Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Finding Nemo - Day 15 (06/15/22)

 Today was probably the most anticipated day of the entire trip, at least for me it definitely was. We woke up and met outside bright and early at 7:20am to catch a bus down to the Cairns marina to make our journey out to the Great Barrier Reef. One of the seven wonders of the world (as we learned), the reef is home to almost 3,000 different reefs, and about 900 islands that all take up about 345,000 square kilometers of the ocean. We were greeted by the friendly crew and filled out our paperwork to make sure we were safe to dive and/or snorkel. 

Once everyone was boarded, we were introduced to James, one of the lead divers on the crew. He gave us an overview of the day as we started to leave the dock and head out of the marina. We were then introduced to Santiago, another lead diver on the crew, and he gave us a run down of the groups, our safety numbers, important signs and hand motions to know when out at sea, and anything else we would need to know to dive. We went over the four basic rules of diving: 1) breathe 2) equalize (so the pressure doesn't hurt your ears), 3) don't leave your guide, 4) how to clear water from your mask/regulator. There was tea and coffee and breakfast sandwiches for us before the boat kicked into high gear. After everyone was settled and ate, we met the marine biologist on the crew, who educated us about the reef, the sea life we might see, and what to expect when interacting with the reef. The boat ride out to the reef was about an hour and a half, and we got to watch the mountains of Cairns slowly fade away as we got farther and farther from land. Once we got to the reef we were going to be diving at, the Norman reef, we got called out by our groups to go get into our gear, and our group just so happened to be going first. We were given wetsuits (properly known as sting suits), flippers, and goggles w/ a snorkel attached. As the anxiousness surrounding diving built up, one by one the group was dropping out of actually diving, but four brave souls (and one certified scuba diver) gave it a try: Jules, Cami, Marni, Preston, and Morgen. The rest of the group went out to snorkel with Mrs. Burton, who showed them around the reef while the rest were about 30-40m down. The girls went first:


Marni dove off the back first and met the guide in the water, she was feeling it out for a bit but decided it wasn't for her, a very valid response to having about 30-40lbs of equipment on your back in the middle of the ocean. Cami was next, and she went head first into the water, and not even a few seconds later our guide took her down and that was the last time I saw her, until it was my turn to go in the water. With a little encouragement from Professor Burton, I wiggled my way to the end and let gravity do the rest. Once I hit the water our guide took me under and had me do all of the safety rules we had learned, which I got a 100% on and some underwater high-fives from James. I was then turned around and found Cami holding onto the ladder under the boat, surrounded by fish. Our entire group was finally in the water and off we went to explore the reef. I have never seen or experienced anything like what I did today, which is why Cami and I ended up doing a second dive at the second reef site, the tableland. Within a minute of being under I was signaled by James that there was a shark, and much to my slight panic there was a white tip reef shark about 20ft below us, just laying on the sandy bottom. We saw clown fish, parrot fish, angel fish, puffer fish, and heaps of other vibrantly colored fish and coral that is seen in movies. Our introductory dive was about 15 minutes long and then we made our way back to the surface, not before the photographer snapped our photo though:


Cami and Jules surfaced first and were then met by Preston, and as soon as the gear was off, they snorkeled their way out to the rest of the group and Mrs. Burton to keep exploring. Everyone was shortly called in after, and we dried off and were then fed lunch. Once everyone had eaten and chilled for about an hour, it was off to the next site. Cami, Jules, Morgen, and Professor Burton all went for a bit of a longer dive this time, and the rest of the group with Mrs. Burton went on a guided marine biology snorkel tour, where they also saw a reef shark! The tide was so low that we could actually see the reef sticking up through the water, and it was such an amazing shade of blue that pictures really don't do it justice. 

Eventually, everyone made their way back onto the boat and we had some snacks and drinks to wind down after a very long, but once in a lifetime experience of a day. We then started to make our way back to Cairns on what was possibly the bumpiest and most thrilling boat ride I think any of us have ever been on. A decent amount of the boat had fallen asleep at that point, including Gray, Eli, and Mrs. Burton. Once we were back at the marina, we said our goodbyes and thanks to the crew and hopped on our bus back to the hostel where we all got ready for dinner @ PJ O'Briens. Tired eyes were seen all around so it was definitely one of the earlier days on the trip, but for sure one of the most, if not the most memorable. 

-Juliana D.

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