The GREAT BARRIER REEF!

Our second day in Port Douglas was spent on one of the natural wonders of the world: the Great Barrier Reef! We enjoyed breakfast downtown at Java Blue Cafe where pancakes and french toast were not only affordable, but tasty too. We boarded the Quiksilver V for our journey to the Agincourt Ribbon reef in the Outer reef. About 90 km out in the coral sea, it took about 1.5 hours to reach the pontoon. We immediately jumped off the boat and threw on stinger suits and snorkel gear.

The current was rather strong and the seas a bit rough, but we still had about 14m visibility. Most of the area we snorkeled, the reef was ~1m deep, so we weren't even able to tread water without risking kicking the reef. It was neat being so close to such colorful coral.

We were amazed by the thousands of fish-- it was like nothing we'd ever seen (not even in Hawaii) and the pictures just don't do justice. We saw parrot fish, clownfish ("Nemos"-- my favorites), fish that mate for life (can't remember their names), and dozens of other types. We liked the yellow and black fish who always swam in pairs and when one dies, the other typically does within days (how romantic, huh?).

We snorkeled for so long, we lost track of time and nearly missed the seafood lunch buffet. We got the leftovers as they were putting them away, but no worries, the reef was well worth missing lunch. After lunch, we took a semi-submersible for a 30 minute underwater tour of the reef. While it took us farther and faster, it just wasn't the same as swimming along side the fish and getting up close to the coral. We did see a turtle, sting ray, sea-cucumbers, and giant clams though!

After a full day on the water, the ride back was a bit rough and rainy. We sure enjoyed our day on the reef and were tempted to cancel the rest of the trip and book more snorkel tours!
For dinner, we grabbed a seriously wonderful buffet at the Sheraton. Except for the green electric ants who joined us for dinner, I really enjoyed the food, view and company.