Without going into a lot of detail, I had to psychologically pump myself up for today. You see, I have a fear of everything in the water, including fish. Gabe on the other hand has a fear of deep open bodies of water. That creates for two hot messes in the DEEP BLUE SEA!!!!
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World -- I would be hating myself forever if I passed on this opportunity and/or was a wuss to not snorkel while I was there. We debated our options as there were many different companies, size of boats, locations, etc, and I couldn't be more pleased with our experience in the sea.
The Quicksilver Ships
The SilverSonic catamaran was ours in the middle - We picked the ship that stopped at three sites and gave us five hours at the reef snorkeling.
Travelling at 32 knots, Gabe was sick as a dog. Seriously, it broke my heart seeing how nauseous he was. I kept trying to check on him, but he could barely even talk ... so he nodded instead!!
It was actually quite stressful because when we checked in, we noticed our friends weren't on the list for the snorkel trip as their reservation got set for another day, and they were waiting at their hotel for the shuttle to pick them up. Thankfully, Gabe's persistence to get in touch with them, hold the boat, and get them to the pier occurred right in the nick of time. This trip wouldn't have been the same without our Aussie buds since we planned to do it together!
The sites were just stunning and the guides were great about telling us the most ideal places to snorkel.
Loving the water
They had just called us all in, but I stayed out to get one cool photo to document me and a WHOLE LOT of sea!
**There were times when one of us would get pushed away by the current and with so many people around it was easy to get lost, so we depended on swimsuits and the colored fins to locate the other!
Gabe stayed up top for one dive as he wasn't feeling too hot :(
I lured him back in for the third dive!
I have to admit that I am SO VERY PROUD of Gabe and myself for conquering our fears together. It is one thing to see this stuff on TV, but to be in the water where anything is possible is a completely different story. Secondly, I am thankful for not having a weak stomach as people were puking everywhere. Seriously, it was gross. I don't understand how the staff could handle that each and every day as one lady threw up all over the back of one of the guides. We learned the best place to be was on the back of the ship with a breeze and not in enclosed quarters!
Excited to land as we all were quite anxious after a long day at sea!
I cannot wait to develop my underwater camera as we took so many pictures!! I am praying that at least a few turn out :)
Neither one of us ate much on the ship as I am not one for buffets, and Gabe assumed food with a 2hr trip back to shore was a no-go!
So, we showered up nicely and grabbed dinner at
Bistro 3 - Modern Australian Italian
photo found here
*My mom commented on all the food pictures,
and I want to remember what we ate years from now!
Linguini pasta with pomodoro sauce, tiger prawns, picked spanner crab, kalamata olives, fresh herbs and shaved parmesan
Local wild Barramundi fillet with crushed kipfler potatoes and roast garlic, sautéed green vegetables, shellfish bisque velouté
Chocolate banana amoothie, Classic crème brulée, and Chocolate and hazelnut brownie
Only Day 11 and 12 left!
To be continued ....
10 comments:
Your trip looks amazing! I'm thinking Australia is definitely on my list of places to go!
Ok, so glad to know someone else has the same fear as me! I have always wanted to try snorkeling, but have never worked up the courage! Pictures are amazing, the water is so blue!
I hear you! We went snorkeling on our honeymoon and I made my husband hold my hand the entire time. I also had to consciously breathe slowly so as not to hyperventilate! Can't wait to see the underwater pictures!
Way to go on conquering the fears!! I love water, but its vastness in the ocean can be soooo intimidating. I freak out when I think about sharks..so yeah..that's my fear. Like totally freak out.
I am salivating over all these pics and fun!
I've been catching up on your trip and goodness gracious, y'all covered some ground! What an amazing time and how fun that you made friends along the way!
Well done with the snorkelling!
Im from the Far South Coast of NSW (6 hour drive south of syndey) and grew up at the beach but i still have a huge fish, crab, stingray and shark fear and I always refuse to go snorkelling.
However im headed to the Maldives next year and guess im gonna have to get over that fear pretty quick cause it sounds like ill be snorkelling every day.
:)
xx
OMG I remember all about the ride back from the reef.. Totally disgusting.. Eew!
Glad you got to conquer that fear! It's definitely a different experience.
Such beautiful pics!!! Glad you guys had fun:-)
I am scared of all things in the water too! Would love to go snorkeling in the GBR. But, last time I attempted to snorkel I starting having a panic attack!
Wow - good for you both!! Whenever I don't want to do something I always think of the quote "...you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the things you did...." And I'm sure this memory will stay with you forever. What an amazing experience! I'd love to do that!
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