On Thursday morning, we anchored off Ribbon Reef No. 5, which is one of 10 ribbon reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is about half the size of Texas? Luckily, Steve was feeling much better and we were able to do our scheduled scuba dive at 9 a.m. The dive was very cool. Lots of coral and fishies to look at. Surprisingly though, you saw just as much snorkling as you did diving. The only nice thing about diving was that you got to be right down there with the fish. I'm really glad that we got to get a dive in. After the dive, Steve went out on another snorkling trip, while I took a snooze. I met up with Steve on the second snorkling trip, later in the afternoon. These pics are shots that Steve took with our camera in the DICAPac underwater bag that we bought in Cairns. That little bag was worth every penny!
It's so cool when a school of fish swim all around you!
This is me suiting up for the second snorkle trip. We wore stinger suits, just in case, as box jelly fish (the really dangerous ones) are in season right now. We didn't see any though!
The coral really was amazing. The colors were fabulous and it was so peaceful watching the fish swim in between the many kinds of coral. Steve and I went to the presentation that the marine biologist on the ship gave, prior to the snorkling trips and learned a lot about the types of coral and fish we were likely to see. It was pretty interesting. Did you know that you could cut a starfish into 5 pieces and as long as each little piece had a bit of the digestive organs, a new starfish will grow from each piece?? Pretty amazing what nature can do. The starfish and sea turtles are some of my favorites. He also told us about a fish called a butterfly fish that always swims in pairs. They meet their mate and stay with them forever and if one of the pair dies, the other fish dies as well, within a week. How romantic! We saw several butterfly fish swimming in pairs.
They call this brain coral...hmmm...I wonder why...?
My part fish husband. I'm sure he was some sort of ocean creature in his past life.
Getting out of the water and onto one of 3 boats that took us from the ship to the islands.
On Thursday night, they held the Captain's dinner which was a dressy event. The food was amazing as always and after dinner, the crew put on a talent show. It was quite entertaining! Most of the crew were backpackers from all over the world, who only work for a few weeks at a time and then move on. They were all very friendly. The service was good. Very laid back, just as you'd expect it to be on an Australian cruise.
Thursday night, we watched the stars from the ship's deck and wondered what constellations you see in an Australian sky?
It's so cool when a school of fish swim all around you!
This is me suiting up for the second snorkle trip. We wore stinger suits, just in case, as box jelly fish (the really dangerous ones) are in season right now. We didn't see any though!
The coral really was amazing. The colors were fabulous and it was so peaceful watching the fish swim in between the many kinds of coral. Steve and I went to the presentation that the marine biologist on the ship gave, prior to the snorkling trips and learned a lot about the types of coral and fish we were likely to see. It was pretty interesting. Did you know that you could cut a starfish into 5 pieces and as long as each little piece had a bit of the digestive organs, a new starfish will grow from each piece?? Pretty amazing what nature can do. The starfish and sea turtles are some of my favorites. He also told us about a fish called a butterfly fish that always swims in pairs. They meet their mate and stay with them forever and if one of the pair dies, the other fish dies as well, within a week. How romantic! We saw several butterfly fish swimming in pairs.
They call this brain coral...hmmm...I wonder why...?
My part fish husband. I'm sure he was some sort of ocean creature in his past life.
Getting out of the water and onto one of 3 boats that took us from the ship to the islands.
On Thursday night, they held the Captain's dinner which was a dressy event. The food was amazing as always and after dinner, the crew put on a talent show. It was quite entertaining! Most of the crew were backpackers from all over the world, who only work for a few weeks at a time and then move on. They were all very friendly. The service was good. Very laid back, just as you'd expect it to be on an Australian cruise.
Thursday night, we watched the stars from the ship's deck and wondered what constellations you see in an Australian sky? 
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