Oct 30th 2010 --- Great Barrier Reef (Cairns)

Today we began our two-day, one night live aboard Great Barrier Reef adventure.We were picked up from our hostel at 8am by "Cairns Dive Centre" and transferred to their headquarters for the legal forms and prep talk.Here we paid our $30 reef tax which helps toward the protection of such a unique natural wonder... conservation at its finest!From the harbour it was about a two-hour ferry ride out to where our live aboard boat was anchored.We boarded the MT Kangaroo and were given the grand tour, shown to our rooms and then served lunch.After lunch, we finally got in the water!We started with a guided snorkel.Our guide was French and really funny.He took us to all the good spots, helped us identify some species and made sure that we all were capable of snorkeling!We had perfect weather today with clear sunny skies and a temperature lingering around 30·C.The water temperature was very refreshing, but nowhere near as cold as Canadian waters!

After our first snorkel, we came on the top deck to soak up some sun and kick back while we cruised to our next spot on the reef.Here Al and I did introductory dives (12m) with an instructor.Allie had never dived before and thought it would be a great way to conquer her fear of sharks and get accustomed to losing her peripheral vision while wearing goggles.I did an introductory dive last time I was on the Great Barrier Reef (4 years ago) and loved it, so I opted to go again!It is such an unbelievable feeling being able to breathe underwater; something that I find very soothing and relaxing.It's like I feel at home when I'm in the water.We were lucky to get some great video footage and pictures while exploring the underwater world.We swam with a loggerhead turtle, giant clams, Nudibranchs, sea cucumbers and millions of fish including: clown fish (aka Nemo), Cuttlefish, Parrotfish and Starfish.When we surfaced after our dive, we decided to stay wet and do a second snorkel before grabbing dinner on board (rice, meat pastry, grilled veggies and fruit salad).

This evening I'm just relaxing, enjoying the warm night breeze on the upper deck and taking in the star-lit skies with no light pollution in sight!