In 1998 I was lucky enough to be treated to a visit to Cape Tribulation by my brother and his wife, which included spending a day on a boat to see the Great Barrier Reef. The day started with taking off our shoes and wading out to a little floatable boat to get to the big boat. When I asked why we had to go in single file I was informed that it was to prevent attracting box jelly fish. I was very vigilant on the way to that little boat.
Once on the big boat it was off to the reef and during the trip the crew gave us our safety talk about all the ways that we had to behave to keep ourselves and the reef safe. This included how to attract attention to the crew on the boat when we were in the water and the reassurance that they would be on the look out for Tiger sharks so not to worry. I had never seen or even heard of a Tiger shark and for some reason a shark the similar size and temperament of a grey nursing shark came into my head. Wearing a dark coloured t-shirt over my bathers and covered in sunblock I took my first plunge into the sea near the reef. The boat anchors a short distance from the reef to prevent any damage to it. This was also the first time that I had snorkeled so was getting used to a large mask, snorkel and flippers. The crew pointed out the direction of the beautiful coral and off we swan.
I had my head down searching for coral but all I could see was the sandy bottom of the sea bed. After several minutes I looked up to see a crew member pointing to where all the other swimmers had reached. I had managed to swim round the boat. The crew member assessed the situation and threw me a life ring in addition to re-orientating me and this time I paddled off, with the help of the life ring, looking up until I reached the rest of the swimmers.
I put my head down for my first glimpse of the Great Barrier Reef and was astounded. I don't think that anything could have prepared me for its sheer beauty. It is stunningly beautiful, with a wide variety of coral in a range of colours in various shapes and formations with their spouts pointing up towards the surface. Some are hard and still whilst others have fronds that wave with the motion of the sea currents. In and of itself it was more serene and breath-taking than I could ever imagined but there was more. An ever changing variety of fish swimming around the coral added to this scene. Fish of all different sizes, shapes, designs and colours swimming within the fronds and stems of the coral in an ever moving picture. All thoughts of sharks and sunburn vanished from my head. There was only enough room for the sight in front of me, all around me and as far as I could see along the reef. I may have stayed floating over it for ever if it weren't for several factors.
Having never snorkeled before I kept forgetting that I couldn't breath through my nose so would attempt to do so and then freak out and panic causing me to take in great mouthfuls of seawater. This meant coming up to spit out the seawater, take a few breaths and resume looking at the reef. The other reason that I stopped floating over it was because we all had to swim back to the boat for lunch.
We were treated to a second swim after lunch before heading back to near the shore for the wade back to the beach with shoes in hand. Slightly sun burnt where my t-shirt had lifted and there was a missing part of sunblock, slightly dehydrated from all that saltwater and not drinking enough regular water I returned to the hotel still spell-bound by what I had seen.
And now I read that the government plan to allow tons and tons of waste to be dumped on it. I am not usually passionate about political issues but this one has pressed some hot buttons. Maybe they haven't seen the reef because to me it is beyond comprehension that anyone who had visited the Great Barrier Reef would want to drop so much as a soggy biscuit on it.
As for the Tiger sharks when I got home I saw a documentary on them and it was only then that I realised what I could have met whilst paddling over the reef. So not the size and temperament of a nursing shark then. And would knowing their size and ferocity have stopped me seeing the reef? Absolutely not.
I would love to know that such treasures will be around for my grandchildren to visit and enjoy. Let's start protecting more rather than less.
love
Sarah
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