Great Barrier Reef Part I

We just returned frou our first trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. We boarded our boat early this morning and headed out to Michaelmas Cay, about 2 hours from Cairns. We couldn't believe how many boats head out to the reef every single day. There must have been more than a hundred vessels ranging from small sailboads to massive catamarans holding over 400 people. We chose a medium-sized cat with about 60 people. Michaelmas Cay is an Australian National Park and designated wildlife refuge for nesting birds. The island was stunning shite sand and beautiful turquoise water (it really did look like the marketing picutres on their website). Our boad dropped anchor offshore and shuttled us to the beach. From there, we were able to snorkel out over the reef. The water was somewhat colder than we expected (compared to the Carribean at least), but we were mostly comfortable without wetsuits. It wasn't bad until we got out of the water and into the wind!

We saw some amazing fish and coral that is impossible to describe in writing. You'll just have to wait for the pictures :-). We had fun with the underwater case we baught for our digital camera. We got some great pictures swimming next to a sea turtle. After lunch, we boarded a semi-submersable boat that took us on a guided tour of the reef. We arrived back in Cairns just in time for dinner and sorbet.