The Great Barrier Reef

This needs no introduction.  The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, just like the Grand Canyon.  My trip to the Reef was unplanned.  As I mentioned in my previous post, we were supposed to drive back from Sydney to Perth.  We decided not to, which is a good thing.  It gave me more time to explore Sydney and make a trip to Cairns (pronounced Cannes).  Cairns is where most trips to the Reef start but there are other towns along the Queensland coast that offer trips to the Reef.  I will write more about Cairns in another post later but this trip is so special that I want to share it with you before I forget the details.
There are many companies that offer trips to the Great Barrier Reef.  Some are better known than others.  I was going to take the one that is operated by a company called Quicksilver but I found out that they start from the Port Douglas terminal, which is about an hour away.  I was told that Reef Magic is pretty good so I signed up with them while I was still in Sydney.  The reason is because I was arriving in the evening and I wanted to go on the first day I was in Cairns.  The price is $190, which includes a generous buffet lunch.  They also served coffee and tea on board.  You have to pay for the alcoholic drinks.

In the morning I took a 15-minute walk from the hostel to the Reef Fleet Terminal.  I checked in at the Reef Magic counter,  then boarded the boat.  At 9 am we took a 90-minute boat ride to the Outer Reefs, where Reef Magic has a big pontoon anchored there.  This is where they keep all their equipment and other boats.  Like in all tours, the $190 pays only for the basic activities.  For additional activities, you have to pay extra.  I signed up for the Adventure Snorkel Safari for $45.
You can still snorkel without signing up for the Snorkel Safari.  Reef Magic has an area to the side of the pontoon cordoned off so that everyone on the trip can snorkel.  The ocean was quite rough when we were out there.  But they have a lifeguard constantly on watch.  I haven't snorkeled for a long time so this gives me a chance to practice and get used to the equipment.  Even in this area, the reefs and fish were beautiful.  It's almost unreal to see all these fishes swimming right in front of you.  You can literally touch them.
One of the fish is "Wally",  a Humphead Maori Wrasse species.  Wally looks like he is almost domesticated.  He stays close and swims around the photographer, who tries to take pictures of everyone with him.  You can even touch Wally as you can see below.  He is not shy of people.

On the Snorkeling Safari, a marine biologist took us further out to the reef for about 50 minutes.  There were 5 of us and Eric, the marine biologist, showed us and explained the different types of reefs and pointed out the different types of fish that we swam by.  This is probably the most amazing thing about this trip.  I felt like I was in a giant aquarium with all these colorful fishes swimming among the different corals.  This is definitely the highlight of my trip to Australia.  If you ever have a chance to come to Australia, you have to try this.  It's definitely worth it.

Reef Fleet Terminal

Checking in at the Reef Magic counter

Swimming with Wally

Snorkeling off Cairns

The Reef Magic boat that takes us out to the Reef

On board the pontoon

Platform for snorkeling

I went on the Adventure Snorkel Safari

An Aerial View of the Reef by helicopter

Another view of Wally

Beautiful corals everywhere