naturally, because I’m uncoordinated, there were plenty of funny stories along the way (i.e. walking backwards with my tank and gear on I tripped on a rock in the shallow end and became a helpless turtle on my back, I couldn't sink correctly so the dive master kept having to put rocks in my belt).

Jason and I ready to go!

Fresh off the reef and slightly disoriented.

We started in the shallow end on the beach and swam out 50 feet right under the boat to a depth of 30 feet.  There were so many different kinds of fish and coral further out away from where everyone else was snorkeling.  There was even a massive clam that I'm pretty sure I could have fit my whole body in.

Climbing back onto the boat with all that equipment was quite a challenge.  One of my ears was still doing weird things from all the changing pressures, so the rest of the day I couldn't really hear out of the right side of my head.  Totally worth it though!

Snorkeling

After the dive, I went back to the little island to meet up with Scarlett. She wasn’t in to being in the same area as a fish, so she went back to the boat with others from our group. I ended up spending the remainder of our time there face first in the water moving up and down the reefs.

Back in the water for some snorkeling.

I managed to see: cabbage coral, staghorn coral, brain coral, a Linckia laevigata (blue sea star), a stingray, another green turtle, a giant clam, lots of baby clams, parrot fish, clownfish, a few butterfly fish, and some triggerfish amongst many others.

Staghorn coral.

Cabbage coral.

Linckia laevigata (blue sea star).

Parrot fish.

Giant clam.  The bright teal spots are the "eyes".

I think I ended up swimming/diving/snorkeling for the entire length of time we were out - so about 4 hours.  Exhaustion is an understatement, but the experience was indescribable!

Dinner was at Bayleaf again, but this time was more Western style food - baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake for dessert.  Yummy!

Tomorrow is our very last day and I plan to see as much of the city as I can.

The fabulous chocolate cake at Bayleaf.