Aussieland Day Seven: Cairns

Our last full day in Australia ended up being my absolute favorite day of the entire trip. We woke up in the morning, grabbed our swimsuits and towels and headed to the marina. Just past the lagoon at the end of the boardwalk is the marina where there are tons of boats just waiting to take you out on an adventure! We booked an all day snorkeling and diving expedition on the great barrier reef with Reef Experience. They were well priced, they feed you a great lunch and their staff was warm and friendly. We rented an underwater camera. They had a photographer on board taking photos but it was a large group for just one photographer and we really wanted our own camera. They also sold pouches to make your phone waterproof which would be a good slightly cheaper option.

We spent the morning in one reef spot and then retreated to the boat for shade and lunch while they took us to a second reef spot. We both took an introductory dive which was absolutely amazing! If you've ever thought about trying to scuba dive, you can't go wrong with the Great Barrier Reef!

One thing the staff did not go over was what kind of things you would see. We saw tons of different kinds of fish and we know there are turtles but unfortunately, we didn't see any. However, we did see a black tip reef shark. He wasn't huge by any means, about 3-4 feet long at most and skinny. It was startling to see and it definitely got my heart racing!

It was a full day at sea and I had the sunburn to prove it. If you ever have the chance to go to Australia, the great barrier reef is an absolute MUST! I discovered diving wasn't really my thing but I love to snorkel and reef is so shallow that snorkeling gets you a front row seat to incredibly diverse and colorful sea life.