For my last installment on our trip to Australia I’m going to let the imagery do the talking. It seems a logical choice since our experience at the Great Barrier Reef was primarily a visual one; equipped with wetsuit, snorkel and mask, we spent most of the time silently marvelling at these unfamiliar, underwater landscapes and their delightful inhabitants.
I was and am a complete novice to underwater photography, but I loved the process of trying to capture fleeting moments in this unfamiliar settting. All the while checking a big natural wonder (and another UNESCO world heritage site!) off my bucket list…
Green Island
Before we took a trip out to the Barrier Reef, we decided to splurge (a little) with 2 days and 1 night spent on Green Island, just off the coast of Cairns. We were both so thrilled we made this decision!
Though we wouldn’t have stayed much longer than we did, we got a lot out of our short trip, including the opportunity to see clownfish, some small sharks and a sea turtle(!) while getting to grips with snorkelling in a very secure, sheltered environment.
Great Barrier Reef
Since we’d come all the way up to Cairns expressly to see the Great Barrier Reef, we made sure to book on a boat trip to see it first hand.
It was a mixed experience – we didn’t see any more notable wildlife (no further sea turtle sightings, for instance) and I got extremely seasick even having taken medication ahead of time. But it was also surreal to snorkel so far out in the open ocean, to experience the grand scale and spectacle of reef life in such an accessible way.
There were educational opportunities, too. The guides sometimes gathered groups together to demonstrate and elaborate on some of the fascinating things we were seeing.
Over to you
Have you been to the Great Barrier Reef?
Do you have any other recommendations for places to snorkel? We really got a taste for it on this trip. I’d love to hear about other snorkeling destinations around the world.
P.S. What we got up to in Melbourne and Sydney.
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Oh what a wonderful experience! This is something I’ve always wanted to do – I’ll get there one day… #WanderfulWednesday
I felt the same way! I really hope you get the opportunity Keri. 🙂
Wow!! What an incredible experience. These photos are amazingggg, I can’t believe you saw so much 🙂
I was so desperate to see a sea turtle, that just about made my year! 😀
Wow! I want to have the opportunity to do this one day. I hope I can do it before it is full bleached because the climate change. Your photos are incredible! #wanderfulwednesday
Thanks so much! Such a good point that I forgot to mention in the post: the bleaching has had such a devastating effect already. Really heartbreaking to think such a remarkable reef could be lost 🙁
I’ve never been to the Great Barrier Reef but it is definitely on my bucket list. I’ve only been snorkelling once in Hawaii, and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t get to see sea turtles but I loved swimming amongst the fish!
I would absolutely love to visit Hawaii some day! Sounds like a brilliant snorkelling destination. 🙂
Wowwwww how incredible!! That’s another thing to add to my ever growing travel list! You found Nemo 🙂
Haha, yes! That’s exactly how I phrased it too, when we finally found the clownfish! 😀
I just love your underwater shots, those are very difficult to get! Impressive post 🙂 #TheWeeklyPostcard
Thanks Scarlett! 😊🐾
I went to the Great Barrier reef about 10 years ago and loved it. The colors and amount of fish I saw was just so much better than anywhere else. It kind of spoiled me because I don’t think anywhere else will live up to that. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
That’s awesome, but also a little disappointing not to be able to replicate the experience I guess! 🐠💦🐟
I love snorkelling 🙂 used to live in the Maldives so just had to walk out… the corals seem in a poor state though on some of the pics, that’s so sad.
That sounds amazing Julz! I imagine the Maldives are an amazing place to live.
I know…it’s truly devastating how much of an effect bleaching is having on the reef. 🙁
I have been at the Great Barrier Reef, but I have only snorkeled. My husband and our son did scuba dive however. They took gorgeous pictures there. #TheWeeklyPostcard
We went for snorkelling as we figured it would be more enjoyable for us as beginners. If I ever go back I’d definitely try scuba diving though! 🙂
Your pictures are so gorgeous!! I did hear though that the reef was declared dead. Is that true? Did your guide tell you anything about the development of the reef in recent years?
I’ve just done a quick Google and you’re absolutely right. Via NYTimes last March: “Huge sections of the Great Barrier Reef, stretching across hundreds of miles of its most pristine northern sector, were recently found to be dead, killed last year by overheated seawater.”
It’s been a year since our trip, but I remember a huge amount of the coral being bleached/dead, as you can see in the photos (it’s particularly striking in the image of the two yellow fish). The tour did put on a talk on the way back from the reef to explain more about the science behind the bleaching and how its future was in serious jeopardy…so dreadful to think it could be lost irrevocably.
Wow what a wonderful world there is that lies below our oceans, not been to the Great Barrier Reef but would love to! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Very true! We found it so fascinating – really want to try more aquatic activities in the future. 🙂
This looks amazing!! I’ve always wanted to visit the Great Barrier Reef! It’s so colorful and full of life 😀
It’s such a wonderful place to visit! 🐠😊
This is definitely at the top of our Bucket List when we get to Australia! We had not heard about Green Island, so we’ll check into that. We do love to snorkel, and have had some great experiences on the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, and in Hawaii. So we are keen to see the Great Barrier Reef! Thanks for sharing your pictures on #TheWeeklyPostcard – sad to see the bleaching, but still great to see the reef!
Yeah – the bleaching is just dreadful to see, very eye opening and a big contrast to what I’d expected. 😔
Noting those other potential snorkeling destinations! 😊