The world’s richest marine habitat…Australia’s Great Barrier
Reef – considered to be one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This was
definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
We rounded the northeast coast of Australia on Saturday
evening and by Sunday morning, we were sailing the northern tip of the Great
Barrier Reef which runs approximately 1,200 miles to the south. Two years ago,
we navigated from Sydney northward and weather conditions were such that we
really couldn’t appreciate the scenery – rough seas with cloudy conditions.
This trip was a real treat – water colors were more vivid than anything you’d
see in the Caribbean with small, picturesque (uninhabited) islands scattered
throughout the route. Because the Great Barrier Reef is so treacherous, we had
a ‘Reef Pilot’ join us in Darwin to assist our Captain with safe navigation.
We dropped anchor just outside the Port Douglas Harbor on
schedule at 8am Monday morning. Our tour group met at 8:15 and by 8:30, we were
loaded on a ‘tender’ for the 20-minute trip to the local marina. Once there, we
boarded a large, open-hull catamaran named ‘Quicksilver’. Not an ordinary
vessel, this was a huge, air-conditioned, 3-level (enclosed) transport with
several restrooms, kitchen & bar facilities, and very powerful engines that
cut through the ocean at an amazing 55 MPH. Cheryl and I opted for seats on the
bow to best experience the cool morning breeze, beautiful scenery, and quite a
thrilling ride. At 55 MPH, it took us 90-minutes to reach the Outer Great
Barrier Reef. While enroute, morning tea was served while we were given a
presentation by a resident marine naturalist/biologist preparing us for what
turned out to be an exquisitely beautiful underwater world…totally beyond our
expectations.
Once you arrive at the Reef, the catamaran is actually tied alongside
a large, 2-story pontoon where you’re given the options of snorkeling or
viewing the Reef from an underwater observatory. They also offer a
semi-submersible sub to view the scenery through windows, and/or, introductory
scuba diving. This large pontoon is actually a permanent structure held in
place by four large cement pylons. There’s a secondary pontoon anchored a short
distance away that serves as a helipad. You can take a helicopter tour over the
Reef or, in the event someone is stung by a jellyfish or severely bitten, it
serves as quick medical transport to a hospital.
I’d tried scuba many years ago in St. Thomas and failed
miserably. I think I made it down 15-20 feet and the pressure in my ears was so
intense I pulled the emergency float around my waist and up I went – that was
it for me and I’ve never given it a second chance. Some folks just aren’t cut
out for scuba. It’s all I can do to suck air from a snorkel tube…I typically
swig a few gallons of saltwater! In fact, my previous snorkeling attempts have
been so miserable and the Great Barrier Reef so visible, that I opted to
capture all the top-water photos for the day and put Cheryl in the driver’s
seat below. She loves snorkeling and is quite good! Since it’s jellyfish
season, all snorkelers were warned of a recent sting incident and advised to
purchase (rent) full-body Lycra suits so once Cheryl was ‘dressed’ safely, in
she went for roughly two hours of exploration. The water was crystal clear (at
times) even from my vantage point on the pontoon and as Cheryl puts it, there
were majestic panoramas of colorful tropical fish & intricate coral gardens,
depending on cloud conditions . Its many reefs & atolls were rich with stunning
coral, fish of every size grazing up against you, mollusks, & occasional
turtles. There were no sharks of any
kind. Cheryl had only used our underwater camera on two other occasions, so a
few of the pictures here came out great, some good…some not so good, but I’ll
share them all with you. Intermittent clouds were a slight challenge.
Before doing so and as I write, we just concluded a
45-minute ceremony in the main theater in honor of Veteran’s Day. As I’m sure
most of you know, it falls on November 11th, the anniversary of the
signing of the Armistice that ended World War 1. The major hostilities of World
War 1 were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th
day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of Armistice.
The ceremony commenced at 10:45 with the reading of names to be remembered and
then sharply at 11:00, the ship’s bells & whistles sounded followed by two
minutes of silence. The ceremony concluded with speeches by Captain Fred, our
onboard clergy, the reading of ‘In Flanders Field’ and finally….taps. Hat’s off
to Holland America…this was one of the most moving & inspirational tributes
they’ve ever done. There were no dry-eyes in the house. It was beautiful.
We’re sailing now toward Sydney…nearly 1,200 miles south of
our current position and scheduled to dock Friday morning at 8:00. Cheryl and I
are very excited because not only is Sydney our most favorite destination in
the world, but we’re meeting her Uncle Ron & Aunt Helen on Saturday morning
at the cruise terminal and have made prior arrangements to have them board the
ship for a tour. No plans beyond that, but I know we’ll have a wonderful time.
We’re hoping her cousins Michael & Katrina come as well with all their kids.
We weren’t able to get them cleared for a ship tour, but hope we can spend some
time with them before we set sail Saturday evening.
 |
| Our Dear Friend...Joe |
 |
| Happy Hour...Joe, Trudy, Cheryl, Bob, Barb, Orlin |
 |
| Happy Hour Waiter...Dewa |
No comments:
Post a Comment