Great Barrier Reef

Today (Monday) we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. It was lots of fun. We went to Upolo Cay for the 1st stop on the boat. I saw tons of fish. We moved to a new spot & then we ate lunch; I ate too fast & felt sick. After a little while, I went back in the water. Then I saw a BIG (I mean BIG) blue fish. After that we rode back home.

Weather: Same as Sunday.

Mom/Pam says:

The reef is huge - it's the only living structure on earth visible from the moon. It's bigger than the UK. The reef itself is actually made up of 3 things: mineral, animal & bacteria. The 1st spot we snorkeled at was a cay which was literally the smallest sand bar - I had ever seen. It was much more colorful and many more types of fish, clams, corals, etc. We saw a few Nemo fish ie clown fish. The water was much rougher & deeper. While snorkeling you could hear a faint tinkling sound - it was the fish munching on the coral. Amanda dove down to pet a giant clam. Then we moved a away from the cay & snorkeled some more. The giant fish they saw was a humphead maori wrasse. I missed it b/c my mask was leaking & went back for a new one. Alas, no turtles today. I did see the very poisonous rock fish which did scare me. They're camouflaged very well & I only saw it b/c its eyes were open. I couldn't find it when I tried to show it to Amanda. The whole experience was really fascinating.