Anyway the blog today is about our trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. After a bit of discussion we decided to go our separate ways as the boys wanted to do Scuba diving and Steph and I wanted to go snorkelling and have a helicopter ride over the Barrier reef.
Unfortunately this meant another early pick up for the boys at 8am but they didn’t mind and as for ourselves a leisurely 920am collection. The buses collected us and dropped us off at the PD Marine where the SilverSonic boat was waiting to whisk the boys away to their dive spot and that’s as far as I’ll go with that and I’ll get Ste or Chris to tell you more later in another blog.
As for us we arrived and got on our massive tri-hulled cruiser which whisked us off to Agincourt Reef right at the edge were the reef meets the ocean, it took an hour and a half but that soon zoomed by with the onboard briefings about safety and additional trips you could do whilst out on the reef...Kching ...$$$$$$$... However we expected this because if we have only learned one thing is whilst they have a captive audience they will try and screw as much out of you as they can!!!
Anyway what do we care Steph’s minted!!! So we booked our helicopter flight, 15mins of sheer unadulterated brilliance and hopefully if blogger lets us a short video clip to follow???? The view from the copter was fantastic and I’m so happy we did it although Steph wasn’t sure at first but the smile on her face was the biggest I’d seen in years.
Anyway I skipped a bit, we had tea/coffee on the trip out and a talk from a marine biologist about the reef and the inevitable Do’s & Don’ts and then we were there moored up to their floating pontoon on the reef a massive floating area with all the gear for the day.
We started off with a semisubmersible boat trip where you sit under water and watch the fish and various coral as it chugs around which was great. The colour of the Reef and Fish was amazing only to be surpassed by our up close and personal snorkelling. After this we were straight on the helicopter and then it was lunch with a large Smorgardboard affair.
After this we got suited up in our lycra snorky suit to protect from not only the sun but if really unlucky the Jelly fish who can kill you in less than 10 mins if stung and not treated. We entered the water, a little disappointing at first as everything was so far away but then we ventured further from the platform and found the reef 3 feet below us absolutely breath taking. We had about 4 sessions with breaks to take it all in and me to bilge out the water I’d sucked in through my snorkel (apparently my head was at the wrong angle!)
I did take some pictures but these were off the platform as i didn’t have a strap for my camera and as you know if anybody would drop/lose something it would be Mick Scotney.
After this to use a technical term we were B****xed and decided to shower and partake of a beer for the last 45 mins before they whisked us off back to PD for the end of a fantastic day.
She is having FUN honest!!!!
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