This has been a wonderful day. At 9 a.m. we set off for the Opal Reef on the Calypso boat. The journey took about 90 minutes and the sea was quite choppy, which luckily didn't bother any of us as the Andersons all have strong sea legs. We stopped at one point to watch a hump-backed whale; it came very near to the boat, rose up, and flicked up its big tail as it dived down. When we arrived at the reef the water was very calm because we were sheltered from the open sea. The boat pulled up right next to the reef which looked turquoise compared to the dark blue sea beyond it, you could see the coral reef under the water. We had a safety talk and then were let loose. I was absolutely amazed. The reef surpassed all my expectations. We snorkelled through the shallow water over the coral, which was teeming with a truly huge variety of fish with all sorts of bright colours. There was also a huge variety of coral; some looked like huge sponges, some like trees, some like brains! Some was still and some moved about in the water or had tiny moving fronds on it, and it was all sorts of colours, from cream to reds and blues. I don't know the names of all the fish we saw, but one of my favourites was the parrot fish. They have little beaks that they scrape the coral with, and if you listen carefully you can hear the scraping clearly! The males are bright blue and the females are yellow. We also saw clown fish and a fish that I think was called sweet lips because it had great big lips. There were shy little black fish that looked as if their sides had been sprinkled with glitter, and fish whose markings looked like big false eyes. There were shoals of tiny electric blue fish, and all sorts of fish with amazing combinations of colours and patterns. We also saw dark red starfish and giant clams whose edges snapped shut if you got too close to them. And we had lots of time to look at them, the boat stopped in three different places beside the reef and we had nearly two hours in the water in total. There was plenty of room to relax on the boat and we got lunch and drinks and coffees. The crew were very helpful and it felt very safe; they did lots of head counts during which we all had to stand still. Jamie heard a rumour that some people had been left out on the reef recently, but that they had been rescued successfully once it was realised, I don't know what company they were with because there are quite a few that operate out of Port Douglas. We went on a guided snorkel with one of the crew; he told us about the coral and showed us a sea cucumber which is like a hoover for the reef and cleans it by passing everything through its digestive system. At lunch time one of the crew gave us an informal lecture about the reef and its inhabitants. All five of us loved the experience, and we had a great time discussing it all at great length when we were having a very nice dinner in The Tin Shed later.
Only one drawback to this lovely day and it was entirely my own fault. I put suncream on all of me except the tops of my thighs, which are usually covered by shorts. When I was snorkelling the top backs of my legs were sorely burned and I am having to write this blog standing up because they are so tender. I have put lots of after sun cream on, but needless to say I got scant sympathy from the Anderson boys who thought it was quite amusing, until I was applying my after sun cream (discreetly in the apartment); they looked disgusted and said "Can't you do that somewhere else?" James has been affectionately calling me "burnt bot" and "roasted rump"!
Never mind, it has been a day to remember for all of us.
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