Bucket List: Scuba Diving the Great Barrier Reef!

This is the story of a trip that was close to not happening. I'm not being dramatic. I would have cancelled the trip had we been able to get a refund. I was sick for two days before our departure date and not in the mood to move or eat, not to mention be stranded on a small boat in choppy waters, squeeze into a wetsuit, and descend 60 feet.

Being the cheapskate/spiteful/stubborn lady I am, I grumpily boarded the boat going to the Great Barrier Reef with two boxes of Kleenex (Eucalyptus-scented, ooh la la), an assorted arsenal of medication Joe sweetly procured from the Chemist (drug store), and the willingness to spend the next three days and two nights miserable in the ship's cabin. 


I was feeling especially miserable at the end of the first day and Joe asked the ship's director for a thermometer. He was a very nice Australian guy and had been in the Australian Army as a trauma medic for a few years. He told me I had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius without much fanfare. I asked him what it was in Fahrenheit and he punched it into his iPhone. Apparently I was dealing with a 104 degree temperature! Whoa. He got me some ice to cool my forehead/neck, a few aspirin, and a few bottles of cold water to get myself hydrated. 


The next day, I was feeling about 70% better at breakfast. I decided to go diving because I would regret it FOR LIFE if I didn't. Plus, I thought about how the ice had lowered my temperature and decided dipping my whole body into cold water would probably help too. 


So, we rented an underwater camera from the ship, popped our memory card into it, and got in the water for some incredible views of the largest and most well known reef system in the world.

Words won't do it justice! The color made me all googley-eyed!

S'all good! No thumbs-up while diving: it means you need to make an emergency ascent.

I was taking my own sweet time equalizing on the way down and Joe snapped pics.

One of the joys of being underwater: everyone is a gymnast! This is me doing a somersault.

I love this shot. It's amazing being in this other world!

Here I am chasing after a fish near the anchor.

Joe was there too. :P

Swimming away from a giant clam.

The fish swim right in front of your face. It's surreal.

Joe and some fishies in the background.

My new hobby: underwater break dancing.

Coral from one of Joe's night dives.

More night photography fish.

Night dive fish

This fish was like half the size of my body! TERROR!

Joe and coral.

Caught Joe at a safety stop under the boat.

Look away, kids! I got an underwater kiss!

Phew! And to think that is my edited collection for le blog! We took about three zillion pics on the trip.


I even saw A SHARK on my last dive during (what else) my safety stop. It must have recognized me as a weak and vulnerable snack. By the time I got to the surface to tell Joe to get a picture, it had already swam away. In retrospect, maybe I should've just gotten out of the water. Ha!


If you're wondering if I eventually died after my boat fever...NOPE. I'm feeling lots better now that I've been back in Iwakuni for a week. 

Thanks for taking a peek into our trip to the GBR!