For Georg this fulfills two lifelong dreams: To Scuba Dive the Great Barrier Reef and to see a shark in its environment and yes he tells me he knows that this is not a shark, but a barracuda. In his excitement he didn't manage to get a picture of it, but we all saw it so it is verifiable for all you nay-sayers!
The weather on the outer reef has been challenging with winds up to 35 knots on most days, resulting in 2 ½ meter swells. After a few rough boat rides and seasickness we decided to book our scuba and snorkeling tour on the boat noted for the greatest stability “The Silver Swift.” A good dose of gravol on the trip out to the reef and another dose on the return trip seemed to help the situation as well. (Georg did get sick but I'm not supposed to tell)
When the seas are rocking and rolling it’s not a problem for the scuba divers, but it can be a bit challenging for the snorkeling duo to get off and on the boat without being crushed into its side. This boat had a diveplatform that extended into the water making things much easier for us.
…when you enter the water, you enter a silent world where you become part of the underwater life. You can take respite from the loud chatter and just listen to the crunching of the parrotfish on the coral, feel your breathing and relax in an alert state. It’s a remarkable experience to “fly” over and through the reef.
We were thrilled to see three barracudas, a white tipped reef shark, clownfish (Nemo) and his entire family, turtles, huge clams, and many other brilliantly colored fish and coral. We’re thrilled to have had this opportunity and we understand why it is necessary to take precautions to preserve the living coral reefs. I’d say it was a great science lesson today!
Georg and Erik were able to get up close and personal with the white-tipped reef shark as it was deeper in the reef. It is awesome to see a predator in its habitat - much like the wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone – you know the ecosystem is healthy because they are there.
Today the rains stopped and the sun shone. This is rare during the rainy season, but we’ve been lucky throughout our trip. The day after we took the train to Kuranda, we heard the train had to be shut down because of the landslides washing trees onto the rails. Everywhere we traveled in Europe the public transportation strikes happened AFTER we were there (London, Paris, Rome).
Strike one more thing off of our “Bucket List”. Today was another 10!
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