Day 30 The Great Barrier Reef

We were picked up at the hotel for a 2 block ride to the marina where we boarded the dive/snorkel boat. The Poseidon III is a 75 foot catamaran with 2 decks, twin diesels that allows her to cruise at an easy 20 knots. There were 30 people, divided into 3 groups, experienced scuba, novice scuba, and snorkelers. We snorkeled- Chris got a wet suit:

The water air temp was nearly 80 but the 25 knot winds made everyone very cool - OK Chris was cold but did snorkel. We stopped in 3 different places both on the inside and outside of the reef.  

The Coral Sea, looking at what the reef does to the ocean:

Quite a marvelous panorama of coral and fish, turtles, cuddle fish, sea cucumbers, and a plethora of small brightly colored fish. After the second dive site, the crew put out a cold buffet that was better than I expected for a dive boat. Every time we stopped there was tea and other hot drinks as well as cookies and stuff. The crew was young and very animated giving service; we even had a marine biologist tell us about what we could expect at each stop and led a tour of the reef on the last dive. It was a very enjoyable day; we walked back to the hotel faster than the bus.

Back to hotel for a nap before dinner and an early wake up tomorrow.