January 15, 2025: The Great Barrier Reef inspires wonder with its kaleidoscope of colors and shapes. We saw and learned so much on our first snorkel adventure.
The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.
Jacques Cousteau
We swapped Uluru hot (105 Fahrenheit /15% relative humidity) for Port Douglas hot (90F / 80% HR). The air was just as stifling, but we were in an entirely different world. We had left Australia’s Red Center for the coast near the world’s oldest tropical rainforest. The northern end of the Great Barrier Reef, just offshore, was our destination.
Wavelength
I have to admit, I had some trepidation about our adventure. I am not as confident in the sea as Jean. And for all the swimming we’ve done in the Mediterranean, neither of us had snorkeled before. But our dive company, Wavelength Reef Cruises, came highly recommended by good friends Brad and Barb Merlie, who had visited last year.
Their enthusiasm was well founded – Wavelength was excellent in every way. They gave personal attention (“Your hair is in your mask, let me help you”) and tips (“Here, glob some Vaseline on your mustache so the mast will seal”). The educational lecture enroute was informative, the gear great, the crew humorous and helpful. They even provided photos from the trip as part of the package (no nickel-and-dime).
Wavelength is one of the few locally-owned reef tours. We were fortunate to have the company owners, John and Jenny, onboard. While the crew ran our tour, they tended the reef, removing pests, gathering data, and sharing information about their life’s passion to anyone who asked. So yeah, we highly recommend them!
The Reef
Made up of over 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands, the Great Barrier Reef stretches for over 1400 miles across the Coral Sea. That is about the distance from Miami, Florida to Bar Harbor, Maine – the entire eastern seaboard of the USA.
Coral are tiny animals, distantly related to jellyfish, that have been around for about 500 million years. Each individual coral polyp extracts carbon dioxide and calcium from seawater to form hard exoskeletons that they leave behind. Over millennia, the layers build and form the reefs we know today. Over eons, these compact to form porous limestone deposits.
Turtles
Sea turtles eat the algae and seagrass that flourishes in the coral ecosystem. Finding them is a highlight of any dive. Our marine biologist, Kate, spotted one (photos below). Jean found a second literally a few feet beneath her, resting on the coral!
And Fish of Course
The real draw of the coral is of course the variety of colorful tropical fish. Yellow, black, pink, blue, white, orange and green… nearly every shade of the rainbow can be found. I got so caught up that for awhile, I even forgot I was breathing through a tube!
An Dolphins!
With come the predators. We saw no sharks, but did see a large pod of dolphins, who happily played in the bow-wave of our boat for a time. Eventually, they departed on their own continuing reef adventure.
Next up in the Australia Journey: Daintree Rainforest
One of my regrets was not scheduling to dive in the Great Barrier Reef. I’ve had some great dives over the years, but never made that one. Thanks for sharing your adventure. If you ever have a chance to do a night dive (or snorkel) with the giant manta rays off the Kona coast in Hawaii you should jump at the chance. Danny
Glad you were able to see so many different inhabitants of the Great Barrier Reef, which is truly a natural treasure. Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!
Amazing photos. What an experience!
Ric and I stayed in Cairns and snorkled the Great Barrier Reef with Quicksilver tours in1986. Still the best experience in travel that I’ve experienced. Sounds like you’d agree! The Reef is a true wonder!