Hey, probably the best thing we've done on this trip, but the one with the least number of photos taken (no underwater camera!). The photo above left, was taken underwater by the guy on the boat, and this is a quick copy of the print, taken with my camera.
Got collected by the Quicksilver coach at 8:15 for a ride to Port Douglas, where we boarded a big ferry for the trip to Agincourt reef, on the outer edge of the Great Barrier reef. Enjoyed demonstrations, videos & talks by the marine biologist as we went. The weather was cloudy, but not too hot at about 26, as we swam off the huge floating pontoon into the tropical water. Immediately saw lots of fish, swimming at a fairly deep area with sparse coral (it has been largely trampled & destroyed by other visitors...). Swam around for while searching for better sights & finally discovered a large, shallower area a long way out from the pontoon & boat, where the coral was extensive, colourful & teeming with fish of all sizes, colours & shapes. Just about everything we have ever seen in books or on TV, only better! The fish came up to us when we were still, sometimes right up to our faces! Beautiful striped, spotted, colourful fish, some with elongated, some with flat bodies. I'll never forget it.
But one highlight of the day was before we even got to the reef - we spotted an albino (white) humpback whale! Flippers coming up out of the water, and finally, a huge breaching leap up & over, only a few hundred meters away!
Breathtaking stuff for everyone on board.
What a day!
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