27. Great Barrier Reef - Agincourt Reef

Friday 26 September

Today is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) cruise. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system. Composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, its stretches over 2,600 kms over an area of approx. 344,400 square kms. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia.

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world's biggest single structure made by living organisms. The GBR has been a World Heritage Site since 1981 and is classed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.


I walked to Marina Mirage. The sea was very rough and choppy (I already knew this previously) 25 - 30 knots and boarded the Quicksilver catamaran at 9.30am. The Crew advised everybody take two sea-sick pills - a crew member was giving them out. I did tell the lady I never get sea-sick and didn't need them, to which she replied, it was going to be so rough I would be advised to take them. I thanked her, accepted the tablets and chucked them in the bin later.

I may not be able to swim a stroke, but I am blessed with an iron stomach. While most of the passengers were decidedly "green" with some so pasty-looking and quietly looking like death warmed up, I had a ball. The return journey was rougher and I knelt on the front seats and watched as the sea rose up and down and up and down and the boat dipped up and down. That was fun.

On The Catamaran

The sea was so choppy, I had to hold on with two hands for this photo otherwise I'd have fallen over.


Map showing cruise route

Quicksilver goes to Agincourt Reef which is in the Outer Reef - a trip of around 90 minutes. We had morning tea and shortbreads on boarding and the boat left at 10.00am. A half an hour later there was a Marine Biologist presentation shown on the television screens followed by a snorkelling demonstration.


Quicksilver

We arrived at the reef at 11.30 and hopped onto the pontoon. The semi-subs departs every fifteen minutes from the rear of the platform, and I did this first and saw the famous coral.

The Pontoon

Lunch was at 12 noon and a veritable feast it was too! There was a hot and cold buffet - meat, chicken, prawns, pastas, salads and tropical fruit. I had two chicken drumsticks, sliced corned beef and ham, potato salad, with tomato wedges and lettuce. The pineapple slices were delicious. A glass of red wine completed my selection.


Stinger Suit

I wore bathers and hired a stinger suit -$5, and sat in the water of Agincourt Reef - I enjoyed that immensly.

Agincourt Reef

The GBR. Agincourt Reef is a series of many smaller reefs. It has at least 16 different dive sites including Point Break, Three Sisters, Horseshoe Reef and the Fish Bowl. There are pieces of a Taiwanese wreck featured at The Wreck and giant clams and Maori wrasse appear at all the sites. Some of the fish there are yellow-striped barracuda, lionfish, drummer, unicornfish, clownfish and their host anemones in the shallower sections