Thierings on Tour

An early morning start with a purpose today! We were heading out to the Great Barrier Reef, the girls have been excited about this for days.

Everyone had a quick brekkie, the essential caffeine fix for the adults and off we headed to Cairns Marina. There was a bit of waiting around between check in and actual boarding, which also brought a noticeable change in weather and notably wind. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t ruin the day 🤞

We boarded the ship and managed to get a spot right at the front of the top deck behind the captain’s cabin. Hopefully we could get some insider info on the day… so when I got the chance I asked him about the weather and his response did not fill me with confidence.
You know things might get uncomfortable when the captain declares the seas are “rough as guts” just before departure but he went on to reassure me that it’s nothing the boat can’t handle. However he also wasn’t so confident about the people on the boat. Great 😳

It quickly lived up to its name and poor Scarly fell victim first to the rough seas. She was very good about it, she’d spit out the dummy and that was our cue to get to vomit bag ready for her. Poor darling! Luckily she slept for the second, rough half of the trip and I’m really shocked that my weak stomach managed to hold it together whilst I had Scarly and Jazzy both unwell wanting to be held and cuddled. At least Chris managed to keep Izzy out of trouble by taking her on the outside deck for fresh air.

However eventually we got to the Moore Reef pontoon. It was a lot more protected from the wind and the sea breeze seemed like a welcome change! To steady ourselves we decided not to jump straight in the water but to explore the semi submersible submarine. What a brilliant way for Scarly and the other girls to get a taste for the rest of the day and just what is in the water.

We were so lucky to see a green sea turtle straight away as well as lots of coral and fish. The girls were all suited and ready to go into the water in their stinger suits (even though the season for them is considered to be over). Oh well easier than tones of sunscreen anyway!

Scarly insisted on coming in the water also and was rather upset that there were no flippers small enough for her, ha ha. She even put on the mask, but refused to use the snorkel. Like a koala bear she was on my back whilst we swam out over the reef. Jazzy and Izzy got the hang of breathing through the snorkel rather quickly and did so well in the water!

Again we saw a green sea turtle and a giant roper fish too. I think the size of it freaked the girls out a bit, but they were fascinated. Scarly didn’t want to stay in the water long, so Chris and I took turns going in for a snorkel with the big girls.

The coral looked amazing! Despite the lack of sun, I still feel like it was much more impressive than the last time we visited the Great Barrier Reef. So many colours, species of coral and amazing schools of fish everywhere. It’s so easy to get lost in time.

After lunch we decided to check out the glass bottom boat, which was so much better than I thought. It seemed that it would be hard to beat snorkeling over the reef, but it provided an amazing close up of so many species of coral and Scarly really enjoyed herself.

As the afternoon was closing in on us Izzy and I decided to jump in for one more snorkel and we saw the turtle again, the giant roper fish and so much beautiful coral! How special and I’m so proud of Izzy for how well she did snorkelling in somewhat choppy waters and for so long.

Then it was time to head back to shore. Everyone was a bit apprehensive about the state of the ride back but it was actually fine and Scarly just couldn’t keep her eyes open and dozed off again. As hard as I tried to wake her, she snoozed so peacefully and I tried to ignore the fact that she would be a little crazy girl at bedtime now having slept until 5pm 🫣

The older girls enjoyed the sea spray and watching the islands as the boat zoomed past them back to the marina.

We quickly grabbed sushi for dinner and everyone was rather tired (and somewhat emotional at bedtime as predicted), but we got there and it was so worth it. The girls rated their day a 9.7 and a 9 out of 10, only losing marks for tough seas and forgetting to go on the pontoon waterslide.

So all in all, a truly magical day!

Kms travelled – 16 (by car, no idea how many nautical miles by boat)