Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef!

Another morning in Paradise on Lizard Island. This is my view from breakfast – not bad ,eh? After ordering from the menu, I realized the inside cover contained a summary of Lizard Island's history. “In 1770 Captain James Cook first ventured into these uncharted waters seeking an escape from the treacherous coral reefs that filled the crystal clear waters. Lizard Island promised this freedom as well as a welcome source of fresh provisions. Inspiration for the island's name came to the Captain from the observation that...'the only land animals we saw here were Lizards and these seem'd to be pretty plenty which occasioned my naming the island Lizard Island'. The island was used by the Dingaal Aboriginal people as a sacred place to bring their young boys for initiation into adulthood and also a site for important meetings between elders of neighboring tribes.”

After a more substantial breakfast than I probably needed, I headed to the Beach Club.  To save time today I had been fitted for my snorkel gear and wet suit last night and they were ready for my big adventure – snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! For those of you who know me, I am not a big water sports person, and there had been several moments earlier this morning when I'd almost decided to forego snorkeling for lounging by the pool. But the thought of passing up the chance of a lifetime gave me the courage to climb on the tendor and cruise out to our snorkel boat which was anchored in the cove.

We boarded our boat, a 51 ft. enclosed Flybridge Cruiser,(in other words, a BIG boat) and motored about 30 minutes to Destination North where we anchored, and I wiggled (with a lot of help) into my wet suit and donned the goggles and snorkel. I realize this is not my most flattering photo, but I decided to secure a last picture in case I didn't return from my awesome adventure.

All fear vanished as soon as I plunged into the crystal clear waters and got my first close-hand view of life on this incredible reef. There were 4 of us in our group plus our guide Scott who kept hold of a bright orange life saver in case one of us(probably me) needed rescuing or just to hold onto when tired. I have snorkeled many times in the Caribbean, Fiji and Tahiti but nothing compared to the site beneath me. The coral was vivid colors from brilliant blue staghorn coral to giant clams lined with turquoise, purple and bright blue. We saw an Eagle Ray, sea cucumbers, huge angel fish, and even Nemo! Everywhere you looked there were huge corals and each were filled with thousands of fish of every variety imaginable. Now I realized why the Great Barrier is one of the great wonders of the world!

Back on board we cruised back to Lizard Island.  These are photos of the island and the reef sharks surrounding our boat.  Some were really huge, but I  couldn't get a photo of them as they swam too fast.  I was assured reef sharks don't like humans!

By noon we had motored back to shore and were ready for lunch. I was starving and didn't feel guilty about the huge lunch I was devouring– I'd earned it!!

More fun lay ahead in the afternoon. We were treated to complimentary massages, and, believe me, I had a few sore muscles that needed some attention.from all the snorkeling. I was so relaxed when the treatment ended that I barely made it back to my suite where I fell sound asleep.

Dinner was again fabulous and what amazed me is the fine wines that were paired with each course – French champagne, Australian rose, New Zealand pinot noir and a fine port to accompany fresh mango and raspberry sorbets. What a lovely way to end our last full day at Lizard Island.

Tomorrow afternoon we fly back to Cairns for two days and more adventures – did it hear something about Hot Air Ballooning?

More from Northern Queensland, Australia tomorrow.

Linda