Great Barrier Reef

You might know that Australia is the only continent that is also an island. Well, that of course means Australia is also the only country which is an island.

Did you know that Australia is the 6th largest country? Well, I think it is better known that Australia hosts the biggest living formation on earth – the Great Barrier Reef. This huge coral reef is 2.500 kilometers long. It goes from just above Brisbane almost up to Papua New Guinea (which is north from Australia and has a border with Indonesia).

Scientists believe that the Great Barrier Reef in former times was the Australian coast. The average depth of the water from the coast to the Great Barrier Reef is 80 meters, whereas it drops just outside the reef to 2.500 meters.

The reef itself lays either a bit above or a bit below the surface and by far is the biggest living thing on earth. Of course this natural wonder is a must-see if you go along the Australian East coast. So that was also our plan. However, where to begin if it is 2.500km long and is as big as Germany? Well, we decided to do a 3 day sailing trip at Whitsunday Islands. They are 20km from the coast; however already belong to the Great Barrier Reef.

On the main island the beach is 5km long and covered with extreme white sand. The sand in combination with the crystal clear, blue water is breathtaking. That is why this beach was voted as the number 3 of the most beautiful beaches in the world (don’t ask which were on number 1 and 2. Ask the guys from Lonely Planet who created that list).

For 3 days and nights our 30 year old sailing boat Pacific Sunrise took us on its journey to the islands – together with 11 other passengers and 6 crew members. A wonderful boat!

Besides the wonderful meals, the wonderful hikes there were – of course - fantastic snorkeling trips at the reefs. What an adventure!

Maybe you have seen some documentaries of the Reef before where thousands of fish in all colors swim in crystal clear water. It looks like them being in an aquarium. And now just imagine, you put on a diving glasses, put your head under water and you this wonder is just right there. The fish at the reef sometimes were swimming with us, sometimes directly towards us so that we were floating through the swarms. No matter where you looked they were everywhere. And when the sun shines through the surface they have sparkling, shining all sorts of colors. Unfortunately we had no underwater camera to document these moments. However, thanks to our travel-mate Marlene, we got some pictures. They will always remember us about this great trip.

Later on we went to the HQ Reef in Townsville, where we saw many of the fish we had seen before while snorkeling. Well, the experience was not as intensive; however the pictures were much better.