The name doesn’t do it justice.
It was so intensely magnificent I wept at its beauty. If there was ever anything to inspire one to
up their interest in preserving the environment a day on the Reef with the
company Reef Experience is the way to go.
The day started early and we boarded the boat at 7:30. We took off our shoes as we boarded and were
given snorkel gear and a wet suit and directed to put them on to make sure
everything fit well. Things moved
quickly from then on. We suited up, got
breakfast, listened to an intro to snorkeling, got our underwater camera we’d
hired for the day, listened to the spiel that accompanied it, listed to the
marine biologist’s brief intro and explanation and then we were there! It was supposed to be an hour and a half trip
out to the reef and it felt like ten minutes! When the announcement came that we were
almost to the reef I stopped by the bathroom before putting my wet suit
on. I thought I’d just been a bit sloshy
but then I lost all my breakfast and then some.
The first and only time we’ve had someone get sick and it’s me!! Oh the
shame!!
We were the first scuba diving group so we headed straight there. I wasn’t too worried, a bit nervous but more
excited than anything. Once in the water
though, I started to panic. I didn’t
know that I could do it. I made it 6
meters under water and they had us clear our masks to make sure we could do
it. I couldn’t. There was water in my mouth and I couldn’t
breathe and I was going to drown. I
tried three or four times but the panic won out. I would need a couple of hours of instruction
and practice to be able to do it. Thirty
minutes just wasn’t going to cut it.
I met Cathy on deck—looks like we’re more alike than I’d realized. We had the exact same reaction to clearing
our regulators. BJ and Reece headed down
though and had a great time—and lucky for us they got some great pictures!!
We spent about 2 hours out snorkeling with the kids—which is more like
just swimming and trying to get them to put their faces in the water—but it was
fun. Then they took us out in the glass
bottomed boat and we all got to see the most amazing things! Giant clams!
Fish! Coral!! It was all incredible!! At one point X exclaimed, “I want to come out
here Every day!!” The tired man
captaining the boat looked at us and said, “It’s comments like that which
remind me of the amazing place where I work!
Sometimes it’s easy to forget.”
Lunch time came and we all took a break to eat while we moved to the
next location on Hastings Reef. Reece
volunteered to stay on board with the non snorkeling crew so π and I could
snorkel together. It was life
changing. It was so beautiful! There was so much life there! It was truly incomprehensible.
I’ve hiked the Grand Canyon, Zion’s National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches,
Yellowstone, and countless other incredible vistas and never in my life have I
marveled so at the beauty that God created here on the earth. At one point, π had gone back to the boat and
we only had about 10 minutes left before it was time to head back so I was
taking in as much as I could. I came to
a drop off right before a lagoon and a huge fish swam next to me. I stopped to not scare it and in my silence,
I was overcome. It was more beauty than
I could take in. I had to go back to the
boat to give my body time to process what I’d seen. Little did I realize I was almost the last
one back to the boat!
The ride back to shore went much quicker than the ride to the
reef. Cath and I visited most of the way
and just enjoyed our time together. The
triplets were making friends with the crew the whole time we were out on the
reef and they were continuing their shenanigans. X came up on deck with a coat hanger in the
back of his wet suit—he told me that one of the crew said they were going to
hang him out to dry.
O had gotten a wiggly tooth that morning and it had progressed to a
full on loose tooth and then to hanging by a thread in a matter of hours! Damian was trying to convince her to let him
pull it, he even went so far as to get the crew to pledge money if she’d let
him do it. I think he’d gathered $8 but
she still said no. Leave it to Cathy to
win the day! All she did was ask if she
could wiggle it. One touch and it was in
her hand.
The crew was so engaging and kind that X wants to come back next year
just to see his friends again.
It had been such a full day, it was hard to believe that it wasn’t
over. The littles stayed home with BJ
while the rest of us went to the Ingles’ home for dinner. Vaiari had invited us all and it was amazing! Three different salads, Australia’s version
of cheesy potatoes, a couple of different meats and bread! It was a feast!! And the food paled in comparison to the
company! I was spot on when I said that
Valaria was a kindred spirit. Her life
has been amazing. I wish I had a year to
work side by side with her and get to know her better. We were meant to meet. I don’t know why, I don’t know when, but I
know our paths will cross again.
As I lay here in bed remembering the events of this monumental day, I
still feel like I’m sloshing about on the waves. I’ve been getting ill, I’m pretty sure it’s
going to get worse before it gets better, but every moment of today was worth
it!! This day easily makes the top ten
days of my life.
No comments:
Post a Comment