Carins: Part 3 of 3(Best By Far)

GREAT BARRIER REEF

This was my favorite part of the trip. Our trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. We went with Reef Magic Cruises to Marine World. We went on a fast catamaran that took about an hour and forty minutes.

Us boarding the catamaran, P is sleeping in the carrier covered by the blanket!

While on board those who were interested in scuba diving were taught the basics. Things we learned: How to equalize our ears, how to clear our mask, how to pull the respirator out of our mouth and put it back in and get the water out, and the hand signals. The rest of the time was to relax! Check out the water!!!

Pulling up to the pontoon.

Jared and I decided to do the scuba dive. We wanted to be in different groups, so that Jim wouldn't be stuck with the kids. I was in the first group, so as soon as we docked I got in my VERY unattractive lycra suit. It is still jelly fish season, so if one was to touch you, it wouldn't hurt.

Me being a little nervous, but VERY excited.

The steps that lead down to the underwater platform. This is where we would go under water and practice what we learned before heading out. At this point I was questioning if I really could do it. I was concentrating so much on my breathing it wasn't normal, therefore kind-of hard. I stuck to it, and as soon as we started swimming around, breathing wasn't the main concern so it was easy!

We would swim over to these ropes and lower our self slowly down on the ropes to the bottom of the pipe, and the dive instructor would check us again. Then we were off. Because this was only an intro to scuba, we all had our arms linked together. The instructor in the middle. There were 2 other people in our group. So it wasn't bad. He took us around looking at all the cool things. Because we were linked together we weren't allowed to bring our camera with us. Which sucked because we had rented an underwater camera.

We ended up going down 21 feet. It didn't seem that deep, but so much cooler than in a swimming pool(which I had done once before). You could feel the temperature change as we would go down!

This was taken professionally. Me and Wally a local fish who had been missing since the cyclone, but made his way back the day we were there!

I am so pretty underwater! ;)

Our family on the Great Barrier Reef. Me being a little happier than normal because I had just done the coolest thing EVER!!!!!

Jared was in the group after mine.

R swimming in the Great Barrier Reef. She was too scared to put her face in the water, but luckily the pontoon had underwater viewing areas, and a semi-submersible boat! So she still got to see Nemo!

After some snorkeling, we went on a helicopter ride over the reef.

We were in the back

and Jared was in the front!

Marine World and some of the reef, from the air!

Reef from the air, this is what it looks like on a low tide(not my photo)

More reef

My little man who didn't cry once. What a trooper! Doesn't he look so cute!

On the boat taking us back over to Marine World. The helicopter was too loud so she put these back on!

I was planning on swimming around with P, but he ended up sleeping most of the time. So this was as much as he got!
At least he can say he was in the Great Barrier Reef, right?!

I thought scuba diving was the coolest thing, Jared decided we could go another time, for my birthday present!! I left P with some stranger who had talked to us through out the day. She loved P. So we decided to have Jim only watch 1 kid, and leave P with the stranger. LOL. The worst she could do was throw him overboard, because we were in the middle of the ocean, and the boat wasn't leaving for awhile! There were a lot of people around. In other words he was fine!!!!

Aren't we cute? Because this was our 2nd dive, we were able to bring our camera. YAY!!!

Jared and I were the only ones with the instructor this time. While on the platform the instructor told us that he would get us down to the underwater pipe, then would let go of us, and we could just follow. I was a little nervous, so I said "could you hang onto me for a little bit?" So after a few minutes he let go of my arm and just held onto my air tank, then asked if I was ok, then let me go by myself. It was SO cool!!!!

Look at my brave hubby. He let go as soon as possible! :D

Remember we had an underwater camera, so the pictures aren't the best, and also it was a high tide, so it wasn't as clear as it should be. But it was more clear than it appears in the pictures!

Cool coral!

So pretty. There are little fish if you close!

Isn't it just cool?

Giving me 2 thumbs up, but forgetting that means to go up in scuba sign!

Look at me!!

More coral and fish. It was hard getting the fish because they are SO fast!

While we were down this big spotted puffer fish came swimming by

Those are my knees. I got so close to him!

Remember the camera wasn't the best, but still a fun little video!




So we turned our camera to Macro Focus and got these great shots of Nemo and his friends!

My favorite, and yes I really took this picture! He looks like he is smiling for the photo! ;D

Oops, forgot to turn it off Macro, so we aren't clear, but you get the idea!

Me and a sea cucumber! Totally cool!

Things we didn't get pictures of: a shark!!!!! You read it correctly, it was only a reef shark, but still. Cool. We got back to the boat and it was time to leave. I couldn't believe it. We were there for 5 hours, and I thought it might get old. The time flew by SO fast! It was the coolest thing I have ever done! I would go back in a heartbeat! Next to do, get certified!!!!

My war wound from the coral!!

I have now realized that there will be more pictures to come. Our battery in our camera died 1/2 way, so Jim has other pictures and ones with him in them. So I will post those later! Hope you enjoyed our trip to Cairnes!!! I had such an amazing time!!!! Thanks Jim for the GREAT idea!!!

Now I can say "I have been ON, ABOVE, and BELOW the Great Barrier Reef!"

A quick story. The night after the reef trip we were out to eat at a resturant. Our waitress happened to be one of the crew from the boat, and remembered us. She works on the boats in the day, and at the resturant at nights. Anyways, she was telling us that earlier in the day while at the reef the snorkel tours and certified scuba divers were out in their usual spot(not were we went scuba diving, but close). Anyways, the helicopter kept houvering over them and didn't fly around. The crew couldn't figure out why. Anyways, comes to find out a tiger shark was following those people. Tiger sharks are known as one of the man eaters along with great white. Anyways, crazy to think, but a nice eye opener that it IS the wild, but just a differnt kind than I am use to!