Great Barrier Reef

We just returned from the three days on the Great Barrier Reef. We were about 45 miles off shore and visited over 5 islands while there. We boarded the Kalinda Cruise on Sunday night, and left port around 9 PM after a safety brief. The boat was 72 feet long and barely held our 32 person group. It was pretty old and unfortunately didn’t cushion rough water very well. The girls were housed in the upper deck in four rooms of three girls each, while the guys slept in one big room under the boat scattered with small mattresses. After about 30 min into the ride, many of us began to migrate to the bottom back deck because we were told that it was the smoothest ride. Although I insisted on not taking motion sickness pills, after watching the beginning of a movie in the lounge area, I began to feel pretty sick and it was intensifying by the second. For the next hour, I took Dramamine, used an oil behind my ear that was supposed to help with motion sickness, drank a cup of hot tea that I was told would settle my stomach, and stayed near the railing along with most of the other students in case we needed to make a mad dash to the side of the boat. We were told by the crew that the first night was the worst, and after that we would be fine. Brittany and I both forced ourselves to eat a small spaghetti dinner and tried to go to sleep. Surprisingly, lying down in our beds with our eyes closed seemed to help a great deal, and by 9 o’clock, we were sound asleep. Sometime during the night, it started raining which was actually pretty relaxing as we slept. We woke up the next morning at 6:45 and had toast and cereal for breakfast. We soon anchored near a small island called Paloris Island, slipped into wet suits, and snorkeled for a majority of the day. Sadly, it was pretty cloudy and rained part of the time, creating a pretty cold environment. Later that day, we moved to Orpheus Island, snorkeled there, boated to shore to visit the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, and returned to the ship for a steak dinner!
Yesterday, we conducted a study for class off the coast of Phantom Island, an island used in the 1800’s as a hospital for lepers. We learned about the Great Barrier Reef’s zoning system and visited a couple “green zones” that were designated as no take zones, creating a much more abundant and colorful reef. Last night, we turned on huge spotlights on the side of the boat into the water and watched the vast array of sea life that came to investigate. We saw about 20 squid that stayed feeding by the boat all night, a sea snake that circled the boat for over an hour, and the biggest sea turtle I’ve ever seen visit us throughout the night. Although it was the experience of a lifetime, a ship of that size with over 30 people got rather frustrating at times. We reached Magnetic Island this morning at 7 AM and everyone was happy to finally reach land. Today is our last day here, and we leave for the Outback in about two hours. Along the way, we will stop at a few breathtaking sceneries to break up the 5 hour trip. Because the sky finally cleared up yesterday on the reef, I caught a glimpse of the stars last night when I woke up in the middle of the night. There are really no words to describe how amazing it looked and no amount of pictured could ever capture its beauty. It felt like they were right in front of me and definitely one of the most spectacular sights I have ever seen (and I’m not one to go stargazing…). I can’t wait to get to the outback, far away from any lights, and look up at the sky each night because I have heard this is the highlight of the trip. I’m having such an amazing time and the beauty of this country is simply beyond words.