Port Douglas/Great Barrier Reef, AustraliaJune 4, 2007
E 145°28.099
It was 5:00AM when I suddenly sat-up in bed, frightened. I checked my surroundings and realized I was in a safe place and Marc was sleeping soundly next to me. I was dreaming… dreaming we had been left at the Great Barrier Reef. We were floating all alone in the Tasman Sea… the large catamaran had left us… all the other snorkelers and SCUBA divers were gone. It was silent, just the two of us floating in the middle of the sea… no landmarks, just overcast, dark gray, sky and water. I have to thank my Mom for reminding me about the movie, based on a true story, where two American divers were left and never found at the Great Barrier Reef. I never fell back asleep.
The Silver Sonic is a medium sized catamaran that transports roughly 150 divers and snorkelers out to the edge of the Great Barrier Reef every day. We opted to take the “smaller” catamaran since it makes three stops along the reef. As opposed to a tour that transports nearly 300 people and only makes a single stop at a very commercial deck along the reef.
At our first stop we quickly jumped off the boat into the 70F degree water fully outfitted with snorkel, fins and mask. Floating just a meter above of a massive underground jungle of coral in every shape, size and color we did our best to not touch the living organism for two reasons—to make sure we don’t harm or damage it and to protect ourselves from the jagged sharp edges.
As we drifted above the lime green, purple, orange, and pink coral we stayed as still as possible to observe the thousands of fish peeking out from behind the safety of the coral. The fish swam through the labyrinth of coral shaped like jacks, mushrooms, ferns and out-of-control weeds sprouting from the bottom of the ocean floor.
The views were surreal… remember the submarine voyage at Disneyland and then multiply it thousand times. We felt like voyeurs, looking through our small
windows, spotting all kinds of sea life including parrot fish, blue seastars, giant clams large enough to swallow a person and numerous other fish of every size and color. We saw schools of small, blue fish floating near the top while there was a school of tan fish feasting off of the coral below us.
It was 5:00AM when I suddenly sat-up in bed, frightened. I checked my surroundings and realized I was in a safe place and Marc was sleeping soundly next to me. I was dreaming… dreaming we had been left at the Great Barrier Reef. We were floating all alone in the Tasman Sea… the large catamaran had left us… all the other snorkelers and SCUBA divers were gone. It was silent, just the two of us floating in the middle of the sea… no landmarks, just overcast, dark gray, sky and water. I have to thank my Mom for reminding me about the movie, based on a true story, where two American divers were left and never found at the Great Barrier Reef. I never fell back asleep.
The Silver Sonic is a medium sized catamaran that transports roughly 150 divers and snorkelers out to the edge of the Great Barrier Reef every day. We opted to take the “smaller” catamaran since it makes three stops along the reef. As opposed to a tour that transports nearly 300 people and only makes a single stop at a very commercial deck along the reef.
At our first stop we quickly jumped off the boat into the 70F degree water fully outfitted with snorkel, fins and mask. Floating just a meter above of a massive underground jungle of coral in every shape, size and color we did our best to not touch the living organism for two reasons—to make sure we don’t harm or damage it and to protect ourselves from the jagged sharp edges.
As we drifted above the lime green, purple, orange, and pink coral we stayed as still as possible to observe the thousands of fish peeking out from behind the safety of the coral. The fish swam through the labyrinth of coral shaped like jacks, mushrooms, ferns and out-of-control weeds sprouting from the bottom of the ocean floor.
The views were surreal… remember the submarine voyage at Disneyland and then multiply it thousand times. We felt like voyeurs, looking through our small
windows, spotting all kinds of sea life including parrot fish, blue seastars, giant clams large enough to swallow a person and numerous other fish of every size and color. We saw schools of small, blue fish floating near the top while there was a school of tan fish feasting off of the coral below us. There were moments where there appeared to be nothing within our view, however when we remained still and focused on a single point it was astonishing to see all types of life moving in front of us; beautifully camouflaged among the natural surroundings.
We swam around the reef for approximately forty minutes before we started to get a little chilly.
We swam back to the boat, knowing we still had two more stops, and plenty of time to explore. After the crew did a complete passenger count, making sure not to leave anyone, we made our way to the next site.The second site was the highlight of the afternoon. The sun was shinning, providing additional light to show off the colors of the reef. The crew of the boat did a fish feeding before we jumped into the water, attracting a bunch of hungry reef sharks looking for a free snack. Luckily, the sharks didn’t hang around for too long, and we hopped into the water.
As we explored the second site we found a large group of clown fish, adults and babies, hiding comfortably within the tentacles of their favorite anemone. All of the Nemos, with their orange, black and white bodies, looked like
they were straight out of the movie “Finding Nemo.” Luckily, we didn’t see any mean sharks come and try to hurt them—not even the reef sharks.We left the clown fish and continued to take in the sights from the underwater jungle. We saw several eels lounging around the deeper parts of the sea, dozens of different anemones, providing protection to the fish from predators. One of the anemones, long, slender and black looked like a bouquet of feathers trying to tickle the fish swimming by.
When we arrived at the third site the snorkel leader announced she was conducting a small tour.
Spending almost every day out at the reef, she was able to dive down to the sandy floor below the coral and bring back samples to the surface for us to see up-close. For example, a mushroom anemone with thin, straw colored tentacles and a piece of coral with a slick, prickly surface which protects it from ultraviolet rays.We could definitely see there had been damage to the coral from hundreds of thousands of visitors a year and the intense storms that have swept through the area over the past few years. Australia is doing
everything possible to ensure the reef is preserved for future generations by educating tourists and charging a $5 reef tax for every passenger—putting the money back into the reef. Hopefully their efforts pay off and we can visit Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef in another 15-20 years!Overall, the day was everything we imagined, the colors were beautiful, not as vibrant as we expected, but there was a rainbow of color underwater between the coral, anemones, fish and other sea life. Our imagination is probably a little tainted since the only examples of the reef we’ve seen have been in National Geographic and Finding Nemo. However, this was definitely the best snorkeling we have ever done.
Tips: There are a few things we learned during and after our trip
that we may do differently next time. The catamaran we took, Silver Sonic, caters mostly to divers and charges a little more. Look for a snorkelers only boat like Wavelength where guided snorkel tours are included in the price. Wavelength was one of the first snorkel boats in Port Douglas and has access to 22 sites, whereas Silver Sonic only has access to five sites.Make sure you spend the $5 to rent a stinger suit. The suit not only protects you from jellyfish, which are very rare, but it provides an extra layer of warmth allowing you more time in the water. We didn’t think the suit was necessary; however, since you are spending three hours in the water it gets a little chilly.
And of course, if you have any questions just ask a local like the friendly bartender Dazzle from Port O’Call Café who provided these tips free of charge.
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