Today I got to go snorkeling in the Great Battier Reef- one of the expected highlights of the trip. It was pretty amazing. We were in the Whitsundays an archipelago of 74 islands and we went snorkeling at two different spots.
We got onto the catamaran directly from the ship; there were about 60 people onboard. After about an hour and a half, we got to Luncheon Cove where we snorkeled for about an 1 1/2 hours. Then we moved to the back side of Caiman Island where we snorkeled another 1 1/2 hours or so. Then we boated a little ways further to another cove and had lunch on the boat. After lunch we boated an hour and a half back to our ship.
The water was pleasant and the tour company provided mask, fins and snorkels. They also provided a ‘sting suit’ since it’s jellyfish season. I was very happy to learn that the jellyfish that was right next to me was safe and wasn’t a stinging one. I was also happy when the snorkel guide asked if everything was ok when I gasped when I saw the jellyfish next to me. He said since I could see it, it was fine- which wasn’t as comforting as it might have been since I realized I wouldn’t see the jellyfish that could sting me.
There were so many different types of coral and fish during the snorkeling.
All the crew said how lucky we were because we had good weather.- clear and not super hot. Apparently the last time they went out the visibility was 3 feet. We could also have had rain since we’re in the rainy season.
Before you could snorkel they did a risk assesment and asked folks to give their swimming level in a rank of 1-5; where 1 was an Olympic athlete and 5 was you sink like a stone in the water. I picked 4 because I can float and move around in the water but can’t swim against a current. The 80 year old next to me picked 2! When they said I had to have a life vest I asked if I could change to a 3 but they said no. When I was out snorkeling I was happy to have the life vest since I could float without moving anything.
When I got back, Jennifer and I went to a Moet Chandon champagne tasting event and had three full glasses of champagne. It was extra fun because there were only 4 of us in the tasting. The tasting area was setup for about 20- don’t know when they were or if there were even that many signed up.
