A Day at the ... Reef (i.e., not Beach)

 

Day 8 - Sunday, Dec 28 – More Reefers

We awoke on Day 2 of our Reef Stay to clouds and drizzle – that is, no dramatic sunrise over the Pacific. Shucks. We proceeded to a wonderful buffet breakfast. Now, at this point, it is worth noting Noah’s fruit juices. And here is an advertisement (unpaid – I am not trying to become an “influencer”). We had kiwi, which also had mango, and a couple of other fruits I cannot remember, and apple. I guess they’re supposed to be healthier (no added sugar; no preservatives), but the bottom line is that they are really very good. The kids love them and drank them throughout our stay. I have to give Gordon credit for finding these fruit juices and enlightening our family. Well done, Gordon!

So, it is early morning (breakfast was at 7:00 – 7:45; the seas are calm; the occasional light drizzle ; AND the day-trippers (for those living in the 60’s and 70’s, this is not what you are thinking) do not arrive until 11AM as we did the day before. Water activities start at 8:30 and again, we had the run of the pontoon including our private area on the back half of the top deck until 2PM. We took full advantage of the small numbers, and the family was the first to get in the water at 8:30:01.

 

 There is a vast reef to explore, although we had some buoys marking our boundaries, and there were always lifeguards and spotters on duty to keep us within our bounds. We were in search of the elusive sea anemone (made famous by the cartoon movie “Finding Nemo.” The snorkeling team gave a general vicinity to look for it – they said it was the only one on that part of the reef, and it was far removed from the pontoon. [Note: Don’t worry at this point. We have life jackets or floatie/noodles to keep us afloat and make the swimming and snorkeling easy.] 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several excursions out and back were not able to locate the wonderful sea creature. Finally, Grandpa was determined to track the thing down. After swimming out a couple of hundred yards, Grandpa spotted it – just like the snorkeling team noted … right between and below to large plate coral! It was a darker red/burgundy and tucked back between other coral, so it was not obvious (to the untrained eye, but spotted by Grandpa, a long-time marine biologist wanna-be). Grandpa found Carter swimming not far away, and he had the Go Pro underwater camera. So, off they went to document the find … much like you would see on National Geographic. Eventually, others made it to that portion of the reef to observe one of Nature’s underwater wonders. Mission accomplished. 

The waters remained very calm waters with still air – ideal for snorkeling in the warm waters. Later in our snorkeling adventures, Gordon spotted a sea turtle and pointed it out to others who flocked over to see the magnificent 1-meter diameter behemoth. Steve, who was not in the water at the time, did see the turtle surface near the boat for a gasp of air, but then it descended into the depths.

Did I mention the depths? There are some parts of the coral reef that nearly rise to the surface, especially in low tide. It is perhaps only four feet deep and snorkeling over the surface gives a close-up view. But as the reef gives way to the open Pacific, there is a descent into the dark blue abyss. Amazing.

We were served a private lunch separate from the day-trip crowds. Once again, the chef did an amazing job with red snapper with some red pepper and onion ratatouille, while the kids got a meat/beef pot pie. The ever-adventurous foodie, Gordon, tried the snapper and thought it was OK, but he stuck with the meat pie. Evan was also served the snapper and tried it but borrowed some of the meat pie and French fries from the other three kids. Monica and Grandpa also enjoyed a glass (or two) of Sauvignon Blanc. Of course, dessert included Magnum bars! 

   

The kids did some additional swimming and snorkeling and some of us got showered before they shut down our exclusive area at 2PM. We got some snacks and boarded the cruiser for our 3:00pm departure back to Hamilton island.

The weather pattern was the same as the previous day. As the day rolled along, the winds picked up and made the ocean choppier. Now, if you didn’t know, Grandpa is a world renowned sea-sick person with several illustriously negative experiences – the most recent being in Hawaii this past summer with the Ehrhard family … and that was on “calm” seas. With the aid of some bootlegged ondansetron (Zofran®) used for reducing nausea in cancer/post-op patients, Grandpa made the 45-60 minutes of rockin’ and rollin’ South Pacific waters without incident. Whew! Survived what is likely to be my last ocean boat ride … at least if I have anything to say about it. After leaving the open waters, the cruiser navigated the much calmer channels between Whitsundays Islands, and of course, afternoon tea and biscuits were served. Thereafter, we were back to our harbor and boat dock on Hamilton Island. 

We re-organized at the hotel and caught the shuttle to the marina where there are plenty of restaurants. We picked out Bob’s Café, and when we got there is was full, and the system was to simply wait in line, and when you saw a table open up, make a dash for it and claim it as yours. With seven of us, this seemed daunting, but we did get to a table in about 15 minutes. Not bad for how crowded it was. We then embarked on this old and old-fashioned Grandpa’s bug-a-boo … scan the QR code to see the menu and place an order. Can I talk to a human about what I want and how I want it?!?!?! As we started that now all-too-common practice, we got a warning the food preparation was running one hour behind! What?! It’s 7:30pm and we got four kids who are hangry (not a misspelling), not to mention some anxious adults.

So we left and went to the fast-food fish and chips carry-out a few doors down. We actually got to go to the register and talk to a human about what we all wanted! Refreshing to have human contact. The downside was -  and it was not obvious – that we were way down the queue for our order because behind the scenes, people were ordering online and picking up food and leaving the little shop. So, what looked like three people ahead of us was more like twenty (invisible to us) people ahead of us.

 At least the food was good when we got it. Some burgers, generous helpings of fries (I mean chips) and some cajun whitefish and chips. Then it was back to the hotel to wrap up the day.