Great Barrier Reef

12/1/2002

Cairns ("Cans"), QLD.

I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef!

That was not just fantastic fun, but a real personal achievement - I've always been rather terrified of drowning, and it was very frightening to be more or less pushed overboard a small boat into the sea. You know those travel brochures that show people wading in shallow waters with some snorkelers in the background, with an obliging sand bar or island to stand on? That was not our experience. Our cruise ship sailed overnight to Hedley Reef from Cairns, QLD, and with a great deal of excitement I looked out from the porthole in the morning expecting to see the obliging sand bar from which to launch myself, and saw...nothing. Just the blue, open, endless sea. For a moment I thought we must have gotten lost at sea overnight, but then Rob pointed out to me the patches of water that was a different shade of blue, signaling the location of the reefs.

The cruise ship launched small boats to take us close to the reef (ships are not allowed to anchor at the reef for fear of damaging it), and then I was instructed to 'step into the water'. May I also bring up at this point that the sea was nothing like the glassy smoothness of travel brochures? It was not exactly choppy, but there were some good-sized swells. I had the misfortune of 1) stepping in just as a big swell came up over my head and 2) a mask that was too loose and therefore immediately filled with seawater. Sputtering and terrified, I flopped back into the boat and refused to budge for the rest of the morning. I felt like such a loser.

Before you scoff at me for being an egregious coward, I did redeem myself in the afternoon. After refitting the mask to get a tight fit, reassuring myself that with the vest I won't drown, and a new determination to see the coral and fish up close after a glass bottom boat tour (which was nice but was really just a teaser), I bravely leapt into the open sea (again), but this time I forced myself to calm down and swim towards the reef, confident of a rich reward once I got there.

And what a reward it was! It was exactly like on the Discovery Channel with Jacques Cousteau. Masses of coral in brilliant blues reds purples pinks under a soft green light filtered through the shallow water; tiny coral polyps feeding in the millions, covering their calcium carbonate homes with a velour skin; thousands of fish, some solitary, some in schools, skimmed and shimmered around us in sparkling streaks of color and movement (our favorite was the parrotfishes, with their iridescent blues and purples and their adorable little beaks, plucking algae off the coral); blue and red starfishes laying around in languor; fat sea cucumbers the size of my arm and several giant clams (these I was careful to avoid - childhood science fiction horror movie memories being suddenly refreshed). It was better than Jacques Cousteau could ever have shown me on TV. It was real and unreal at the same time; it was unbelievable and it was undeniably true.

It was just a tiny tiny fraction of the Great Barrier Reef - the Eighth Wonder of the World extends over 2000 km along the Queensland coast, ranging from fringing coastal reefs to lagoons, outer reefs and then to the open ocean, and includes biological diversity at ecosystem, community, species and genetic levels. It comprises one of the world's largest and most complex ecosystems. It is a comparatively pristine area with low human pressure compared to other coral reef systems in the world. However, it is also one of Australia's premier tourist destinations with marine tourism annually contributing $1 billion to the Australian economy, it also supports a $250 million commercial fishery, and a large recreational boating and fishing sector with over 54,600 registered recreational vessels. The Marine Park provides for multiple use and ecologically sustainable development with an overriding conservation objective - most activities are permitted but zoned and regulated to minimize impacts and conflicts. (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority website)

The reef is closely guarded by the Australian government through the GBRMPA, which acts as a steward of all aspects of the reef environment, from water quality to aquaculture to coral bleaching issues. There are 1500 species of fish
400 different types of coral
400 mollusks (like clams and the sea slug)
500 species of seaweed
215 species of birds
16 species of sea snake
6 species of sea turtle
Whales visit during winter (http://www.ozramp.net.au/~senani/barrier.htm)
As well as the wonderful porpoises and dugongs.

The reef is very fragile, despite its age and vastness; human activity is damaging to the reef, so when we were out there we were asked to not touch the coral and not 'souvenir' anything, lest the ship loses its permit. We anchored a good kilometer away from the reef and motored out in small boats; the organizers set out a floating 'rest station' so that people fatigued from swimming can hold on to that instead of standing (gasp!) on the reef.

We duly obeyed all of the instructions, for the Great Barrier Reef is a brilliant treasure of the world and I felt privileged to have been allowed to get so close to such vivid beauty. And I have learned to snorkel in the open sea.