Green Island

I know I said it in my last post, but the Great Barrier Reef is truly one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.  I could stare at the turquoise and blue water for hours and never tire of it.  The past two nights we stayed at a resort on Green Island, one of the islands that is actually part of the Reef itself and is a national park.  The island is small and largely covered in rainforest, and the resort is tiny but very nice.  At night, after the day visitors leave, the island is peaceful and quiet, save for the sounds of the wildlife living here.  The last two nights have been deemed "too cloudy" for stargazing, which made me laugh, as I could see more stars on either night than I have probably seen in 11+ years of New York City nights combined.

Shortly after arriving on the first day, I decided to go parasailing (always up for new adventures).  The ride was really fun, and at the same time provided a great aerial view of Green Island and the Reef.

Since Green Island is part of the Reef, we were able to snorkel straight off the island's beaches.  The highlight of my first day was happening upon a sea turtle when no one else was around.

On our second day, we took a day trip to the outer Reef, which was even more impressive than anything we had seen yet.  The sheer numbers of fish were unfathomable, and the variety of coral was amazing to see.

The interesting twist to our time at the Reef has been that it is currently "stinger season," which means that marine stingers (what we would call jellyfish) are out in large numbers.  As a result, we have had to do all of our snorkeling in stinger suits, which are head-to-toe black lycra body suits, complete with hoods and hand covers, that essentially make us look like ninjas.  On the plus side, the stinger suits eliminate any risk of sunburn.

The Great Barrier Reef has shown me more amazing things than I could ever have hoped to see.  At the same time, I think I have reached the limits of my motion sickness boundaries and have now experienced a higher level of humidity than I believed was possible.  I'm looking forward to some time on solid ground in cooler temperatures.

Tonight we fly out for New Zealand, where we will spend two weeks before returning to explore more of Australia.  I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about how beautiful New Zealand is, so I'm really excited to take it all in.  And at nearly a full day ahead of New York time-wise, I can't really contemplate being further from home...