The Great Barrier Reef



The catamaran we took out to the reef



Today we took a boat tour out to the Great Barrier Reef on a nice, relaxing catamaran (no more crazy ocean rafting for this gal!).  The reef covers an area of 348,700 square kilometers and is larger than Great Britain.  It’s not one reef, but actually a collection of over 2,500 individual coral reefs and islands – the largest system in the world.  Reefs are only found where the seawater temperature ranges from 18-33 Celsius ( It is the only living thing that can be seen from the moon.  Its beginnings go back to the last Ice Age when the current continental shelf was exposed.  When the sea level rose, all the beaches, dunes, and barrier islands were submerged, providing the perfect platform for the tiny organisms that build coral.  The reef grew more each time the sea level rose.  In periods when the level fell, exposed coral broke off and this reef debris raised the level of the shelf floor in the reef zone, allowing even more reef to be built.  Reefs are only found where seawater temperature ranges from 65-90 degrees Fahrenheit.  



The latest in stinger suit fashion!



The Great Barrier Reef is home to about 350 species of coral, 10,000 species of sponges, 4,000 species of mollusks, 150 species of echinoderms, and more than 1,500 species of fish.  The Cairns region is considered a great place to view the reef because the outer reef is much closer to the coast and the water depth is much less.  The boat we went out on took us to two spots – one was its own private area and the second was a popular snorkeling spot.  The snorkeling in both places was amazing – the best I’ve seen!  The visibility was excellent and I’ve never seen so many fish!  It looked like someone threw confetti in the water – small colorful fish everywhere!  We saw so many different corals and fish; we even saw a black tipped reef shark, a leopard shark,  stingrays, turtles, and at the second site, tons of giant clams!  The giant clams were incredible, and they were all over the place.  Daron liked to touch them and watch them close.  We did see jellyfish too, lots of them, but they were harmless (still puts a chill down my spine!).  We were told that about 8-10 people get stung by the dangerous jellyfish each year out of all the boatloads of people that go out to the reef (Daron and I thought this was a high percentage, whereas the boat employee who told us this thought it was low).  Treatment is oxygen, morphine, and a helicopter ride to the nearest hospital.  Yikes! 



Daron with Michaelmas Cay in background

It was a fabulous day on the reef, great weather (finally!), great guides, smooth water, and it was so nice and relaxing sailing back into the harbor at Caines.  I feel very fortunate to have been able to see the Great Barrier Reef and all the life that it holds.