Snorkeling

I went snorkeling for the first time yesterday. Not only that, but I have officially done it in the Great Barrier Reef. Seeing as how the island is located in the Great Barrier Reef, it wasn’t too much of a struggle to make it happen. It was quite the spur of the moment decision to join Karen (the iAdventure Island’s marketing director) in her adventure. I had always wanted to do it since before I left the states. But now that the opportunity was here…I wasn’t so sure it was something I wanted to do.

You see, this is the time of year when jelly fish heavily populate the waters. When I first arrived and heard about the jelly fish phenomenon, I thought that the whole idea was silly and jelly fish can not but that serious. Everyone I saw in the water has been wearing a stinger suit and almost no one is swimming on the beaches. But I still didn’t think that much of it.

Until one day a fella had been snorkeling off the coast of the island and wasn’t wearing a stinger suit…you guessed it, he was stung. People were searching for white vinegar (that’s what you apply to a sting I ventured) while trying to make sure he was alright. Luckily he was stung by the less poisonous types of jelly fish, needless to say he was fine. I thought maybe this whole jelly fish thing is real…maybe we should be cautious of them.

Then there was a big scare. A few days after that happened one of the boats pulled up to the jetty for the evening. One of the passengers decided to jump into the water to cool off…he was wearing his stinger suit (the full body type, including a hood over his head). But as he jumped in, he was unable see the jelly fish under him and took a sting right on his face. Not just that, but he took a sting from the most deadly kind. This type of jelly fish causes body spasm and severe vomiting, not to mention the awful pain. Poor fella had to be airlifted off the island.

Here I stand on the end of the jetty in my ridiculous one piece dance leotard looking stinger suit, thinking I may be the next one getting air lifted off this island. But I did it anyways, I jumped in. Karen and I were both a little nervous about the whole thing, but she convinced me there wasn’t anything to worry about this particular day. After all, she was Australian and I hoped to God she knew what she was talking about.

We start snorkeling around the dock, among the fish food she throw out to attract fish. That’s great and all, but attracting small fish around can only lead to one thing…bigger fish that are hunting them. I was thinking “Great, if the jellies don’t get me…sure as hell a shark will.” I try to be cool with the whole situation but I’m honestly petrified, looking around every direction trying to spot something sneaking up on me. Low and behold, I hear Karen give a gasp followed by a “OH…WHAT’S THAT?!” I look up to see only a couple meters in front of us is a fin jutting up out of the water. I couldn’t think… swim…anything. I just froze in terror as I see what looks like a dorsal fin rise then fall back down into the water.

“It’s only a Bat fish” Karen said.

Bloody hell, I still think I had a mini heart attack in the water that day.

Besides that, neither of us got stung or eaten whole by a massive bull shark. We snorkeled for a while and I got to see very cool corals and fish that you only see in pictures. They were only an arms length away just swimming along as if you weren’t there. The water wasn’t as clear as it could have been, but I was still able to see the bottom and around all the different corals. The colors ranged from a plain brown to yellow, green, and blue. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of sea turtles that frequent the area, but no such luck. I’d say the whole experience was great fun and a must-do for anyone that comes here.

Will I do it again…definitely…just perhaps not anytime soon…

Joshua