July 22, 2007

The Great Barrier Reef! It started out a somewhat gray morning, but was sunny by the time we got on the boat. Looking for a smaller group of people, we opted for a catamaran sail boat, rather than one of the really big fast boats. The trip out took about 2 hours to get to the reef. On the way there, Rob took the safety class to do an introductory dive, and I sat out on the deck and took a look around. When the safety class was over, Rob came out and joined me. And then the best part of the trip: we saw a humpback whale leap entirely out of the water! We had been told that there were whales in the area, so we were idly scanning the water. I saw a spray that I thought might have been a blow-hole spray, so we were both looking around attentively when Rob saw the head of a whale come up and crash back into the water. When I turned around to look, I caught the splash – so of course we both kept looking right there and in less than a minute, another whale emerged from the water. The whale arched all the way up in the air and was completely airborne before getting back into the water. The captain of the boat later told us that to see a humpback whale breach that far was a very rare thing.
By the time we got to the reef, the wind had picked up a good bit. Rob was in the first diving group, so he was in the water straight away. The rest of us on the boat took a smaller boat in to the tiny island beach that we had anchored near, Michaelmas Island. This island is also a bird sanctuary, so there was only a small portion of the beach we were allowed to go on. The birds were hovering in the strong wind, or huddled together. There were also several huddled groups of chicks of one of the birds, all fuzzy and huddled in the shelter of the few grassy hills.
I, along with everyone else on the boat, had taken their advice and gotten a wetsuit to wear while snorkeling. It was so cold in the wind that the water soon looked inviting, even though it was also cold. So in I got and started to snorkel. There was an amazing variety of corals in just the first five minutes I was under water, and a number of bright fish I had never seen before. There appeared to be three or four types of parrot fish and lots of schooling fish. There were also giant clams all over the place. Unfortunately, the area that began to have the best views of the reef I was snorkeling on started about where the protection from the current that the small island provided ended. I kept feeling like I would run into the coral, so eventually I headed back to the shore. Rob was done diving by then, so we both got back in to try snorkeling in a different direction. We quickly determined that we were both too cold and that it was time to head back for lunch.
Lunch on the boat was a lovely buffet and happily isolated from the wind. After lunch they offered the opportunity to get back in the water for a second dive (for those who did a first), more snorkeling, or back to the beach. As I think I had finally regained feeling in my toes, I opted to take a little nap instead. So did a lot of people. We did go back outside to watch them feed the fishes with scraps. A small swarm of large fishes leapt and fought to get the food. Pretty neat!
The way back into Sydney Harbor was much rougher than the ride out. We had been warned that the weather meant that the ride would be rough. On the way out there were certainly large swells, but the boat cut through them nicely and I didn’t think it qualified as “rough.” But on the way back in we were going against the waves and they crashed over 2/3 of the boat, even managing to break a small walkway (which we had all been told to stay off of for the return trip). Most impressive!
After good long showers, we went out for a lovely dinner. We decided to have a really nice dinner and get some of the things that we wouldn’t be able to eat again any time soon. So I had the local reef fish, Baramundi, which was an interesting white fish. I think a little more flavorful than cod. It was quite good and came with a grilled “Bay Bug.” Turns out that Bay Bugs are somewhere between a delicate lobster and an overgrown prawn. Delicious! Rob had a Japanese steak, which he said was delicious.