Thursday, August 25, 2016

Great Barrier Reef


On Friday, June 16, our last day in Port Douglas, we took a catamaran cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkeling.  We went to Low Island, part of the inner reef and an area that has not been seriously affected by the bleaching of the reef, at least not yet.  What a fabulous day we had, starting with breakfast on the boat as we left for the reef with a lovely lunch later, touring Low Island, taking a glass-bottomed boat into the reef, learning to snorkel and then actually snorkeling that beautiful reef with its colorful fish and coral.

We left Port Douglas first thing in the morning after being picked up at our accommodations.  It was raining when we were picked up and still heavily overcast when we left the harbor, but the day gradually cleared and we had enough sun in the end to get some sunburn, though we had all used plenty of sunblock.  I rented an underwater camera and managed to get some decent shots, though the battery ran out after just a little while (lesson: don't rent your camera on the boat, but rent it in Port Douglas).

our boat


 

 captain and mate


 leaving Port Douglas harbor



 cruising to Low Island









at the island




 shrimp trawlers off the island



on the island






the lighthouse


Lemon Shark


snorkeling at the reef























back in Port Douglas

4 comments:

Thelma said...

What a beautiful adventurous trip you had. The pink flower looks like a morning glory. Lot of beautiful coral and fish photos. Great memories.

Ron said...

Thanks, Thel. That was one of the highlights of our trip.

Fizgig said...

Snorkeling on the GBR is awesome, isn't it? So many critters to see! Glad you got to see the beautiful Lemon Shark, too =) Nice shots.... As you post 'em on IP, I'll ID the fish you captured ;)

Ron said...

Thanks, Fizzie. It was awesome.