2023-03-06 – Airlie Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef, Australia – Day 62

Monday March 06, 2023

The day we were greatly looking forward to, finally arrived – The Great Barrier Reef. We had heard so much about it in the lectures coming up to this day and finally we get to swim with the fishes and see the coral that is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). There are several places that one can go out to the Reef from Australian towns along the coast. Last time I was here it was further north off Cairns, where I went to the Reef, so I was greatly looking forward to seeing the differences. Anne had not had the experience, so it was all new. We both were to experience something amazing that neither of us had seen. Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. It did not disappoint.

We anchored off the Australian coast and the tenders (lifeboats) were lowered to take those guests that were going into the town of Airlie Beach. The town consists of one street and some 2,500 inhabitants. Many of these are employed with taking the thousands of tourists out to the GBR. The Reef brings into Australia some 8 billion dollars a year in tourism revenue. Every person that goes out there has to pay a fee to the the government and Marine Conservation organization. There were at least three large catamarans that we saw from our balcony amidst the tenders that were taking people to different pontoons on the GBR. It was one of these catamarans that we were to board directly from the ship, so we never went ashore. Once the 150 guests from the ship had boarded the Catamaran, we soon sped off in calm waters through some of the 74 Whitsunday Islands with their spectacular beaches, and we could see the odd building on one or two, but the majority were just green. We were all quite comfortably having tea and coffee on the Catamaran for about the first hour as we were winding our way through the islands. At one point the staff announced that all had to take their seats as we were about to go into open water and it was going to get turbulent for the next hour. Indeed it was very turbulent and many sick bags were passed out and used. I had taken sea sickness pills, but Anne who does not usually get seasick did not and unfortunately suffered and had to make use of the bags. Once we got over the reef, for the last 10 minutes of the trip, things were once again very calm almost like a still pond. The Catamaran moored onto a pontoon over the reef that was to be our place for the day. 

Some words of advice to anyone doing this sort of expedition:- 1) Take seasick pills; 2) Repeat reading and acting on point 1; We were told by one of the staff that today was a particularly calm day going through the open waters! 3) Dress in your bathing gear from the start of the day; 4) Take a towel as none are provided if you plan on going into the water; You can get a lot of the overall experience not going into the water. 5) Take money and / or a credit card for incidentals on the Catamaran; 6) Take camera, cell phone etc, preferably in a wet resistant bag; there are no lockers or secure locations, but as you are all together, it is safe to leave money, cameras etc on a chair; 7) If you have an underwater camera, still or motion picture, definitely take and use it; 8) If you are up to it, definitely book in on the private tours for snorkeling or SCUBA diving, it costs a bit more but you see much more; 9) Experience both the submarine and the underwater viewing platform; 10) Before tucking into the good lunch think about the ride back in the turbulent waters; 11) If you have your own mask and snorkel, take it but they have plenty for free, if you don’t; 12) Anytime of year is good to see the Reef, but the staff on-board say that winter (June /July) is best.

On the way out to the pontoon, which is fixed and the Conservation group dictate where these pontoons can be placed and how they are to be run. It seems like it is a good compromise as they have the experts and dictate the rules and thus the Reef is there for many to enjoy. The reef is dying in places, not through the people that visit it but more by the global rise in temperature of the ocean, as the algae that feed the coral cannot live above 30C. Today the temperature of the water was 28.5C or 84F. When we got to the large pontoon we were told that there are no facilities. There were three changing rooms, but toilets, food, drink etc was all aboard the Catamaran which was tethered to the Pontoon. What they do have on the platform, which has a canvas roof to help shade the sun, is all the equipment that one needs for a day on the Reef. First of all you get and put on a wet suit, they have all sizes there, then select fins, life jackets and masks with breathing tubes all in open bins ready for use for the day. The pontoon can easily hold a couple of hundred people, so it is fairly large. The day was bright, sunny and not too warm, so a perfect, ideal day to be out on the GBR. Wet suits are mandatory as there are a lot of stinging jellyfish around and the protective cover to your body helps to prevent them stinging you. There is one small jellyfish that if it stings you, you are dead within minutes due to the highly poisonous toxin it injects into it’s victims. We met our guide Luke, for the private tour (we were paired with one other couple as tours are in groups of 4 people maximum). He led us to a flat motor boat – a flat platform with some raised metal hoops to hang onto and motor. The “captain” took the guide and 4 of us, all decked out in out snorkeling gear for a ride away from the pontoon to another area of the Reef, some 400 yards / meters from to pontoon. The five of us jumped into the water and grabbed hold of a life preserver ring, that had loose cords attached to it and we followed the leader. The guide would look down into the water, explain to us what we would see directly below us and then we all put our faces under water, breathing through the tube and marveled at all we saw. For the next half hour he would take us, all swimming together (one could also not hold onto the ring and just follow along if one preferred) slowly back to the pontoon. The currents are quite strong so it was easy swimming as we were being pushed by the current. 

What we saw was spectacular. In this particular area the brown seaweed (Pheophyta) predominate so most of the coral is light brown. The algae help the coral live by imbedding themselves and feeding the coral, through it’s own photosynthetic process. The different types of coral were all present in abundance just a few feet away. We did see bits of other color corals, but the predominant color was brown. However, the fish were all different colors and sizes. Bright electric blue, fluorescent yellow (like road safety vests), emerald green and all others. They ranged from tiny (a little bigger than your watch face) to large (about half the size of a human being). The Giant Clams were particularly interesting and the guide waved his hand over and into one of the clams and we could see it opening and closing it’s shell as if trying to capture prey for it’s food. Imagine the tire of your automobile, that is roughly the size of these clams.

Once we got back to the pontoon, we thanked the guide and continued swimming on our own within a designated area for another hour. Here we were literally swimming with the fish, some 1,000 small (4-5 inch long) silvery colored fish swam with, past and all around us, sometimes “bumping into” us and other times circling us. We were definitely in their territory. Then following them were about 25 big (about 1/2 human size) fish that also came past and all around us. These mostly come out at night, but as the pontoon casts a shadow, they think it’s nighttime. All absolutely spectacular. By this time we were tired, so got out of the water and our wet-suit etc and then went down some 20 steps into a chamber beneath the pontoon, where you can see all the fish and reef from the comfort of your chair while staying dry. It is a large chamber easily accommodating some 30 people. we saw more of the same plus some other interesting fish, and crabs. The last experience was going in the “submarine”. It is a “semi submersible” whereby the deck of the boat and the crew are above water at all times, but the 40 passengers aboard are under the water in two lines of seats, facing windows on both sides. The vessel and guide took us over to another part of the reef, we had not seen. The boat went out allowing those on one side, to get a great view of the Reef, then turning around, so the passengers on the other side of the vessel get the better view. One of the thrills here was seeing a green sea turtle and still many more fish. One of the staff indicated that there were tour operators that would take you out to special pontoons, where they have like an underwater hotel, so you can sleep underwater, do night dives etc, but apparently comes with a hefty price tag of 3,000 dollars a night!

We had worked up an appetite and at different times we had walked onto the Catamaran to get some food, but the queue was long, so we did a different activity waiting for it to subside. By the time we were ready, all the food was closed down, so we did not get lunch. We did get a cup of tea, but they ran out of cups, so we were not able to have a second cup when tea was served an hour later. By this time it was “all aboard” time and our day on the reef was coming to an end. We took the catamaran back through the choppy waters then when we were within the calmer waters of the Whitsunday Islands, tea was served – watermelon slices, mini-muffins and orange slices, but no hot liquids. Upon mooring on the ship and once aboard Queen Mary 2 we just got into the cafeteria in time for some tea and after a welcoming shower, we headed to dinner and the show. Tonight it was a tribute to Barbara Streisand, sung by the really outstanding Karen Beckett, who had great stage presence as well as an excellent voice. A really memorable day and one that should be on everyone’s “Bucket List”.