On Day 14 I'd managed to convince Ang that it would be a good idea to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier reef, so we had all of Day 15 planned for our trip. Waking up early and munching on a breakfast bar for much needed energy, we were picked up by a mini-bus and driven down to the beach. Once on the beach the group of 30 were taken 5 at a time in a little boat out to the main single hull diving boat.
The journey out to the reef took about 40 mins, and once we were there we all got kitted out in wet suits (2 for Ang as she was so COLD!!), and then put on our masks and snorkels. I jumped in straight away, having learnt to snorkel as a young boy in the Philippines, and got to work swimming around the coral. Ang wasn't far behind, with her buoyancy bar keeping her afloat!!
After an initial 1hr snorkel we came back on the boat for some fresh lunch, and then a 45 min history and science lesson for the reef (above). That was really good and we both learnt quite a lot.
After lunch the sun came out, and suddenly the colours of the coral and fish really came to life! The coral and fish were absolutely amazing - giant clams, sting rays, squid, parrot fish and my favourite the butterfly fish.... Just as we thought it couldn't get any better I noticed a sea turtle!!! I spent about 30 minutes following it around the coral reef, watching it swim and eat some coral!! What an experience...
Heading back to Australia we noticed that there were still clouds over the mainland - apparently they had had rain all day, while we were only a few miles off the coast in glorious sunshine!! Even with the clouds, it was still a sight to see the rainforest come right down to the white sandy beaches.
After going back to the Round House to get cleaned up and wash the salt water out of our hair, we headed back to the beach to play a bit of Frisbee.
Despite it being overcast - we still managed to see a decent sunset - with red clouds appearing over the top of the rainforest hills. After sitting and watching the sunlight disappear, we headed to the local YHA for a really nice meal.
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