This morning I got up at 6:00 am and got in my swim suit. We got on a mini bus and headed over to the Wharf in Cairns where our boat was waiting to take us to the Great Barrier Reef.

We got on the boat however before we got on they took our picture getting on the boat. Then we got on the boat and headed out for an hour and a half until we got to the pontoon out on the Great Barrier Reef (the middle of nowhere). Then we got off of the boat, got settled and my Mom and Hannah went off to get their gear on for their scuba dive. My Dad and I went to watch them and then we got all of our stuff on to go on the snorkeling tour.

We went out on the first snorkel with a marine biologist who explained everything we were seeing. She would dive down to the bottom of the ocean and bring up animals for us to see like sea cucumbers. There was a diver with a camera that took pictures of us while we snorkeled. And sometimes when she took your picture, you would get to see Wally, the HUGE fish. I saw Nemo, but not Dory, and I saw lots and lots of colorful fish. I also saw one HUGE school of fish.

After our snorkeling time, my Dad and I had a rest and some lunch with my Mom and Hannah. After lunch, my Mom and Hannah went on their second dive because they had such a good time on their first dive. Then, Dad and I got ready for our second snorkel, the adventure snorkel tour, father out on the Reef.

First what you do is get on a boat that takes you out a long way and then you have to jump off of the boat into the water. That was REALLY fun! To get off of the boat, I had a snorkel vest on, and then what you do is that you push down on the snorkel vest and jump off hoping that you won’t sink. Then you join the group and go off on the snorkel. Also, there is a ring that the marine biologist said we could use if we needed to hang on to something. The drop off was simply AMAZING. You see this GREAT coral, and water going down forever and forever and forever. It really is a drop off. Just like in the movie Finding Nemo.

I learned that the coral reef grows so big that it forms land. In fact, the coral makes islands after many thousands of years. I looked up and I saw waves breaking on coral coming out of the sea. It was very cool. We swam along the edge of the Reef for an hour or so, and then we finally got back to the pontoon. Then we packed up, and got back on the boat for the trip back to the wharf in Cairns.

I had the most fun experience so far on the trip. It’s my favorite day of the whole trip!