Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef
May 19, 2010
Today was our first full day in Australia, and we spent it at the Great Barrier Reef. We began our day by walking to the pier where we boarded the Ocean Spirits Cruise to head out to the Reef. The ride was very interesting with the different oppurtunities and members of the group getting sea sick. We had options of scuba diving, snorkeling, and a submarine ride. Pretty much everybody did the snorkeling and 10 of us did the scuba diving. The snorkeling was amazing because you could get so close to the marine life in was like living in a fish tank. While you were under the water you could actually swim up and touch parts of the coral reef. The only problem with the snorkeling was when you got salt water in your breathing tube and then had to cough up the water, it didn’t taste good at all! The scuba diving was a very interesting experience for all the people that did it. A couple of us couldn’t do it because of ear pressure issues or breathing issues, which was very sad. When i (David Gibson) was scuba diving i got really claustraphobic and almost wanted to quit but i just pushed trough it and it was amazing. Ashley had some problems getting her ears to pop but she also pushed through it and had a great time. We were able to see some very big fish while we were under the water, and we also got to see a clown fish, which you might know it as a “nemo fish”, in a reef. We also got to see a giant clam and touch it which was very cool. Everybody had a great time today at the great barrier reef. On the ride back everybody was very tired from swimming all day so everyone laid out on the deck of the boat and slept part of the way back. Which laying down in turn helped everyone feel less sea sick. After about two hours we finally arrived back in cairns, whcih everyone was very happy to be back on dry land. This was an experience today that each and everyone of us will remember for the rest of our lives. We all had an amazing time and hope that we can all do it again at some point in our lives.
Sincerely,
David Gibson &
Stephen Jowers