Woke up at 0700, bit tired, got ready and left for the boat, stopping for a coffee on the way. Got on board with plenty of time to spare, got a good seat by the window and scowled at the people who were late.
The weather was decent, warm but a bit cloudy, hopefully it would be nice out on the reef.
The boat took about an hour and a half to get to the reef spot, a pontoon moored on the reef where they had an area sectioned off for snorkeling, a glass bottomed boat and a semi-submersible that hopefully wouldn’t implode. The water was a bit choppy to start, then we cleared the land that was acting as a shelter and it got very choppy.
They brought out some pastries but Song was starting to feel a bit unwell so I had mine and hers, and went up for a third when they left the tray on the counter.
For most of the trip Song was very ill, as was about half the boat. The crew were obviously used to this because as soon as the boat started pitching about they were all standing ready with sick bags and tissues (and cups of ice which supposedly helped), rushing to hand them out and collecting the full ones. I bet they didn’t think this was part of a marine biologist’s or tour guide’s job. I have to say they were fantastic – a lot of people were throwing up and they were very attentive and efficient.
Luckily I was fine – I don’t suffer from travel sickness and can’t remember ever being sick on a boat or plane. I felt very sorry for Song, she was really bad. I thought that we also had the same trip back but thought it best not to bring it up (so to speak). Luckily Song hadn’t eaten anything so there wasn’t anything for her to recycle, but others on the boat for some reason thought it would be a good idea to have the big breakfast that morning.
The crew were kept busy running back and forth carrying empty bags to the passengers and taking full ones outside somewhere (I didn’t want to know).
We eventually arrived at the pontoon which was about the size of the boat and a half with a kitchen, changing rooms, showers and a platform to enter the water.
I was given a very unflattering wet suit which was too small so I asked the girl if she had it in fat size and was given one that was slightly bigger that I managed to squeeze into. Looking around, there were people of all shapes and sizes so I didn’t feel too bad. Song had found a spot outside on the pontoon which was very windy but she said it was the best place she could find where she didn’t feel sick. I was very disappointed for her, she was really having a bad day. We’ve been on boats quite a few times and although she hasn’t felt the best, it had never been this bad; last year we took a ferry to Rottnest Island in WA and also a speedboat trip to Bruny Island in Tasmania and she wasn’t great, but wasn’t sick.
I grabbed a mask, snorkel and fins and shuffled into the water – pleasantly surprised at how warm it was. There was a bit of a chill when first getting in, but after a few seconds it was fine. The wet suit was bouyant, and the swell was a bit choppy and it was easy just to float on the surface and let the wind and waves do all the work.
There was plenty to see, although the coral wasn’t too brightly coloured, there were bits that were orange and bright blue, but for the most part it was a brown and green colour. The fish were a different matter – brightly coloured parrot fish, some yellow fish, green ones and a couple of tiny bright blue ones. Obviously I didn’t know any of the names except the parrot fish which were easy to identify.
Drifted around for a while, loads of people in the water and got kicked occasionally by some idiot who had no idea what they were doing, acting as if they were the only people out there.
Went back to the boat after a while and the glass-bottomed boat was leaving so I hopped on that – the water was very choppy so Song couldn’t do that either. It was a bit boring, designed for non-swimmers; it went out and about and you could see the coral and some fish, but it was better snorkeling. The weather was too bad for the submersible but Song wouldn’t have been able to go on that either.
Got back to the boat and lunch was being served, Song couldn’t face it but I had a plateful – potato salad, coleslaw, ham and pasta. They had other stuff, not a bad selection.
I sat with Song for a while, she was still bad, then went into the water again. Saw a giant clam, more coral and fish, including some big ones, and then they started to throw feed off the boat so went and watched that from in the water, loads of large fish eating what was being thrown.
I was in and out a few times, then spotted the Underwater Observatory so thought that’s something Song might be able to do – it was pretty stable and had windows onto the reef. Luckily she was OK there so at least managed to see some fish and the coral. While she was there I went back into the water and swam around and she managed to take pictures of me, and I could see her through the window. I dived down a couple of times so she could get pictures, and a woman next to her was waving to me and telling me to dive down again – I felt like a performing seal.
I got out and went to see Song, and the woman apparently thought I was her husband.
Went in again and didn’t see anything new so got out for the last time and took off the wet suit with the help of Song. Got dry and sat down, then we were heading back. This time Song had taken a couple of anti-seasick pills the boat had (basically just ginger) and said she didn’t feel as bad. She even managed to eat some cheese and crackers that were handed out. The crew gave a couple of presentations; one was a didgeridoo demonstration and another was about the Crown of Thorns starfish, which was interesting.
Arrived back at port, Song managed to keep everything down but couldn’t face going back to the restaurant from last night that we’d booked so I cancelled it. I felt really bad that Song felt so ill and didn’t get to see much, but we didn’t realise she would have such a bad reaction. No cruises for us, we’ll have to stick to flights.
Got back to the hotel, had a shower and checked on the cat, then Song was feeling up to eating so just went to a Vietnamese place round the corner. Had to queue for a few minutes, we shared some spring rolls and rice paper rolls, I had vermicelli with beef and Song had Pho. It was OK, not great. Went for a quick walk, I thought about an ice cream but was full so we just went back to the hotel and watched some TV.
Need to be up at 07:45 tomorrow to get the train up to the rain forest. Hopefully we won’t need the sick bags on the train.