Today we walked down to the waterfront and picked up a catamaran that took us to the Great Barrier Reef. It is the world’s largest Coral Reef system and it is made up of over 2900 individual reefs and 900 islands. It is a huge area (1400 miles) and it is located in the Coral Sea.

Fun Fact alert: it can be seen from outer space and is one of the 7 natural wonders of the world.

The ride out to the area of the reef that we explored was about 2 hours. There were about 250 people on it and it was stocked full of ice cream, beer and wine. They served tea and cake going out and cheese and crackers coming back. It was quite nice.

We docked at what’s known as a pontoon which is really a big ole platform with cover. Just our catamaran guests were on this pontoon and we could snorkel, scuba, swim, take a “submarine” (submerged bottom of a boat) around the reef, sunbathe, rest and relax. They had a section of the pontoon filled with racks of life jackets, snorkel gear and wet suits. You grabbed what you wanted and hopped in the water. The wet suits were recommended to protect you from the jelly fish.

Larry donned the wet suit and snorkeled in the Reef. It was beautiful with vibrant colors and tons of fish.

It was quite hot and humid, even in a boat on the water. But still a fabulous day. They served us a nice lunch buffet and we could go back and forth to our catamaran whenever we wanted.

The trip back to the waterfront was much quieter. The Michigan 6, as we are known, played Euchre and slept. A perfect day in Cairns, Australia.

After a quick turn around, we walked back to the waterfront for dinner with some new friends-Joe, Kathy and Bill. We enjoyed good conversation, a great meal and a beautiful view.

Tomorrow is packed full as well with a sky rail trip up through the rainforest and we are taking a train back.

More tomorrow, stay safe in the snow….

Cici at Sea signing off….