Great Barrier Reef cruises
We did the Great Barrier Reef outer reef tour in Cairns. The initial stop was Fitzroy Island where you had approximately 2 hrs to check out the island. Not nearly enough time really since there were a lot of people about. Make sure you bring insect repellant as there are lots of biting insects at the island. Snorkelling around the beach area was ok, although we’ve seen better.
Then it’s off to the outer reef (Norman Reef) and their pontoon. As others have noted, it is acceptable for the number of tourists on the boat. The alleged underwater observatory was a disappointment – I have seen better in the aquariums in Sydney or Perth . They have not bothered to clean the glass so it wasn’t easy to see anything through the windows. My wife said the same thing about their glass bottom boat tour which I didn’t go on because I was snorkelling.
If there’s anything that you should do, it’s the Scuba-doo, especially if you’re not the best swimmer. It’s the best way to enjoy the reef. We actually saw a turtle and one of the crew handed us a star fish which my son loved. It’s not too cheap but I think it’s worth it.
After the scuba-doo, I went for a dive. It may be because it was the wet season but the waters wasn’t as clear as I’d hoped . Maybe it’s different when you do a specialist dive trip but with this sort of cruise, you don’t get too dive any other sites. Corals were more of the dull and brown shades. Fish, while there were many, were nothing special. Then to top if off, my divemaster just kept swimming around and around, not even going out of his way to show me anything special.
By the time the dive was finished, I had just about enough time to eat and change (if my wife had not set aside lunch for me, there was nothing left to eat) – therefore, I missed the semi-sub ride. If it wasn’t for the scuba-doo, this would have been a very forgettable tour.
I would do a smaller cruise next time. There are lots of other options when it comes to seeing the reef.
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