Day 7 - Michaelmas Cay (Great Barrier Reef)

The day began bright & early!!! We had to get ready for our Great Barrier Reef adventure! A bus picked us up at our hotel & took us to the port to board the Ocean Spirit Cruises. Ocean Spirit Cruises is a 5-star catamaran. Aboard this boat we were able to relax as we cruised an hour along the water to Michaelmas Cay. Upon arrival, we boarded a small boat that took us to the beach where our snorkeling began. It was very hard trying to walk in the sand with flippers on while trying to get Amanda ready to go into the water without getting knocked down by the waves. Once out, the roughness of the waves subsided & the relaxation of viewing the underwater life began. What amazing sites we saw!!! Even though the weather was cloudy, the reef was full of color! The kids did so good snorkeling! Here is a good one of Justin ready to dive in.

We even had an encounter with a green turtle that was almost missed.  Ron was busy taking underwater pictures of fish when he felt a tug on his arm.  Tanner was trying frantically to get his attention, pointing in an excited fashion.  They both quickly swam closer to the turtle and swan along side for a couple of minutes.  In this picture Tanner is trying to touch the turtle's back.  There are also two videos (the second is a beautiful example of amateur videography) for this on YouTube:

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJrybVKDbVg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LJ6HbASbOg

Tanner also tried to touch the giant clams to make them close.  This he could do without them swimming away!!

There were also a couple of rays that Ron got to see close enough to nearly touch.  Here is one:

Check out the ray on video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyPTjXtLuJo

Michaelmas Cay is also a bird sanctuary.  There are literally thousands of birds all over the island.  A video was captured as well, but Ron forgot to take it out of underwater mode so there is no sound (the birds though were anything but quiet) and the color is a little off.  See it at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hZOZvjz0Sk

Amanda was a trooper during the long day...but she was caught red handed taking a break.

 

Here are a couple of other shots:

The boat ride back was nice & relaxing.  Justin & Amanda seem to think so too!!!