Uluru to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef March 8-9

On Sunday we flew from the small airport at Uluru to Cairns and, after checking in to the hotel, had a superlative lecture by an oceanographer on the Great Barrier Reef.  The reef extends at the outer edge of the continental shelf for 2300 km along the northeastern coast of Australia.  The shelf is only 20-30 meters deep and thus provides an ideal environment for coral.  We learned about the geology, the nature of coral and about some of the fish living here.

Up at 6:00 this morning to have breakfast and get to our boat, the Ocean Spirit, a motor-sailing catamaran:

 The entire reef is protected and there are a number of boats which are permitted to take tourists out to very limited sections of the reef.  They work with one another so that only one or two boats are at the same reef at the same time.  The trip to the reef took two hours, during which time the passengers were fitted with masks, snorkels and fins.  We had brought our own masks and snorkels, which we bought for a previous trip because Joyce needed a prescription lens for her mask:

 Our visit was to Michaelmas Cay, a small islet with a protected sandy beach and a large coral reef just 100 yards or so off of the beach:

When we anchored off of the cay, the crew threw some chopped fish over the side to attract the fish, which it really did:

Our first excursion was in a semi-submersible boat with walls of windows.  While the fish were lovely, and it was like being in a tropical fish tank, I was surprised that for me the main attraction was the coral itself.  There are so many kinds and they are so amazingly beautiful.  I was able to take photos from the boat, so here are a few:

 This one is called “spaghetti coral” and waves in the flow of the water just beautifully:

After lunch on the boat we went ashore, put on our gear, and swam out to the reef.  It was just amazing.  Again, the fish were lovely, but the main attraction was the coral and here another incredible attraction were the giant clams.  Unfortunately I have no photos as I don’t have a waterproof camera.  The clams are 3-4 feet across and the shells are about 10-12 inches apart at the opening side.  The undulating edges of the clam shells are faced with brilliant green structures which our naturalist said are all eyes!  They were astonishing.  By the end of an hour I was totally baked on one side and soggy on the other and I quit.

Then, of course, a two-hour boat trip back to the harbor at Cairns which was made shorter by the champagne served as we went.  An extraordinary day!