Scuba Diving in the Great Barrier Reef!

I used to think that I was a mermaid. Family vacations consisted of endless hours filled with underwater exploration. Swimming until my toes were past the point of pruned, I would explore the bottom of pools pretending that the broken pieces of cement were secret treasures. The doctors told me that I had abnormally large lunges; I could hold my breath forever. This wasn’t good enough though. I wanted to be breathe underwater.

In elementary school we spent a lot of time learning about other countries. Mrs. Sisson would have each student line up and we would all make plane noises, spread our arms and fly around the room. The day we landed in Australia was the day I fell in love with the Great Barrier Reef. I’m sure the fact that I spent every weekend of my childhood at swim meets contributed greatly to my passion for swimming. My pieces of pool cement treasures however, were nothing in comparison to Australia’s underwater world.

A two and half hour boat ride later and we had finally arrived at my dream destination- Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Miles of crystal blue water scattered with patches of dark where the reef was overwhelmed me. If the top of the water was this stunning I could not even imagine the beauty that existed below. I suited up in stinger wet suit, grabbed a snorkel, fins and pair of goggles and jumped in quicker than any of the other one hundred people on board. The current was strong but I pushed through determined to reach my final destination. 

It really was another world. There were colonies everywhere, filled with every color reef and every size fish. I couldn’t look fast enough. Red, orange, bright purple, blue, yellow, lime green- it was unbelievable. I never wanted to surface again. It is so fascinating that an entirely different world can exist somewhere underwater. The fish were breathtaking. Every one of them was more colorful then the next. The Reef itself is so beautiful because it is so drastically different than anything else that exists in the world. Nothing above ground looks anything like it.

We woke up early AGAIN and walked down to the Cairns marina where our gorgeous yacht awaited us- I really could get used to this kind of lifestyle. Everyone climbed on board, and headed immediately to the top of the boat in a hurry to land a prime tanning spot. The jets started up and the yacht took off over the water. I had been anticipating this day since the moment our plane touched down in Australia back in February. The boat ride was a little choppy but I didn't even notice. The water surrounding us was more beautiful than any site I had seen since being in Australia. After about two hours of looking around and sun tanning we all headed below deck for some safety scuba diving instructions. Our scuba diving group was assigned to one of the last spots leaving plenty of time for snorkeling beforehand. As soon as I could, I hopped into the water and took off towards the reef. It was unbelievable. Endless colors, reef, fish and water. I could not get enough of the other world that existed below the waters surface.

After a few hours of snorkeling I took a break from the water and headed back to the yacht. It was almost our turn to scuba dive! I grabbed some food and sat outside in the warm sun until it was our groups turn to go. The instructor quickly reviewed some of the rules again and then strapped the huge air tanks to each one of our backs. We looked just like real scuba drivers, wet suits, fins, snorkels and air tanks. Our instructor linked arms with us and we hopped down into the water ready to descend. The process of scuba diving took some time to get used to. Breathing into a mask was a little more difficult than I had imagined. Everyone in my group managed to master it, but some of the other groups did have trouble. Obviously, a human body is not naturally used to being able to breathe underwater and I think some people were a little freaked out by the process. I just kept reminding myself to breathe in and out as our group took off deeper under the water. It was amazing. Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef is something that I have wanted to do for my entire life and I could not believe that the opportunity had actually presented itself. We finned around for awhile taking in all of the difference sites. Endless reef, fish and sea creatures consumed my attention. I did not want to surface again. We scubaed around a little bit more before heading back up to the talk. I took one more look around and promised myself to make it back here again one day. It is amazing that so many bright colors can exist underwater. We surfaced and spent the rest of boat ride home chatting about everything seen underwater.

That night the tour guides had arranged a bar hop throughout the city of Cairns with transport on a roof top party bus. We all loaded onto the top of the bus and headed to the first bar, music blasting.