June 15, 2016
Vanderbilt’s tour of Australia continued Wednesday and junior Katie Stark details the team’s astounding day at the spectacular Great Barrier Reef.
Hi everyone! Our sixth day here in Australia was a blast. In the morning we boarded a huge Catamaran boat to journey out to the Great Barrier Reef. Even though we were met with choppy waters and big rain storms, we were determined to have the time of our lives, and we did. Along the journey, some of our teammates retreated to the lower decks of the boat to avoid the storm, but dressed with our snorkel gear and suits, Amanda, Kendyll, Olivia, Nicole, Robyn, Josie, and I braved the waters, determined to enjoy the experience. After docking on Green Island, we were headed to the Reef!
The view just from the beach was so beautiful that there was no doubt that the view from under water was even better. We all ventured out into the ocean with our snorkel gear to see what the Great Barrier Reef had in store for us. After getting the hang of it all, we were ready to go, and boy, was the reef ready for us.
Almost immediately after we got into the open waters we saw huge fish and and even bigger sea turtles! It was incredible to see these animals move so gracefully in their natural habitats as we tried to get a closer look. I know some of us were so intrigued by the big, beautiful turtles we saw there that we tried to follow it for as long as we could.
However, there is so much more to see than just turtles and fish. The coral itself is a beautiful sight. With colors such as reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and greens, you feel like there’s no way you’re getting the full effect of their beauty.
Often times, if they were big enough and close to the water, you could get a close enough look to see them actually moving around, reminding you that the corals are living, breathing organism. With different shapes, sizes, and designs, there’s no way we got to see it all, but everything we saw was breathtaking.
Experiencing the reef is a once in a lifetime opportunity and it is a fantastic one at that. The beautiful array of fish, from tiny, little guys, to big and bold, the gorgeous, big, and graceful sea turtles, and the intriguing and spectacular coral life, all came together to give our team the view of a life time for what seemed like forever.
Even though the hours passed like seconds, the memories will last us a lifetime. This is definitely a day that we’ll never forget.