Steph's Travelogue: Day 16: GREAT BARRIER REEF

WHAT A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! To quote a little girl as she got out of the water "This. is. the. best. day. of. my. life." I think the PV kids (and adults) would agree! The GBR is everything you think it is...and more. We took a catamaran out to the reef this morning. Best advice - take some dramamine before you get on. The water is pretty smooth here in the cove, but once we got out past Fitzroy Island...ka-bam! Waves! Boat was a rockin'! We docked next to a pontoon...which is best described as a quanset hut/airplane hanger with picnic tables. They have a huge area roped off and it was free snorkeling amongst the bueys. There were glass-bottom boats & a semi-submersible boat you could ride in. Big buffet lunch. Good stuff. The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect. Barely a cloud in the sky! We rented an underwater camera so will upload those pics after they burn them to a CD for me - Eddie wins for best pic - great shots of a turtle!! After about 4-5 hours out there, we headed back to port and then back to the hotel. We all had an amazing time out on the Reef today - pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime experience. :)
We have another early departure tomorrow as we fly from Cairns back down to Sydney, then to Dallas and then finally Moline.
Such a great adventure we have been on - ready to come home, but only probably to grab some more clothes and head back out again.
I'll post pics later!
See you soon!!
~Steph :)