Spirit of the Seas (The Great Barrier Reef)

Member Name: harmonyk

Product:	The Great Barrier Reef
Date:	24/08/01 (178 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: World Heritage Site, Natural Beauty

Disadvantages: No good for seasick sufferers

As part of my recent holiday in Australia I was determined that I would visit the famous Great Barrier Reef (GBR) off the East coast.

My cousin and I flew to Cairns from Adelaide - via Sydney and Brisbane (that's another story!) We arrived at our resort at 2.30am and were picked up by a coach at 7.45am for our drive to the quayside to pick up the boat that would take us out to the reef.

There are a huge number of boats and planes offering all sorts of reasons why we should view the GBR with them - our tour was pre-booked by a friend so we had no expectations.

We boarded a huge catameran run by the Ocean Spirit company. After paying the A$150 fee and preliminary safety talks we found places to settle down and enjoy the cruise to the reef. There were around 85 fellow passengers on board - many nationalities including Japanese, Americans, Germans and French.

As we approached our destination (Michaelmas Cay) we dropped anchor and our attention was drawn to a large shoal of fish on the port side of the vessel. A member of the crew threw food scraps and we were treated to a feeding frenzy usually reserved for sharks!

A boat came alongside ours and we were invited to go aboard in small groups to veiw the GBR from this, the semi-submersible. This was to be my only way of viewing the reef close-up as I am not 'good in the water'. For 20 minutes we were treated to turtles, giant clams and vast nubers of amazing tropical fish meandering around the coral.

Back on board the 'Cat' we were treated to a sumptuous lunch fo salad, meat, fish, and fruit before being taken on another small boat over to the Cay (island).

Michaelmas Cay is a coral expanse of sand in the middle of the sea. A small secion of the Cay is roped off for the humans to visit. The rest is for the birds. Anyone with a fear of our feathered friends would not be too compfortable here. There are literally thousands of squa
wking gulls, boobys, and many more seabirds nesting here. It is uncanny how they seemed to know to keep to their side of the rope. The humans seemed to have more trouble understanding that rule - lookouts were continually having to remind tourists to stick to the right side!

From the beach snorklers and divers meandered around the shallow waters whilst others, myself included, paddled along the warm waters edge. I was amazed to see tropical fish actually at my feet! The sea was clear and blue. The sun was bright and warm (I was there in mid-winter!) It was truly paradise. I was very impressed by the Ocean Spirit's strict observance of rules. Keeping people away from the birds, insisting no-one should take any souvenir pieces of coral or shells from the area.

Eventually, we returned to the 'Cat' and were treated to a singer/guitarist on our journey home. An unforgettable day which I would dearly love to repeat - perhaps I'll learn how to snorkle next time!

My only other experience of the GBR was when we left Cairns. Our plane went up over the reef and we were treated to spectacular view of many areas of reef. I was able to take lots of photos and video from this 'eye in the sky' viewpoint. Truly awesome!

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