Wow. Another early start but a beautiful walk along the esplanade from our apartment here in Cairns to the Reef Magic terminal. It was a 90 minute trip out to Moore Reef; it was a bit rough and both Liam and I were feeling a bit sick - Cliff solved the problem by having a sleep. The catamaran took us out to their private reef location where there was a platform, where we would snorkle and relax for the next five hours. There was one poor guy who'd been sick on the outward trip and we later saw him laid out on a bench on the platform for the entire duration- what a waste. Bit of an expensive boat ride for him.
We booked a guided snorkle tour with one of their marine biologists, Samantha, which was well worth it. Samantha got our snorkling equipment organised and we were quickly out in the clear, warm (23 degrees C/73 degrees F) and blue water. There were examples of over 400 types of coral and 1500 types of colourful fish. We met Wally - a resident Maori Wrasse, he was huge and soft and a bit slimy to the touch.
We all had our pictures taken with a huge sea cucumber. They are mostly made up of water so they go kind of limp when you hold them.
After that we went out on their semi-submersible to see the reef from a different angle - I started to feel a bit sick again and didn't manage much of the buffet lunch. We got a waterproof bag for our camera so we could try to capture some of what we were seeing, but unfortunately with the movement of the water, it was a bit like point it at something and hope to catch it. Luckily they have a really good on-board photographer, Martina, who was on hand to do the honours.
There was lots more snorkling in the afternoon and to round off the day Cliff had a massage while Liam and I relaxed up on the sundeck. And we weren't even sick on the way home.
Quick plug: if you ever find yourself in this beautiful part of the world we think that Reef Magic are the people to go out onto the reef with.
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