A birthday to remember on The Great Barrier Reef

What a fabulous way to have a birthday! We had to be down at the marina for 8:30 and were sailing at 09:00 with Reef Magic Cruises – a particularly apt name, out to Marine World pontoon, moored out on the outer reef which is apparently not as heavily visited as the inner (and therefore more pristine). Ollie and Ang had decided to hire a waterproof camera for the day so that we could get lots of nice pictures of our trip; you can see some of the results amongst the photos. It has certainly added a memorable extra level to the day. We signed up for an accompanied snorkel with a marine biologist as this would mean that we got best value from the trip according to Ollie (and he was very right) Ang insisted on paying for it for my birthday. The trip out to the bay was fine but when we got to open sea, the wind we had been warned about made its presence felt and we had some significant seas to cope with. Surprisingly, I found myself OK as long as I watched the horizon but after a while Sue felt a bit queasy and asked me to go to the rear deck with her. I thought she was perhaps trying to protect me from seasickness before it struck. As time went on, although I didn't feel too bad, I am sure that had I stayed in the main body of the boat, I would certainly have succumbed. Ollie joined us outside later and even Ang who apparently never gets seasick, found herself feeling uncomfortable. On reaching the reef, we transferred to a pontoon which was not bobbing about quite so much so was quite a relief even if it did move more than I would have liked!

The Authors

We were given our wetsuits and snorkel gear and told to report to the snorkelling platform in 15 minutes. We were given instructions on how to use the snorkel, in my case involving the use of Vaseline on my moustache to allow the mask to seal watertight on my top lip (I found this wasn't foolproof and I needed to let out water from time to time).

Looking underwater clearly

The initial dip into the water was not the lukewarm experience I had expected – actually it was bloody cold! After a little while the suits did their work and the water became tolerable! The transition from above water to looking into the depths while underwater was utterly amazing; I guess that it is not an unsimilar experience to getting a pair of glasses for the first time when you hadn't appreciated how poor your vision had become. Our guide had us hold on to a life ring while he explained what we could see below us; the different type of coral and the vast profusion of fish – I couldn't believe how many fish were in one place and in view.

Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef with Sea Cucumber

We were presented with a sea cucumber and held it up for a photo opportunity. The sea cucumber apparently spends his life eating dirty sand and pooing clean sand – an unusual arrangement. After our all too short 45 minutes of instruction, we got back on the pontoon to dry off a bit and warm up. The wetsuits didn't help at this point and although we were in the tropics and it was a warm day, we needed to put on some dry tops to warm through. Poor Ang was shivering until she put a warm top on.

Marine World Pontoon

Sue and I went on the next semi-submersible trip and got to see a wonderland of coral, colour and fish – again I was struck by the profusion of colour, variety and quantity. We had a wonderful buffet lunch and after a brief rest, when we managed to see a huge Maori Wrasse being fed on the snorkelling platform, put on our wetsuits again for an unaccompanied tour of the area.

Wally comes on to the snorkeling platform to be fed

While I was pottering about on my own, Ollie came along and in an interesting role reversal took my hand and guided me round some of the fantastic sights around the reef that he had discovered. I found it quite touching that he should take so much trouble. I didn't like to get too far away from the platform as when my mask or snorkel leaked I had to clear them and was concerned that if I got overconfident, it would be too easy to get into trouble. I did wish, though that I was able to have the confidence that Ollie had – born of practice – in diving down towards the lower reaches of the reef. Many years ago I wouldn't have had the problem! We were able to get amazingly close to all the fish who were apparently quite blazé about our presence but having been warned of the danger of cuts inflicted by the coral, were loathe to get too close to the reef. Not that this appeared to worry many others who were charging around without too much consideration for others who were about them; despite being careful one of our party managed to get a nick and we made sure that we got some antiseptic on the cut as soon as possible. After spending a good time out on our own, Sue and I got back on the pontoon and showered and dried off. We thawed out with a cup of tea and then went to find Ollie and Ang who were finishing off their swim. We lost sight of Ang and there were some anxious moments while we searched the surface for any sign of her only to find that she had returned to the pontoon and was behind us! Gradually the stragglers were coaxed from the water as the tide fell revealing increasing portions of the reef. Back on board the boat, we had another cuppa and decided to get a cd with some pictures of us and some of the reef. The trip back was not as bad as the trip out but it was nonetheless uncomfortable and we were glad to get into the harbour and disembark. I was tempted to do as Pope John Paul used to do and kiss the ground but felt that it would betray my landlubbing side too much. We got back to our apartment got showered and changed and then went for a meal at the Knob's Boat Club. Unfortunately it was 2 for 1 night for members and so was packed. We decided to be prepared to wait rather than go anywhere else. We had to queue for a little while to order but the wait wasn't too excessive and the meal was very good.

Ang hides the evidence - Birthday meal, Yorkey's Knob Boat Club

Suitably exhausted, we retired fairly early – another early start tomorrow!

A birthday to remember on The Great Barrier Reef

Cairns, Australia