Day Six - The Great Barrier Reef
Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 8:34PM A quiet day yesterday and a fairly early night last night, was just what the Doctor prescribed....because this morning we all woke feeling great & ready for a big day ahead.
A day on the reef was ours today :)
We headed to the Marina at 8am and waited for our cruiser boat to dock.
The boat ride out to Hardy Reef took about 1 hour 45mins, and it was fairly choppy. However, the kids didn't mind. Ella chatted off the ears of everyone around us. Telling them all about herself and enlightening them with lots of "Did you knows!", she was kinda famous amongst the crew by the end of the trip :)
Once out on the reef, the boat fixates to a permanant floating platform. This is decked out with a glass bottom viewing area, diving gear, an ocean paddle pool, a massage parlour and a water slide into the sea. Awesomeness!
Chris & Ella suited up first.
We could already see an array of colourful fish scouring the surface of the water, loving the attention of the swimmers and divers.
I headed down to the viewing area. And as if my holiday couldn't get any better..... a sea turtle came to say Hi:
Chris saying Hi from the deep :)
Hanging out with the turtle.
Ella was a buzz of excitement the whole time. And Ryder was just happy to be with his family and busy. He loves the outdoors.
Although, today was far from relaxing {with 2 kids under 5 we had A LOT of 'stuff' to pack & lug around, plus we couldn't do anything without it being a juggling act & a constant responsibility of 'having young kids' by our side} however, in a way it was better this way. No we didn't get to sunbake or 'turn off', Chris & I didn't get to snorkel together at the same, and eating the buffet lunch was more chaos than fun....but.....we got to experience the day through the eyes of our little loves. Everything was so new & exciting. Everything was a learning opportunity. Everything was about them!
Chris took Ella & Ryder out on the 'submarine trip' while I snorkeled. Ella loved it so much she went out on it again....on her own!! {in the care of a staff member!} She felt pretty special on it's return. She said she even got to speak on the microphone :)
The snorkeling was amazing!!!!! It's easy to see why The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World! The pallet of colours underwater are almost unreal. It was like I was swimming over a painted canvas. Fluorescent fish & breathing moving plants. Creatures dashing in & out of the coral & rocks, hiding and feeding. Tiny fish, almost impossible to see and large fish as big as me. A crazy, beautiful, surreal world lives under that aqua blanket of water. A mysterious, breathtaking place of colour and wonder.
Reunited with my little man after my snorkel dive.
Chris did a scuba dive down to 12metres, while I hung out with the kids. Ella had been given a 'Nemo Project card' from one of the boat's staff members. She had to do a series of tasks, and answer a collection of questions to get stamps in her Nemo Book. Once she reached 6 stamps, a free ice-cream was hers :) So away we went - asking the Captain what his name was and how long the boat was. She had to go on the Sub, splash in the ocean, eat a healthy lunch {I liked that one}, and spot some certain fish species. She got the free ice-cream :)
And then a dingy boat whisked us off the platform - bound for the floating Helipad.....
My two spunks.
Where we boarded a helicopter with pilot: Scotty, and started the 30minute flight back to Hamilton Island. Did I rescue starving orphans in a previous lifetime? Coz I must've done something pretty fabulous to be granted the rights to this week. This holiday. These moments!!!???
The platform & boat we left behind.
And again, we were in awe at the views. The colours of the reef, and these waters, almost look fake. It truly is one of the most beautiful experiences I've had in my life.
Please, add a helicopter ride over the Whitsunday Islands to your bucket lists. You have to! Trust me!
We flew over the famous "heart shaped reef". See...even the reef is love-filled. There is LOVE everywhere you look here. Come get a dose :)
Ryder passed out in my arms, 5 minutes into the helicopter ride....and his big sister wasn't far behind either. Two snoozing kids, 1500 feet in the air.
I could never get sick of this view. **********
A swim in the hotel pool on arrival, and dinner downstairs ended another perfect day....
With tonight's cocktail being a Passionfruit & Lychee Mojito.....
Another concoction of delicious goodness....
**********
It's the first day of September, which means winter has officially gone, and Spring is here. Yay! Cheers to that! A new season, a fresh state of mind, a grab bag of magical experiences to draw upon and my family. I feel good.
Happy Spring everyone!
Tomorrow is Fathers Day. We have a few fun, special things planned, to celebrate Chris; and all that Fatherhood has brought him....and us. And tomorrow is our last night here.....so we have a pretty special evening planned too. Hoping for good weather for it :)
G'Night All. x
Reader Comments (2)
I am so glad that you have all been having a fantastic holiday.
Your photos are all amazing, thank you so much for sharing with us :)
How exciting to be able to share such a wonderful experience with Ella and Ryder. I can see Ella now running around doing her treasure hunt, pointing out all the fish and loving every minute of it. Awesome! We couldn't go on the helicopter when we were there last time unfortunately, but seeing your photos now makes me eager to return and make sure I do! Is that big fish you described the one that's 'notoriously friendly' and even has a name the staff have given him? I remember a huge friendly one from when we were there...