February 21, 2024 Cairns, Australia Day 62 of 138

Today we are going to the...

This is known as Heart Reef or Heart Island.

Our friend Margaret took these pictures as she flew in to Cairns, Australia. This is how the Great Barrier Reef looks from above.

Cairns is pronounced Cans. It is a beautiful spot. Today it is overcast and predicted to rain in the morning and some thunder storms later in the day. In reality it was partly cloudy, some rain, some downpour, and in the 80's. 

We were taken in this boat to this pontoon dock a hour and a half out in the ocean to the reef. Here they are fully stocked to feed us, have all the equipment for snorkeling, scuba diving, education, glass bottom boat, and a submersible experience. As we left they had it all cleaned and ready for the next group. We also left someone on the pontoon who protects the site between uses. The water was a warm 80 degrees. This was a great bucket list day!

This is us after about an hour in the water. We wore the suits to protect us from potential jellyfish. We did see one Jellyfish when we were in the submersible. It was my first Jellyfish sighting

Above are my pictures at the reef. These to the right are from others on our ship who were diving and got great pictures, way better than my pictures, so I could not help but share them. The one to the right shows finding Nemo.

Giant Clam

Above is the pictures that were taken when we were in the submersible, and you can see how tight they packed us in. I love the different types of coral, and the colors. They say the reef health improved during Covid with no tourists. They say the improvement is continuing. It is a good thing to hear.

Here is some of the crew that took care of us. It was an amazing line up. They had Marine Biologists, Snorkeling safety guys, scuba divers, photographers, food and bar keeps, Maintenance. You name it they were there. It takes a village.

I caught Mike playing with these two. We did not get to see any sea turtles, but were told the trip prior to us saw one. It has been a Good day Mate!