We had an early start as we were heading out on our full day tour to Lady Musgrave Island. We were at the marina by 7.15am and not long after this time we were on our very large and comfortable catamaran heading to the pontoon near the island. We thought we had pretty good day as far as the weather went with light winds, beautiful clear skies and a warm maximum temperature. Also the boat wasn’t full so we had plenty of room to move about. The water in the marina was flat calm but as we headed further out into the ocean, the seas had developed a large swell and the boat was rocking! We had a 2 hour journey of 50 nautical miles to reach our pontoon. Rob and I had read all the information and had taken a sea-sickness tablet before leaving. We were both fine but unfortunately, all around us people were starting to feel ill and be sick! On our journey out to the pontoon we saw several whales, some really putting on a display by jumping high out of the water, several times. Once on the beautiful pontoon, we split into 3 groups. Our group was to snorkel first. Both Rob and I thought we might need to hire a wetsuit but we were both surprised how comfortable we were in the water without one. We spent 40 minutes snorkelling in the water and saw the magnificent Barrier Reef in all its glory with beautiful coloured fish everywhere. I spotted a reef shark but it didn’t worry me at all. Once our snorkelling was finished we were then offered a delicious smorgasbord lunch. There was plenty of food and Rob enjoyed the prawns! Following lunch we were then taken on a small boat to Lady Musgrave Island, a short journey. There we met a guide who took us for a walk on the island, explaining about the history of this coral cay and much about the flora (mainly trees) and the fauna (mainly birds). Following this our glass bottom boat came back and collected us and then took us on a lovely tour of the reef again. Our guide highlighted the “turtle cleaning stations” where huge turtles scraped against the coral to clean themselves as well as small fish who would also help clean the turtles. It was described by our guide a “day spa” for turtles. We returned to the pontoon and there was enough time for me to have another snorkel. Rob had changed out of his bathers so he didn’t worry and spent his time checking out the great facilities on the pontoon. You can stay overnight on this pontoon. Our day on the reef finished with fish-feeding. Soon it was time to return to our boat which was tied up to the pontoon. Our 2 hour trip back to the marina was much calmer. The water was almost like glass. We finished this wonderful day off by walking to the local pub and having a great dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment