The Great Barrier Reef

On Wednesday, we drove from Cairns north along the coast to the small town of Port Douglas. The drive was filled with spectacular scenery of the Queensland coast, where the Pacific Ocean meets either rocky shores or sandy beaches. We saw fields of wallabies along the way. When we arrived in Port Douglas, we took a catamaran out to the Great Barrier Reef. It took 1 1/2 hours to get out to the reef. The catamaran docked at a pontoon, where we spent 3 1/2 hours before making the return trip home.

While out at the pontoon, we had numerous opportunities to view the reef. First we did some snorkelling, where we saw some fish swimming in and out among the various parts of the reef, and Tom saw a couple of giant clams nestled in the reef. We also rode in a semi-submersible, where we were able to get a better, underwater and close-up view of the vast array of corals, some of them very colorful, and the various species of fish that inhabit the coral reef area. The sight of the reef is an amazing sight. The reef actually extends for about 2900 kilometers off the coast of Queensland. It's hard to believe that what we were seeing is actually that vast and extensive. There are so many different kinds and shapes of coral. Some are flat and are called plate corals; others are called brain corals and yes, they actually do look like a human brain. Some are sharp, others are spaghetti-like, some are round and smooth. Even though the appearances are different, they all run together in this one long reef, with the shapes - and colors - changing constantly as we moved along in the semi-submersible. It truly is an amazing sight.