Days 5 - Cairns - Great Barrier Reef

We started our morning at 6:30, so we could get out and start our day at sea. The Passions of Paradise ship had a great staff that kept us, entertained and amused on our 2 hour excursion out to the Great Barrier Reef. There was about 50 of us on the ship and by the end of the day, each crew member made it a point to know all of our names. On the ride out there we listened to a diving brief about safety and always following our instructors. They taught us the hand signals so we could communicate under water and what to do if something was wrong with our air, mask or anything else. The first piece of equipment we received was our stinger suits. Even though we look like the blue man group, it is box jellyfish season and getting stung by one = death, so the $7 suit was well worth it (see picture). As you can see, one of the instructors is strapping a weighted belt on me. This helps to keep us under. I got some pink flippers, mask and sat down in front of the airtank. They strapped us into it like a backpack with five different clips around the front. I stood up to walk down the steps to the dock we were jumping off and OH MY GOD was it heavy. Good thing I workout ;) Taking your first step into the water is very nerve racking, but exciting. One big step later and I was holding onto the rope strung from one side of the dock to the other, underwater and practicing breathing with my instructor. They have you hold the rope for five minutes, while practicing the hand signals and breathing techniques, making sure you are comfortable before they have you swim down to a deeper rope. Five minutes later, they signal and ask if you want to go back up and be done or continue to dive. Obviously I said YES! We held our instructors hand for a while as we got adjusted to breathing, swimming and popping our ears as we dove deeper.

Diving was incredible! Our first dive was at Michaelas Reef, where the water was more shallow, so our dive instructor was able to allow us to swim without holding on to him. We saw the most vivid colored reef! And the water is just the most beautiful blue you have ever seen! I saw two blue sting rays, tons of "Nemo" clown fish in anemones, parrot fish (see picture) and two types of sea cucumbers/sea slugs. We got to pick them up and hold them ... squishy is the only word to describe it. After diving for 30minutes we got to snorkel along the reef, where I took some pictures.

The second dive, at Paradise Reef was even more gorgeous! The water was a lot deeper here and there was a huge drop off in the reef, but there was also so much more to see. The section of the reef itself was larger with twists, turns, plant life and reef that created the most amazing environment for so many different species to live in. We swam in awe this time of how peacefully beautiful the reef was. It is just massive and has so much to discover, I wish we could have dove longer! (see pictures)

Check for my next update! Miss you!