Cairnes Recap: Great Barrier Reef

On Saturday, our group woke up at 7 AM and headed out for a day of scuba diving and snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. Luckily the sun was shining and it was a beautiful perfect day. We chose to spend our day with a company called “The Reef Experience” and I couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

We started our day off with delicious breakfast sandwiches and a 1.5 hour boat ride out to the reef. During this time, they did a crash course for those who were planning to do an introductory dive. They broke us up into groups of ten, and of course I was in the first group called out… so the first one in the water.

I was very excited but so nervous as soon as I put my wet suit on. Once I got in the water, they told me to put the breathing piece in my mouth and put my face in the water to try it out… I couldn’t breathe. I immediately picked my head up and took it out to tell the instructor. Instead of being concerned, he put the piece back in my mouth and pulled the deflating plug on my life jacket before pushing me all the way under the water. After a few minutes of feeling like I was hyperventilating, I caught my breath and began to enjoy myself. The instructor later told me that people tend to panic at the beginning and the best way to get them through it is to force them under the water. When you are in that situation, you will find a way to breathe (so he said…).

On my first dive we saw one huge, colorful fish and tons of coral. It was really beautiful and the photos don’t do it justice. I felt so grateful the entire time that I had the opportunity to see such a beautiful place.

After what felt like 5 seconds, the instructor started leading us back to the surface. I couldn’t believe it was already over and knew instantly that I was going to pay for another dive at the second location. I snorkeled for another hour or so while the rest of the groups scuba dived.

Next, we had chicken and sausage with salad for lunch as we cruised off to the next location. It was only about a 20 minute ride, but it was a perfect break to relax out of the water a bit.

Upon arrival at the second location, I was once again part of group number one. This time I was a little more excited to jump right into the water! 😉 Since we didn’t have to learn any basic skills again, we were able to explore the entire time. It felt like something out of a movie. We were going through little valleys and trenches along the ocean floor almost the entire time, and it was amazing.

I loved scuba diving and would definitely do it again. I wish there were more places back home to explore like this! We finished off the day with more snorkeling 🙂

Overall we had a great day on the Great Barrier Reef! Tomorrow I’ll write about the Barefoot Tour that we did on Sunday 🙂

xo,

Jaclyn