Diving and Flying Over the Great Barrier Reef
One of the experiences I was most looking forward to in Australia was diving in the Great Barrier Reef. As I wouldn't be spending too many days in Cairns, and would be both flying in and out of the city, I was unable to actually dive with an oxygen tank, but chose to snorkel instead. I signed up for the Cruise and Fly Reef Tour through Expedia, and it was an incredible experience.
Despite having never been in a helicopter before, I was much more worried about getting seasick from the 2-hour cruise out to the diving locations than actually spending 30 minutes in a helicopter over open water. So, on another bright and early morning, I was off to the cruise dock at 7:30AM. Just my luck, it was raining the whole day. The cruise out to the first diving location wasn't too bad. Since I know I get seasick easily, before my trip I'd ordered a pair of Sea-Band Wristbands from Amazon. I don't believe they've actually been approved by the FDA as a way to reduce seasickness, but I'd heard rave reviews from others, so I figured it was better than nothing. They actually worked pretty well. Considering how bad it was raining and how choppy the water was because of it, I felt ok. They supposedly work by pressing down on pressure points on the inside of your wrist. Unfortunately, I did lose them during the trip, probably when I was taking them off after the helicopter ride, but if I have another boat trip, I'll definitely buy another pair.
After about two hours on the cruise, safety demonstrations, and a very fried-smelling lunch which I definitely did not partake in, we got to the first diving location. There were about 100 people on the cruise, so I hung back a little and let everyone jump in first. I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about it so I didn't want to get caught in the stampede. It was raining on and off the whole time, which caused some pretty big waves even in the middle of the ocean, so I used a noodle float so I wouldn't have to worry about swimming. I had been snorkeling for about 15 minutes when this happened:
Yes, I absolutely freaked out. Everyone had joked about how I would see a shark in the Great Barrier Reef just because I'm absolutely and ridiculously terrified of them. As in, I won't even look at pictures or watch a movie with sharks in it. But supposedly, the diving locations we were being taken to wouldn't have sharks, so I'd convinced myself it'd be fine. When I saw it, I dropped my GoPro (which luckily floated for a bit rather than quickly sinking, after which I went and got a strap for it), and I swallowed a whole lot of water. It was small, but still, it was a freaking shark! I came up and told one of the instructors what I'd seen and she was so excited. Apparently, it's extremely rare to spot them while snorkeling and in that specific location, so I was extremely lucky. I'm not sure "lucky" is the word I would've used at the time.
I stayed in the water, at both locations, for about 2 hours. Unfortunately, I didn't know beforehand that to film and take pictures underwater, you should use a red filter. While I took many more short clips and pictures, they're all too dark and don't show the true beauty of diving in the Great Barrier Reef. A simple Google search for professional photos can show how beautiful it is when you're there in person. Here are some of the better photos though:
After our time in the water was up, it was time for a helicopter ride! This was really the part I was looking forward to the most, since I wanted to see it from above. Since I was alone, they gave me the seat upfront next to the pilot, which was great for videos and pictures! There are no words to describe the beauty that you see when flying above it. Everywhere you look, it's not just water. It's all different shades, little islands, parts of it where the water is so clear that you can see the marine life swimming. It was, hands down, my favorite experience of the whole trip.
