FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef, our home for the next 2 nights on the live-aboard Reef Encounter

We must have been tired as no one woke up until 6:14am. It was a great feat getting dressed, packed and ready for breakfast right on opening time of 6:30am! Hotel buffet breakfast are a family perennial favourite, especially if they are free! We had plenty of time to eat, check out and then walk the short 3 minutes over to the marina for our transfer out to the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef needs no introduction. It is sadly dying, having had multiple major bleaching events as well as being hammered by cyclones in the past decade. The children have been everywhere around the world and it seemed like sacrilege to not have visited the reef in our own backyard. This trip came about to ensure they see it while it is still in decent condition.

Hotel buffet breakfast! Our favourite!!

The "cold selection" all in individual servings to be covid safe

We had booked 2 nights of the “Top Deck” experience (rather than the generic one) with Reef Encounter. It was the nicest “live-aboard” that we could find availability for online when we booked the trip back in January! The initially plan was to see the reef based off one of the more northern islands such as Lizard Island or Orpheus Island, but both were sold out and the transfers were exorbitant. The next best thing was to stay out on the reef itself. We were able to choose the number of nights we wanted to stay on the Reef Encounter. The boat stays out on the reef and guests are transferred on and off with their day reef excursion boat. Or if you had spare cash, you could helicopter in and out. We did not have spare cash, so the boat transfer it was.

We were introduced to Amy, who would be our dedicated guide for our stay, as we checked in at the marina to board the transfer vessel. Amy also happened to a be a marine biologist and a photographer! Bonus! At least someone would be able to use the underwater camera that we had rented…As the day progressed, we found out that Amy pretty much stuck by us the whole time, helping us with forms, act as our dive instructor, be our snorkel guide if we should so choose, and making sure we were comfortable. She was awesome.

Once onboard, we were taken to the wheelhouse, the air-conditioned section where the captain drives with comfy seats and offered tea and coffee. The plebs sat downstairs. As a plate of bacon and egg rolls was brought in, we realised that breakfast was included…there goes the diet.

The transfer to the reef was reasonably rough, so anyone prone to seasickness would be well advised to have some prophylaxis at least 20 minutes before hand. Mal had his trusty scopolamine patch and it appeared he survived relatively unscathed. The children and I had a nap so couldn’t really verify that he didn’t vomit during the 90 minute trip. Once on the Reef Encounter itself, it was much more stable, although there was still continuous gentle rocking.

After the requisite safety talks, we were taken to our cabins to settle in and unpack. They were actually quite nice! Amy then took us to get fitted for our masks, fins and wetsuits. Lunch was served at 12pm and we had our first water session at 1:30pm. To cut a long story short, I didn’t end up diving because of recently flared up asthma, so would be snorkelling only on this trip. The children LOVED diving, so much so we decided to do an open water course. They did well, having to swim 200m in open ocean, and tread water for 10 minutes! They will go through the requisite skills sessions with Amy along the trip, mixing it up with dives just for fun.

0730 at the marina for our transfer to the reef

Signing our lives away and completing paperwork for the diving sessions

We didn't know that breakfast was provided...didn't stop us from gorging a second breakfast

Our cabin for the next 2 nights!

Welcome snacks in our cabin

Nice touches

Teeny tiny showers...

Getting fitted for masks, fins and wetsuits

Crate for every room to store the wetsuit as it is strictly dry in the indoor areas

View of the reef from the boat

Here is the daily schedule!!

Lunch time

A better than expected pesto pasta

Just in case we wanted to know what we saw..

Let's hope we get good footage from this rental

My mind is a jumbled mess so here are some observations/facts/thoughts in no particular order:

The boat is fully airconditioned on all inside areas. The AC temperature is COLD and can’t be changed
Meals are included as well as afternoon tea at 3pm. Free tea and coffee and water.
Food is decent, healthy and fresh. The meal times are fixed to fit in with the dive schedule.
Alcohol, soft drinks and other snacks like chocolate or chips are extra although we did receive some included drinks with the top deck arrangement.
6 water sessions a day, can dive up to 4
Night dives are also offered but at an extra cost
The boat moves to different spots twice a day – after the 1st water session and after the 4th
Today we boarded the boat at the pyramids on Saxon Reef before moving to Norman Reef which had a landmark ominously called Shark Mountain. We did indeed saw many many sharks that evening…
You do get data coverage out on the reef! It is just sketchy…
The air is cooler than expected out in the open water. Definitely noticeably colder than back on land.
The water in the daytime is a lovely 24 degrees, but by the end 3:30pm water session, you do start to feel very cold after you come out of the water

To end today’s post, we are happy to report that we have loved our first day so far on the Reef Encounter! Whilst it is not luxurious, it is certainly extremely comfortable, clean, well equipped and well run. No riff raff, yobos or people doing it on the cheap (I suppose hard to tell as our borders are closed!) but rather a clientele who are keen on diving or want to have a good first experience. An eight hour ban on diving after alcohol and early starts ensures that it is very family friendly.