The Reef

We were not up too early the next day and met most of our room mates while we were lazing around in bed. They were all either English or Irish, but we all got on pretty well and over the course of our week or so there, we went out drinking together quite a bit.

There was a few favourite spots in Cairns, Gilligan's was one of the biggest but it had some quiet nights too, and so for those nights, there was PJ O'Briens, which was an Irish Bar. Or the Woolshed which we weren't that fond of, but there was something on every night in one of the bars so we always had somewhere to go and something to do.

we hadn't really done much in Cairns until Day 6 when we booked a trip out on the Great Barrier Reef. It was an early boat leaving at 7:30am. The idea was to get an early night before heading off, but of course, I chose the not going to bed route instead, and stayed up all night before getting on the boat. It was a Catamaran so it wasnt going to be too pleasant a trip. I was feeling very ill on the way out, so I got some sea sick pills from the crew foir the way back and I was fine. The weather that day was absolutely gorgeous, sun was blazing down. The crew on the boat were great fun, and really made the difference on the day. The boat was called Passions of Paradise and I would highly recommend it.

The boat took us out onto the reef and then offered us an introductory dive where they would show us exactly what to do, and if we liked it, we could pay more and go for a proper dive. We did the introductory, and eventually, I got the hang of the breathing and went down below. The coral and the fish were absolutley amazing down there. I had never seen anything like it in my life. I managed to see a shark, and a turtle, which the others didnt get to see that day. The diver then fed the fish around us and they were swimming right by our faces which was really amazing too.

Walking around with all the gear on was virtually impossible and so we were laughing our heads off trying to get off and back onto the boat. The water pressure didnt really agree with my ears and I suffered a bit that day but it didnt last too long thankfully. We were brought back onto the boat then for lunch, which was pretty good, and then the boat moved off to another great spot on the reef where we could go snorkling.

I had never been snorkling before but I found it really easy, thanks to the diving I guess. Again, I saw absolutely loads of different types of fish, they were all so close to us too. One of them got a little too close. His job is to clean other fish from stuff that has become attached to them. He though the scab on my leg was one of them and so he came at me and tore it off. I got a fright initially and then got out of the water to have a look, it was so funny, the crew said it happens all the time and so all I could do is laugh. The salt water and the cleaner fish did my wound the world of good though and so I was chuffed.

After that, they hoisted sails and brought us back to Cairns. The trip back was great as we were cruising along with the sun shining down on us, and there was some pretty spectacular sights too.