Goodbye GBR Hello Port Douglas

Fun fact: Did you know that clownfish has one dominant female? If that female dies, the remaining males fight to be alpha and turn into a female!

 It had all caught up with us. We couldn’t muster ourselves to get up for the sunrise dive, our exhaustion out-trumped the Asianness of squeezing everything out of something we’ve paid for as well as MOFO.

We caught up with Amy over breakfast and made a plan for the our last day on the boat. Mal and the children completed the rest of the required skills session over the next two dives whilst I enjoyed leisurely snorkels. Although to be honest, leisurely was somewhat of a stretch as I always felt tired after each session! After lunch, the diving paperwork was finalised and voila! We now have 3 certified divers in the family!

We made up for our lack of Asianness in the morning with some bargaining with the boat photographer. Mal was delighted with his success and we were fortunate that he did as we discovered later that we had problems with our own footage (keep reading).

Our rental camera was pot luck. Half the time we couldn’t see the footage we were taking, and we couldn’t take the SD card out of its waterproof casing to check on the laptop. We were very excited to see the videos and photos that we took only to find out after we had arrived at Port Douglas that we couldn’t read the SD card! At least we had the professional photographer’s photos thankfully.

Waffles with maple glazed bacon...mmm

Last two dive sessions

They are certified!!

Lunch - beef schnitzel burger. It was really good!

Farewelling the amazing Amy. We never tip but we did this time!

We packed and waited to transfer across to the Reef Experience at 1430 to take us back to the mainland. We arrived back at the Marina at Cairns well before 1630. Once there, we apparently picked an uber that took the longest time just to drive 1.5km…we finally got to East Coast Car Rentals to pick up our Kia. The kids said it was so small it could have been a go-cart. Too bad, it was the only car that didn’t cost a fortune…

Our drive to port Douglas was only 56 min but felt long because we were so tired. We ditched plans to visit Brian & family and checked into the Pullman Sea Temple Resort. Our 2-bedroom apartment was lovely but the reviews will have to wait until tomorrow. Although Mal and I were so happy to see a King bed...lol..how we miss a BIG bed!

We had a dinner reservation at Zinc at 8:15pm. By this stage everyone was grumpy. We were fortunate to be able to dine earlier and we were out of there by 8:15pm. The general mood was considerably lifted by the sight of green and gold Aussie fruit loops, and creamy honey oatmeal at the convenience store next door. So much for the wagyu steak, salmon carpaccio, squid salad and seafood linguine we just had!

Thank you Reef Encounter for our phenomenal experience at the Great Barrier Reef. We would definitely recommend it if you are interested in diving.

Our "go-cart"

Driving north to Port Douglas

Only have time to take a photo of the bedrooms...

Dinner at Zinc. Please make a booking in advance if interested

A very well made seafood linguine. Just wanted something familiar and comforting

Yeah...this was what made everyone happy. Sheesh!

From Sunrise to Sunset

 

Sunrise dive. Apparently a great time to dive as the reef wakes up

Amy with the kids

Starts off pitch black and then brightens as the sun rises

The children were so into diving that they were up and ready for the sunrise dive well before their wake-up call from Amy, and then proceeded to wake us up…so much for a sleep in for me! The rest of the morning was a whirlwind of dives for the Mal and the kids, who completed their 3rd by 11am. The boat had moved to Hastings Reef for the 1030 water session. I had established a routine of lazy leisurely solo snorkels on a bright pink noodle. I would not snorkel any other way now!

Lunch was a surprisingly tasty chickpea salad with grilled chicken. Mal and the children had to study for the theory part of the course and so I had a nap. Afternoon tea was my personal favourite of sweet potato fries. Life was good.

The boat had moved again to a new dive site, “Twin Peaks” of Saxon reef. We opted for a marine biology tour snorkel. Amy led pulling a floatation device behind her so we can hang on while she gives the spiel on what we were seeing. A green turtle swimming amongst us was the highlight! He came within half of metre of us! It was a tough act seeing as the wildlife was colourful and abundant. It really was THE best snorkel excursion we’ve done. Having Amy there helped a lot. We didn’t have to worry about navigation, we knew what we were looking and why they were interesting or cool, and we didn’t have to worry about drowning.

A reward for exercising at sunrise...breakfast!

0830...time for dive number 2 of the day

Thanks photographer for snapping the snorkeler as well!

Trumpet fish seen on our "marine biology" snorkel tour

I'm not sure that being underwater helps with being photogenic...

Lunch. A very yummy salad. Looks are deceiving!

By now, the cold and tiredness had claimed Jonah as a victim who opted out of the night dive. Lara and Malcolm soldiered on! Jonah and I stayed dry and enjoyed hot drinks onboard. Here is the account from of the night dive from Mal:

The night dive was spectacular. The big boys of the reef certainly came out to play. There were lots of reef sharks (half of them bigger than Jonah) but we expected them, and they glided past us without inducing any anxiety. The giant trevally (GT) were probably harmless, but they took some getting used to. We swam through plenty of schools of tiny fish with hundreds of GTs dashing around trying to eat them. Lara and I both tucked our fingers in although Amy didn’t seem to worry. They often swam at full speed right towards us then turned away at the last minute. Occasionally they’d bump into a fin – they seemed to just be annoyed that we were a thing in the way rather than showing any particular aggression. After the initial shock of jumping into a feeding frenzy we swam around and were able to really enjoy the greyscale, eerie wonders of the night-time reef. The little fish trying to hide were ridiculously cute… never thought I’d say that about a puffer fish! It was made even more wonderful, by being welcomed by hot towels, straight from the dryer, as soon as we were back on the boat – thanks Amy!

There was no rest for the wicked. Amy pushed the divers through the last theory session before they sat their exam. Young Jonah top scored the exam with heavy complaining that he would have got a perfect score if Mal hadn't led him astray on one question...and with that the children were officially drained of all energy!

The night dive team

The stay warm indoors team

Lamb rack for dinner

More study 😂

Sitting the exam...Jonah top scored the exam!

Jonah's gone!

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.

Getting ready for their first dive

Jonah getting some assistance as his tank is 15kg!

Yup that's me about to snorkle

Nemo!

Very happy after first dive. So much so, they decided they want to be certified

The books/games area

Menu for the day and the self service drinks area

Mal is set

Today's afternoon tea

A map of every site that we visit is provided

Sunset onboard

Getting to know your equipment. Theory of certification starts

Entree!

Meatballs on fried rice

Mocktail?! Yes please!