An object of my affection since I was young and reason for my visit to Australia. Thankfully the great barrier reef didn't disappoint.
My description of the experience isn't all that glamourous: One day I dragged myself off the lounge chair at my comfy Airlie Beach apartment, boarded a large tourist vessel destined for Knuckle Reef -- a tiny section of the GBR -- and applied what I hoped was enough sunscreen to allow me to survive the three-hour ride sitting on the ship's deck. (The sunscreen appears to have done it's trick; I, however, did an fairly terrible job in it's application and am still looking a little burned and splotchy in places I couldn't reach.) We arrived at the reef with several people threatening sea sickness, transitioned from the boat onto the company's permanently anchored pontoon, grabbed snorkel gear and "stinger suits," and swam among the reef and fish. That's it . . .
Only that I was swimming inches from the Great Barrier Reef and crazy tropical fish (some of which were a couple feet in length and would literally brush your face while swimming around)! Several times during my trip I've experienced moments pure happiness, impossible to put into words. And I had one that day in the ocean.
(I'm now off, by the way, to attempt my very first traditional Japanese onsen bath . . . after I read the "Rules of Etiquette" )
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