Day 14: Great Barrier Reef
Another early rise today, 6:15am. Today was the day that we would go out to the Great Barrier Reef!
After a very good breakfast, we left the dock with the ferry from Fanta Sea at around 8:15am for our near 3 hour trip to Reefworld, a platform at the Hardy Reef, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef. It was another sunny day, not a cloud in sight. So, Martin and I made sure we had our tanning lotion in our bags and already on us, as we didn't want to get sunburned.
We first had to stop at Hamilton Island to pick up more passengers. During the trip, the staff of Fanta Sea on board informed us of the rules and possibilities on the platform. We could go scuba diving, snorkling, take a helicopter flight over the Reef, a submarine for underwater view of the Reef, visit the underwater observatory, get a massage or just relax on the sun deck.
We arrived at the platform around 11:10am and we noticed it was low tide, as the rocks were partially sticking above the water. A lot of people headed straight to the submarine, or went to get snorkling gear or scuba gear. I walked around and took the first photographs of George the Groper, a very big fish which swims/relaxes underneath the platform.
Then I went into the underwater observatory, while Martin changed into a wetsuit and got his snorkling gear. Of course I had to take some pictures of him on his first ever snorkling adventure.
It was my first ever time in a helicopter and I loved it! The flight took 10 minutes and it was very smooth. We got to see a much better view of the Reef from the sky, seeing how beautiful it is, with all the various shapes and sizes, the bright and clear water and hopefully some marine life. Unfortunately during the 10 minute flight, we didn't saw a sea turtle or perhaps a whale in the distance, but nonetheless, the views and scenes were spectacular! I can highly recommend to take such a flight, even though it's perhaps not so cheap, it's worth every cent!
As we landed on the helicopter platform, we were taken back to the platform of Reef World and we got on board the submarine for the underwater ride of the Reef.
We headed back to the platform for lunch, a barbecue style lunch with varies kinds of meat, fish and salads, as well as bread rolls and other food and drinks. I walked around the deck some more after lunch, enjoying the view and talking to some people of the group about our trip so far and past trips. Then it was time, 2:30pm, to head back to Daydream Island, making the stop at Hamilton Island to offload passengers there and we arrived around 5:30pm. Along the ride back, we spotted 2 humpback whales in the distance.
At 6:30pm, Martin and I went to the Fish Bowl Restaurant for dinner and then at 7:30pm, we went to the outdoor cinema, watching a movie on a tropical under the clear dark sky and stars.
- Distance travelled: 420 miles or 680 kilometers
