Great Barrier Reef

Hi All. It's David. I'm in Cairns (pronounced without the R) for a conference with a few colleagues. And in order to focus on work, we headed out to the Great Barrier Reef. We took a tour with Quicksilver to the outer reefs east of Port Douglas (an hour north of Cairns). The reef actually stretches for miles along the Queensland coast of Australia. Quicksilver has a high speed boat that got us to the outer reefs in an hour and a half. They've also set up this amazing pontoon/station where you are based for any number of activities from scuba and snorkeling to a helicopter ride. We just did the snorkeling. The whole setup has been designed so that anyone would get a chance to see the reefs from 5 to 85 year olds. I have never really visited any type of reef before, let alone something as amazing as the Great Barrier Reef. I couldn't resist buying a little underwater camera. It still used film, and I amazingly found a place that could still print film. They also scanned it. So these pictures in no way do the reef any justice. The scans aren't very good, and I have zero experience taking pictures underwater. Just keep that in mind.

If you ever get chance to go here, it is by far one of the best sites in Australia. It definitely deserves a spot in the 7 natural wonders of the world.

Giant Clam