Day 111

19/10/2009

Bus picked us up at 7 to meet the boat at 8 in Shute Harbour. The first part of the crossing was easy enough, taking us to Hamilton Island in the Whitsundays, but then we went out into open water and the wind blowing at 20 to 30 knots meant a choppy sea. Sea sickness tablets were recommended by the boat's crew, and it was a wise move. The distributed sickbags saw a good deal of use.

Arrival at the reef meant shallow water and calmer sea but still a good breeze blowing.
The boat moored along side the pontoon at 11am that was to be our home for the next 28 hours, and fortunately it is quite stable.

Part of the arrangement for those spending the night here is a scuba dive or guided snorkel tour each day, so not being qualified divers, we signed up for the Introductory Dive today.

Dive went OK for me but Beth couldn't get the hang of clearing her mask of water whilst under water so didn't go down. Another opportunity tomorrow. I went down the edge of the reef and saw lots of coral and fish - but that's what the reef is all about.

Snorkelling for the afternoon showed us both a lot more of the reef life and after the masses left at 14:45 we had the place to ourselves (apart from the crew of about 7) and could go back snorkelling for another couple of hours.

Drinks were taken on the sundeck in the early evening and dinner was served with a backdrop of the setting sun. A late evening fish watch from the underwater viewing platform and then back to the cabin and an early night to make the most of tomorrow before the boat returns at 11am.

Definitely a brilliant way to see the reef.

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Town - Hardys Reef (Great Barrier Reef)