Great Barrier Reef

The great barrier reef was my favorite day of the trip so far. I had been looking forward to it since reading the itinerary and to actually be there was amazing. Snorkeling was so interesting and thrilling that the only time I got out of the water was for lunch. Tyler and I exploded ever inch of the  designated snorkeling area and saw some pretty amazing things. One thing I learned is that fish, specifically Wally can actually recognize people and act friendly towards them. When I first got in that water, I saw this massive fish that kept playing with all the workers that frequently swim there. Wally was acting like a dog, following them around and getting petted. He didn’t show much interest to me, but after about an hour swimming in his waters he finally came up to Tyler and I and rubbed up against us. Later in the day, he would see Tyler and I waving and him and swim through the crowd of people trying to pet him and come right up to us, doing a few circles and almost playing with us. This was my favorite part of my day and Tyler got an awesome video of us and Wally. Another thing I learned is that sharks are not as aggressive as people believe them to be. On our snorkeling safari I spotted a shark down below us. I tried pointing it out to Tom, but it had vanished into the depths on the reef. I kept looking behind me to make sure this predator wasn’t going to sneak up behind me and make me his dinner. A few minutes later there he was again, swimming around right below our group. As everyone panicked, our tour guide swam down 25 feet towards the shark  just to prove to us that we were not in danger. This was a crazy experience for me, being out on the open ocean with one of the most feared ocean predators right below me. I now know all sharks are not like they are in the movie Jaws. Another thing that I learned is that the great barrier reef is not just one single reef. There is hundreds upon hundreds of miles of reef that makes up the entire great barrier reef. It is broken down into thousands of separate reefs that are scattered around. They are categorized based on the shape of the reef and weather or not it goes above the water or not. Coral grows at such a slow pace, the reef has taken decades to build to the size it is today. It was an amazing experience to see such a historic place in person and have the opportunity to snorkel around and see the beauty of it. I will never forget our day at the Great Barrier Reef and am grateful for the opportunity to see it in person. 

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