The Great Barrier Reef
There really needs to be a better adjective than “great” to describe the GBR. I understand that “great” refers to the size of the Barrier Reef, which at 2,300 kilometers long (1,429 miles) is so large it can be seen from space. It is, in fact, the world's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands covering an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometers. However, “great” does not have enough heft to it to properly describe the awesome and undeniable beauty and majesty of the marine life, reef, and ecosystem protecting the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.
As certified Open Water Divers, diving the Great Barrier Reef has been an adventure on both my and Ben’s Bucket Lists. Still, neither of us could have imagined how truly magical and special it would be to dive it together with our kids. This was hands down the best family bonding experience we’ve ever had. Till now, the top of the list was a tie between the African Safari and paragliding together in Nepal, two adventures I still can’t believe we got to do together.
To get the most out of out time at the Great Barrier Reef, we booked a 2-day, 1-night Liveaboard trip with Reef Encounter. Our package included two incredibly comfortable rooms, all meals, snorkel and dive equipment, and up to 6 dives, including the rare opportunity for a night dive!
We loved the boat, the crew, and the other passengers, which included a young group of British and Irish Doctors who had been living in Australia on work visas through the pandemic.
In total, Ben and I completed 6 dives and the kids completed 4. During our day dives, we took in the overwhelming beauty of the reef with all its colorful hard and soft corals, various fish, including some of our favorites – the parrotfish, clownfish (nemo), unicorn fish, and giant clams as big as Ben! On the second day, we even swam alongside a green sea turtle (which is actually brown in color). Pictures compliments (though not free) of the onboard photographer with the ultimate underwater camera.
Oh, and “Blue Man Group” attire are actually “stinger suits” to make sure we didn’t get stung by any jellies in the water. We only saw one or two small ones, but the water has lots of little stingers this time of year. With these suits we never felt anything. No need for a wet suit as the water was perfect (around 85 degrees).
By far, the most unforgettable of all our dives was the night dive. Past sunset, all the nocturnal fish, including sharks(!) surrounded the back of the boat. It was incredible to see 5, 6, 7 large reef sharks swimming in the water we were about to jump into. Outfitted with a “torch” (flashlight) each, our guide, a Dive Master in Training named Mark, took us on a tour through the eerie darkness of the ocean. At times we had 3-4 sharks within 5 feet of us. Earlier in the day Ben and I had seen a large grey reef shark about 10 feet from us and my fight or flight instinct was immediate. I was in awe, but was not relaxed and definitely did not want to get closer.
At night, with several sharks around us, my brain was somehow better able to process that we were not in danger (at least not from a shark taking a bite out of us). They really paid no attention to us and were mesmerizing to watch. In addition to the sharks, we observed fish bigger than Ava swim within inches of us. They too were unfazed by our presence in their underwater world. The kids were complete rock stars and loved the night dive. I don’t know that I would have been as cool and competent at their age jumping into the pitch black waters of the ocean.
Back on deck we recounted all that we had seen while staring at our fist sight of the Southern Cross in the night sky. As the song says, “When you see the Southern Cross for the first time, you realize just why you came this way.” To have these experiences and to create these memories with our children now, while we can, while we are all healthy, while we have the financial means, and time together to see the world. Yes, the costs of this trip and our decision to take a break from our careers at this moment is high, but the value of this time together is truly priceless. ❤
