Feeding Sharks on the Great Barrier Reef

Today we headed out on the Great Barrier Reef. It's one of the seven wonders of the world, and a World Heritage Site. But, more importantly, it was on Marlene's bucket list. The reef stretches for 2300 kilometers along the Queensland coast and drives the tourist business for  the northern part of the state. Reef activities are highly controlled for its protection.

No one had been killed by a shark in this area since last December, so between Marlene and I, we offered up 120 kgs of good Canadian Tourist. Fortunately, no sharks turned up for the feast. We did however see some great coral, lots of colourful fish, and a turtle.

Our tour company was Quicksilver. The boat was a tri-hull motor launch with about 100 people on board. It was well equipped and the staff did well to provide any support needed. We landed at a permanently anchored platform, and fitted ourselves with snorkel, mask and fins in no time. The weather was ideal, low 30s, light breeze, mainly sunny, and there was no swell to speak of. We snorkelled for an hour or so, then returned to the platform for a hot and cold buffet lunch. Rested and re-energized, we headed out to an area we had yet to explore.

Overall, the experience was informative and  enjoyable. However, if the sharks would have shown up for their feeding, this would have been a different story, and not one we wanted to tell.

Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/03/vulnerable-in-outback.html