Great Barrier Reef, Cairns

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 Today we visited The Great Barrier Reef with Passions of Paradise. The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system with over 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish. Passions of Paradise is a local company that was founded in 1987 to provide trips to the Great Barrier Reef. 

We started our day early and boarded the Passions III, a 30-meter catamaran, at 7:45. We left the marina at 8:00 and began our 2-hour boat ride to our first location called Hastings Reef. Hastings Reef is a horseshoe shaped reef that is located 30 nautical miles northeast of Carins. We were very fortunate to be able to visit this portion of the Great Barrier Reef because it is closed for 11 months of the year because of wind patterns. 

 

On our way to the Reef, we learned about the citizens science program. It is important to Passions of Paradise to give back to the reef, so we had the opportunity to participate in an activity called the Eye on the Reef Monitoring program to identify and record the fish and sea creatures that were present around the reef. 

 

When we arrived at the reef we put on our wetsuits, flippers, and goggles. 

We spent 2 hours snorkeling at Hastings Reef. Some of us were able to see a sea turtle and a shark! After exploring Hastings Reef, we had lunch on the boat. We then travelled 15 minutes to our second snorkeling location called Pirates Cove. At Pirates Cove we saw lots of sea life including sea cucumbers, butterfly fish, parrot fish and jellyfish. 

 

We stayed at Pirates Cove for an hour to explore before starting our trip back to the marina. On our way back, there was an informational session from a marine biologist who talked about the reef. One important takeaway from the presentation was how he explained and debunked the common misconception about the declining health of the Great Barrier Reef. He explained that most of the time, coral can regenerate itself after bleaching. This was encouraging to hear because with continuous efforts to protect the reef, such as wearing reef safe sunscreen and reducing water pollution, it can remain a safe place for the wildlife that inhabits it and a beautiful place for future generations to visit. 

 

Even though we didn’t find nemo, we had an amazing day snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef!

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