East Coast Expedition: The Great Barrier Reef

Jan 16, 2011

Ah, back in Australia, my second home away from home! Cairns, Australia to be exact; home to exotic tropical rainforest and the one and only Great Barrier Reef. I didn't know what to expect when I arrived to Cairns, but to my great delight I fell "in like" with the place immediately. By the end of my short stay there my "in like" bumped up to an "almost in love". Knowing that it was a place of humid, tropical rainforests, I was prepared to come face to face with creepy, crawly, slimy creatures the instant I stepped off the plane. Fortunately, my imagination got the best of me. While I was greeted with a heap of humidity, the only creatures I came in contact with were the hospital folks of Cairns. The actual town of Cairns was quite likable with crossroads full of shops, bars and restaurants, bright lights and palm trees all just meters away from the ocean.

Sunset from my plane window heading back to Australia

My first full day in Cairns, I went on an Ocean Spirit Cruise to the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkeling. This is probably one of the, if not the, first places and activities that comes to people's minds when they think of Australia. And rightly so. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is the world's largest reef system made up of over 3,000 individual reefs flourishing with diverse marine life and more than 90 exotic islands. This sucker is huge. It's the largest single structure made from living organisms in the world. It can be seen from space, for goodness sake. Need I go on? I think it's pretty evident that my time in Australia wouldn't be complete without going to pay this unique world wonder a visit.

Cairns Harbor

The Ocean Spirit Cruise departed from Cairns at 8:00 a.m. The ship set out on a 2 hour cruise to our first destination- Oyster Reef. On the way we were instructed on how to snorkel and use the equipment properly (flippers, goggles and a snorkel). Among other things I learned that I needed to swim horizontally so that my flippers wouldn't hit any of the reef or wildlife me. Too rid my snorkel of any water that may have accumulated inside, I simply had to say the words "Chew, chew" into it, and just like magic the water would burst out of the top. Lastly, I didn't want to tighten my goggles too much otherwise I would get lightheaded. We were given the option to purchase a wetsuit to wear in the water for $5.00. I coughed this money over in a heart beat. The world's most venomous and deadly animal, the boxer jelly fish, inhabits the reef waters- there was absolutely no way I was getting in that ocean without a wetsuit covering my body from head to toe.

The Ocean Spirit

The deck and hang out area

Once I had all my snorkel gear, I lounged on the boat deck enjoying the gorgeous day and getting acquainted with my fellow cruse comrades. First, I chatted with two young Canadian girls. Prior to arriving in Cairns, the pair worked on a peach farm. Their legs were covered in terrible rashes and scars that resulted from allergic reactions they had to the peaches. Ouch. I was glad I opted for hospitality work rather than farm work. Then I struck up conversation with two Irish men, Anthony and Martin. These lads were great fun and became my sidekicks for the remainder of the day.

Snorkel gear in hand!

Before I knew it, we were parking the Oyster Spirit in the middle of the ocean. We had arrived at Oyster Reef! It was snorkeling time. According to their website, Oyster Reef is "clear, shallow and teeming with marine life; it is out of this world." They didn't lie. I really felt emerged in a whole new world. Cue the Disney classic "A Whole New World" (Aladdin) because that is exactly how I how felt: "A whole new world. A dazzling place I never knew...Unbelievable sights. Indescribable feelings. Soaring (Swimming), tumbling (floating), freewheeling (flipping), through an endless diamond sky (turquoise ocean)." Hold the applause, I'm not done yet. "A whole new world. Don't you dare close your eyes. A hundred thousand things to see (fishies and coral galore!)...Every turn a surprise (more fishies and coral to see, whoopie!). A whole new world." Now I'm finished. It was a truly incredible experience. I loved every minute of it. I didn't want to get out of the water. But alas, the call came from the crew to climb back on board the boat. It was time to sail off to location number two- Upolu Reef.

The ocean and reef below (see the green color in the water? that's the reef)

While sailing to our next destination, Anthony, Martin and I reflected on our incredible snorkel experiences while munching on fresh fruit and seafood. My Irish pals were also debating whether or not to go scuba diving. I had already decided that I wasn't going to go, despite multiple efforts by the crew to convince me to go diving. My reasoning was two-fold. First, it was more money that I didn't want to spend. Second, considering that I had neither gone snorkeling or scuba diving before, I thought it a bit too ambitious to attempt both in one day. As much as I love trying new things and checking items off my "Do before I die" list, I still wanted to have some things left to do down the road. The way I see it, not scuba diving means that I have to come back to Australia so I can scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef. And it won't just be for 20 minutes like it would have been today, it will be an entire day of scuba diving. The Irish eventually came to the same decision as I, but for a different reason. During the scuba instruction session they had been told that if someone hits a button on their suit it will allow all the water to rush into their helmet and kill them instantly. They heated the thought of dying at the hands of some imbecile tourists, and so they decided to pass.

Getting ready to hop in the water for some snorkel action

An hour or so later we arrived at Upolu Reef, which they described as being "magical with Moray Eels to check out, giant clams, turtles and if you're really lucky perhaps a reef shark." I considered myself lucky that I didn't see a reef shark. Nor did I see eels or turtles, and for that I consider myself unlucky. However, I did see a giant clam. When I say giant, I mean GIANT. This clam was larger than a grown man. At one point, one of the scuba instructors dove down to the giant clam and touched it's center and the clam closed around his entire body. Insane, huh? Fret not, the clam opened back up and released the daring instructor from its insides. Again, I was mesmerized by the ocean world I was immersed in. I have never seen tropical fish or coral reef like this before, not even in an aquarium. My favorite bit of reef was this bright green neon coral that looked like a glowing brain on the reef. That's a souvenir I wish I could have taken home with me. Anytime I spotted a fish I liked, I would follow it as it zipped around the colorful reef below. Every once and a while I would pop my head out of the water to make sure that the boat hadn't left without me. Can you imagine being left behind? I certainly couldn't. My insides turned at the thought of it, stranded in the middle of the ocean where sharks and other killer creature reside. Gulp. Fortunately, I didn't find myself in this predicament. When the time came, I reluctantly made my way onto the ship sad that my time at sea with the fish and reef had come to an end.

Hanging out on the deck

On the return cruise home I befriended the Captain of the Oyster Spirit. He invited me into the "cock pit" where he was steering the ship in his enclosed room along with his skipper. I felt privileged to be allowed inside considering the sign on the door read, "Staff only." Ah, the benefits of being a young girl traveling by her lonesome self. We had a grand time chit chatting about their lives at sea and mine in Australia up to this point. As always, I enjoyed getting to know the locals. As we pulled into the harbor, my heart twanged with sad melodies: I didn't want to leave! Asides from the fact that my "water proof" camera broke the second it touched the ocean water (don't buy an Olympus Stylus Tough, it was the worst purchase I ever made), it had been a perfect day. If it wasn't for the fact that I had three weeks to get back to Sydney to catch my flight home to NY, I think I would have begged the Captain to let me work aboard his ship. At that moment, all I wanted was to be able to cruise out to that magnificent reef each day and go snorkeling morning, noon and night. Recognizing that not all fantasies can become a reality, I disembarked the ship to carry forth with my Australian adventures.

Not wanting the fun to end, I made plans with my Irish pals to meet up that evening for dinner and drinks. After a refreshing shower, I headed into town and met them at a cozy pub where they treated me to pizza and beer. We chatted the night away the Irish way. It was an enjoyable ending to an exceptional day.