the possibility of seeing the Great Barrier Reef which is one of the things I was most excited about. Included in the list of the seven natural wonders of the world along with Mt Everest and the Grand Canyon the reef is the most popular destination for tourists to Australia including me. Matt and I booked onto the Poseidon Snorkeling and Scuba Adventure boat. I haven't snorkeled since I was fourteen and visiting my sister, Judy, in the Peace Corp. Matt had never snorkeled so this was going to be a learnin
g experience for both of us. We got on the boat to take an hour trip out to the outer reef. We went out to the Agincourt Ribbon Reefs which are long narrow reefs containing both shallow reef areas and deep drop offs. The boat ride out to the reefs was perfectly smooth with lots of safety talks. Matt and I both still took seasickness tablets...just in case. We also rented an underwater camera (very excited about) and wetsuits (my worst nightmare). Ahh, the wetsuit. There is nothing like squishing yourself into thick skin sucking Lycra material to make you fe
el pretty. Matt liked his because it makes you more buoyant but I ditched mine after the first stop. The boat stopped at three different locations throughout the day and we were all geared up and ready for the first one. At first I started to panic. I couldn't stop breathing thru my nose and thought I might hyper-ventilate. After I calmed down a bit I started to get the hang of it. Matt was struggling some and then swallowed half of the ocean. A few minutes later I swallowed the other half. I kept hearing cries
of "Matt's not Happy!!!" so we swam back to the boat to regroup and try again. It is hard to learn when the bottom of the ocean is 30 meters down and you have to tread water to clear out your mask and snorkel.We went back out again for a few minutes when I saw two giant clams. When I say giant I mean GIANT! Bigger than a person for sure. These clams can weigh up to 500 pounds and li
ve up to 100 years. They are called man eaters in old legends and are capable of holding fast to their grip but their response time is generally considered too slow to cause injury to humans. I still wouldn't recommend sticking any appendages into a giant clam. It was just about time to move on to the second sight and Matt was still having a bit of trouble so we swam back to the boat.
ve up to 100 years. They are called man eaters in old legends and are capable of holding fast to their grip but their response time is generally considered too slow to cause injury to humans. I still wouldn't recommend sticking any appendages into a giant clam. It was just about time to move on to the second sight and Matt was still having a bit of trouble so we swam back to the boat. As we headed off schools of dolphins started swimming along side the boat. The were jumping up out of the water and there was even a baby
. We got all ready for the second sight even though I could tell Matt wasn't so sure about the whole snorkeling thing. Fortunately, a few minutes into this sight he got the hang of it. The coral was really beautiful. It was kind of tricky judging how close to get to the reef without hurting myself or the coral. As we were told on the boat one wrong kick of a flipper can kill off five years of growth from the reef. The current was also pretty strong and I didn't want to be push
ed into the reef and get all cut up. I was able to get close enough to get a few nice pictures. Getting the fish to stay still for a photo-op proved to be a little bit trickier. We saw tons of fish like parrotfish, angelfish, and a big, square shaped rainbow fish whose name I don't know. Some of them swam in schools while other were solo or in pairs. Try as I might I co
uldn't get the silly fish to stay still. I was really good at getting them swimming away.
. We got all ready for the second sight even though I could tell Matt wasn't so sure about the whole snorkeling thing. Fortunately, a few minutes into this sight he got the hang of it. The coral was really beautiful. It was kind of tricky judging how close to get to the reef without hurting myself or the coral. As we were told on the boat one wrong kick of a flipper can kill off five years of growth from the reef. The current was also pretty strong and I didn't want to be push
ed into the reef and get all cut up. I was able to get close enough to get a few nice pictures. Getting the fish to stay still for a photo-op proved to be a little bit trickier. We saw tons of fish like parrotfish, angelfish, and a big, square shaped rainbow fish whose name I don't know. Some of them swam in schools while other were solo or in pairs. Try as I might I co
uldn't get the silly fish to stay still. I was really good at getting them swimming away.By the third sight Matt and I were old, snorkeling pros. We were both comfortable now and headed farther off to see m
ore of the reef. The professional underwater photographer, Chris swam by and got our photo. There is nothing like a snorkel and a mask to bring out ones most beautiful features. This was by far the best sight for Matt and I and not only because we had both stopped trying to swallow to entire contents of th
e Coral Sea. The fish finally started to cooperate with my attempts at capturing them on film. I liked these black, white and yellow fish. They stayed nice and still. Matt liked these little black and white guys who he called "Collinwood" fish since their stripes were like the uniform of the Aussie 
Rules Football team the Collingwood Magpies.
ore of the reef. The professional underwater photographer, Chris swam by and got our photo. There is nothing like a snorkel and a mask to bring out ones most beautiful features. This was by far the best sight for Matt and I and not only because we had both stopped trying to swallow to entire contents of th
e Coral Sea. The fish finally started to cooperate with my attempts at capturing them on film. I liked these black, white and yellow fish. They stayed nice and still. Matt liked these little black and white guys who he called "Collinwood" fish since their stripes were like the uniform of the Aussie 
Rules Football team the Collingwood Magpies. We swam around pointing out beautiful fish and colorful pieces of coral when M
att pointed out one big fish. My first instinct was to get a picture since that's what I had been trying to do with all the other fishes. My second and much more violent instinct was to turn around and swim away as fast as I possibly could. Matt had pointed out a shark. A very large shark. Now the people on the boat had assured us that these were only reef sharks and would not bother with humans. Growing up on Florida beaches with flags alerting swimmers to exit the water because of shark sightings and in the age of JAWS I personally didn't want to take my chances. I don't think I have
ever moved my legs so fast in my life. There was a British guys snorkeling nearby who pointed out there were actually three sharks and then took it upon himself to go chase them. When another shark came by I wasn't quite as scared since the Brit was closer and I figured he would get eaten first. I tried to take a picture while still swimming away...very difficult.
att pointed out one big fish. My first instinct was to get a picture since that's what I had been trying to do with all the other fishes. My second and much more violent instinct was to turn around and swim away as fast as I possibly could. Matt had pointed out a shark. A very large shark. Now the people on the boat had assured us that these were only reef sharks and would not bother with humans. Growing up on Florida beaches with flags alerting swimmers to exit the water because of shark sightings and in the age of JAWS I personally didn't want to take my chances. I don't think I have
ever moved my legs so fast in my life. There was a British guys snorkeling nearby who pointed out there were actually three sharks and then took it upon himself to go chase them. When another shark came by I wasn't quite as scared since the Brit was closer and I figured he would get eaten first. I tried to take a picture while still swimming away...very difficult. I had such
a fantastic time swimming along with the fish. It is mind boggling that there is this whole other world on my own planet that I hardly even consider in my day to day life. I really didn't want to leave. Someday I will bite the bullet and learn how to scuba so I can experience even more of the ocean. The trip back to land was a really 
rough and a few people threw-up. Even more were clinging to sick bags for dear life. Thank God for motion sickness pills!!! The only good thing about the rough ride was every time the boat sent spray up in the air a rainbow appeared. I love my rainbows!
a fantastic time swimming along with the fish. It is mind boggling that there is this whole other world on my own planet that I hardly even consider in my day to day life. I really didn't want to leave. Someday I will bite the bullet and learn how to scuba so I can experience even more of the ocean. The trip back to land was a really 
rough and a few people threw-up. Even more were clinging to sick bags for dear life. Thank God for motion sickness pills!!! The only good thing about the rough ride was every time the boat sent spray up in the air a rainbow appeared. I love my rainbows!The one thing we didn't see that I was disappointed about was a sea turtle. When I was a kid we used to see them laying eggs on the beach at night and helped the babies out of ditches made by truck tires out into the ocean. I would have loved to see one but I got sharks instead. When I got my disk back with my pictures on it I was happy to see Chris the photographer had put some of his best shots on there too. He is obviously a bit more experienced than me. My favorite is this picture he took of a sea turtle in the sun.
