Thursday, November 2: The Great Barrier Reef

On Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and drove about an hour up to Port Douglas. At 8:15 AM we boarded the catamaran Poseidon and soon after cast off for the reef. The trip to the reef took about an hour. Wind was low, the sun was bright and visibility out on the reef was fantastic. We stopped at three different point on the reef. We snorkeled at all three, and Dad and I did introductory SCUBA dives at the first and last stops. Poor Sarah started feeling pretty sick during the second stop, so she stayed on deck after that. We were able to rent an underwater digital camera and take some nice shots. The following are some of the pictures we took while on the tour. You can find many more on my Flickr account here.

This one was snapped by the boat photographer before we set out.

Here I am heading down the rope for our first dive!

Dad with his gear on getting out of the water after the first dive.

Dad and I feeling pretty sweet after our first dive ever.

Snorkeling Sarah holding a sea cucumber.

Snorkeling mom very delicately holding the sea cucumber.

Snorkeling Dad.

Dad took a snooze about half way through the day.

Get tan with your bad self.

I think this is dad on our second dive. It might be me, but I'm pretty sure it's dad.

This is a lionfish. Look but don't touch.

Dad on our second dive.

The majesticness of Dad.

The pregnantness of Sarah.

Seasick Sarah valiantly staying the course.