Possibly the poorest photo day. Scratch that. Absolutely the poorest photo day. But quite possibly our best day so far.
Today we spent the entire day at sea on the Ocean Freedom catamaran, which left Cairns promptly at 7:30 AM.
We sailed 25 miles out into the Coral Sea to reach one of the most superb sites in the world, the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef, so large that it can be seen from space. The problem with such a venture for a blogger is that, unless you have a film crew with you, with underwater equipment and flood lights to give the colors justice, you are left with mere words to explain a world that has no equals. I do not own underwater cameras, nor would I have the skills to manage a camera while snorkeling with a very strong current that wants to keep taking you away.
So, I can only tell you that our experience was exhilarating, and that the corals of all shapes and colors are in a category by themselves. Never has a snorkeling experience been so overwhelmingly satisfying.
We spent a full 10 hours at sea, and I'd say four of them in the water, in two different spots, under the care and guidance of very knowledgeable and skilled individuals, who pointed out to us the type of formations we were looking at and the sea-life that here abounds. We had to don full scuba dress on account of the extremely poisonous jelly fish.
Fish of all sizes and colors, including Clown fish (Nemo) and Parrot fish, but also Dolphins, Sharks, Sea Turtles, Barracudas, Stingrays, schools of Neon fish, enormous clams that close when touched, Sea Cucumbers, purple Sea Stars and so many other species I just have no names for, surrounded us. I am pained that there are no pictures to show, but if you watch a good documentary about the place, you'll know what I am talking about. We could have spent another 24 hours in the water to watch life in this hidden world.
The cruise included 45 minutes on a glass-bottom boat. Here I was hoping to get some good shots, but the glass is covered with floating sea water and is sort of greenish, rendering every effort futile. This is the best I could do, and it's a far cry from reality.
It's just amazing that from the depths of the deep ocean this reef has grown to cover hundreds of miles in length. From the boat you can see clearly the varied colors of the different depths; not nearly so clearly from a photograph.
In the end I managed to get some shots right from the deck, of a certain number of fish swimming close to the surface.
Slim pickings, I'd say, given the material at my disposal. This said, we will always treasure this experience, and all I am able to add is WOW!
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