Great Barrier Reef

We had waited all week for the weather to settle and the forecast was for calm seas so we booked ourselves onto a Quicksilver trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. After about an hours boat ride we docked at a large pontoon at the Agincourt Ribbon reefs, on the edge of the continental shelf. The pontoon had snorkelling and diving stations as well as an underwater observatory and room for 1500 people. We were in a group of 200 so there was heaps of room. Grumps, J, mum and the kids went on a the submersible boat where they sat about 2 metres underwater and went for an explore around the reef. While they were doing this Dad headed for a scuba dive. There were small reef sharks and some big fish to see. Next was a quick lunch back on the pontoon then we all donned stinger suits (full body lycra suits to help prevent stings from the poisoness jellyfish that had been seen in the area) and collected our snorkelling gear. As we entered the water off the pontoon there were large schools of fish and then a short distance away the stunning corals and fish life of the reef. The snorkelling was fantastic and everyone really enjoyed it. We saw Nemo and all his mates and after a great explore of the area we were back on board the boat and heading back to Port Douglas. On the way back we spotted a humpback whale which was diving and lunging out of the sea less than 300 metres from the boat. Bonus! We all had a quick swim back at the Oaks and fell into bed fairly exhausted after our day in the ocean.