March 25

March 25: The Great Barrier Reef 

Today was an AWESOME day! We spent the day out on one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Barrier Reef. The pictures below speak for themselves. Just a couple of quick notes... 

We boarded the Quick Silver 5 to make the 90 minute trip to the Outer Reef. About 45 minutes into the trip an announcement came over the P.A. .... "Amy come to the engine room, IMMEDIATELY!" Now right away, that is NOT the kind of announcment you like to hear! Then crew members were literally sprinting around the ship. A couple of minutes later the announcement came that we would be stopped (and drifting aimlessly) while the engineer dealt with a "minor issue." This only lasted for ten minutes and there was apprehension among the guests. It didn't help when the crew decided this woulld be a good time to do a safety demonstration! What, we need to abandon ship?!!!! Finally we went on without further incident. We found out later that we'd lost the ability to steer the ship! Not good!!!!! We arrived at what had been termed "the pontoon" but was more like a small resort - lots of shaded area to sit, a staging area for all the diving, snorkeling, helicopter rides, and submarine rides. Just a really cool set up. Kim and I both agreed that it was so spectacular to be snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef and even more cool that we loved the snorkeling and stayed out for over an hour! Enjoy the photos and the video :)