My Great Barrier Grief!

On Day 3, I had a pre-booked trip to the Great Barrier Reef lined up, with the intention of doing primary research into the underwater homes of marine fish and plants. This is the best place on planet earth to view spectacular reefs with dramatic coral gardens of vibrant colours and shimmering shoals of jewel-like fish. As a child I was enthralled by sub-mariner Jacques Cousteau’s films, and the adventure series ‘Voyage to the bottom of the sea’. With my brother Graham, I kept tropical fish for their beauty and fascinating habits, and always dreamed of one day scuba diving to explore the exotic depths of our tropical oceans. I had been to the Barrier Reef before many moons ago, and later in Thailand, also happily snorkelled in the calm, tepid waters very near to the shores of idyllic archipelagos. However, on this grey and breezy winter’s day in Oz, I had not bargained for untimely ‘rough’ sea conditions, and started to feel a creeping sense of unease when sea sickness pills were being pushed at all passengers as we headed out of port. Yes, my luck had finally run out on this holiday, and the weather and sea conditions were as ‘rough as it gets’ and worse still, I had been booked onto a trip for experienced divers by mistake, and when we set anchor on the furthest outer edge of the reef, after being tossed and battered like a feeble cod on the 24 miles voyage from shore, I wondered how I was ever going to make it back home alive! Still, I thought let’s give it a go, ‘Strong by name and Strong by nature’. As I pushed off from the boat in a lifejacket and trembling like a jelly fish in the cold, howling wind, with the sea heaving up and down, tossing me about like a cork, I must have looked way out of my comfort zone, as one of the rescue team came out with a float and towed me over to the reef. I managed to look down for about 2 minutes, saw some incredible glimpses of corals and darting fish and rippling sea anemones, and then (look away now if you are squeamish) the vomiting started, and somehow the sea kept tossing it back into my hair and face and ….well let’s just say I somehow got back to the boat and that was the end of my day. I was eventually repatriated to another boat and then onto a pontoon which was more stable, but it’s all a blur. The next 3 hours I spent lying down until the tourist boat headed back to shore. Disappointed, aware of my huge shortcomings, and the indisputable fact that I am definitely NOT at home in the ocean!