Great Barrier Reef

I just had one of the most amazing days. I went on the Great Barrier Reef trip through my school for the day. I spent most of the day snorkeling on the reef and also got to go in a semi-submersible to view some more of the outer reef. I got to see so many amazing marine creatures including a green sea turtle, clown fish, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, parrot fish, butterfly fish, and hundreds of other brightly colored tropical fish. Since it is prime marine stinger season, I had to wear a protective suit over my entire body to protect myself from their stings. We were given snorkel gear and flippers and then we went down the stairs and right into the water. It was a pretty rainy and cloudy day so I expected the water to be pretty cold since we were about 2 hours out to sea, but the water was nearly 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The second I put my face in the water I was in awe at the reef's enormous size and at the biodiversity that thrives on it. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of many sections of reef that are separated by channels. There were so many different types of coral and some of the larger ones are hundreds of years old. I snorkeled around for about an hour or so and was using the disposable underwater camera that I had purchased aboard the boat. On my way back to the boat I came upon an enormous wrasse....which is an enormous fish and this particular one must've weighed about 300 pounds. At first I was a bit frightened because when I swam by it, it grabbed my flipper in its mouth and pulled me back a bit. After a few minutes though I realized that it was quite friendly and swam right up to the snorkelers to be stroked. I even got my picture taken with it by one of the marine biologists. After lunch, I went back into the water, but got out after about a half hour or so after a close encounter with a jellyfish that was too close for comfort. I was swimming around and realized that there was one right between my legs...it brushed against my suit but of course I was wearing the protective suit so I didn't feel anything. There were also thousands of tiny jellyfish larvae floating around in the water...the marine biologists there said that they believed them to be jellyfish larvae, but weren't 100% positive. The reef was only 2 or so feet below the water in some places, so you had to be careful not to bump into it because it can give you a nasty cut. In other places, it dipped meters and meters below the surface at steep drop-offs, where I explored in hopes of seeing some black-tipped reef sharks and sea turtles. I had a truly wonderful day and I can't wait to get back out on the reef over spring break....and since it'll be the dry season then it'll probably be a nicer day out too! Make sure to check out my photo site to see some of the photos that I took today...I will get the ones from my disposable underwater camera printed on a CD so that I can upload them as well!