Don't Rock the Boat...

Today, everything I thought to be true in life was dashed by a man in a rubber suit. 

Seriously. 

According to ‘Beau’, the dive instructor on our day trip tour of the Great Barrier Reef, ‘Dory’ fish don’t typically travel this far south.  Damn Disney!  I wonder what else I’ve learned in life that is actually completely unfounded…

Ben was devastated. 

The boat trip out to the reef was a little rocky, to say the least; there were dozens of people on board, all of whom vacated to stern of the boat to… seek relief?  It was amazing to witness the exodus, though the knowledge of what was happening was somewhat off-putting. 

We’d been warned previously that if there was even a ‘breath’ of wind it was a poor idea to go out on the boat as it can be quite a rocky ride.  Rocky might have been an understatement, in terms of what we actually experienced.  Imagine a 90 minute tilt-a-whirl, and then add 60 barfing tourists…

Ben and I were fortunate enough to feel quite well, however Jayne was not so lucky.  Most of the time we spent coloring while pretending to not hear the retching. 

Still, even with the bumpy ride out to the reef, once we got there (and got over the devastation of Disney’s deception) we were quite happy to strip down to swimsuits and jump in the water. 

The water was incredibly warm, even though it’s the fall here, and as such the weather is cooler than normal.  It took very little time for me to get in the water and start splashing around in my ridiculous looking fins and snorkel mask. 

Ben was incredibly brave; whereas many adults were gripping the metal rails of the boat for dear life, he was well into the water wanting to swim north to ‘save Dory’.  Of course, with the assurance of floaties and a life jacket, he was in good shape. 

There was one life-ring with three hysterical women holding on for dear life as a guide pulled them around.  And yet this four year old was jumping in at a second’s notice, with little thought for all the naughty baddies that were in the water waiting to prey on succulent tourists? 

I actually didn’t see all that many naughty baddies to start with; I did have a near-miss with a jelly fish however I did manage to escape unscathed.  The sharks were on the other side of the boat (thankfully) so I didn’t have to have that panic attack; I was somewhat worried that Ben – in his various fluorescent floatation devices – might look a shish kabob to the sharks. 

Now that we’re back in the hotel, we’re a little burned (though barely considering how long we were out) and comfortably full from delivery dinner.  Tucked into our beds for the evening, prepared to watch bad Aussie TV, we anticipate a quiet night in before another very early morning tomorrow.  Our goal, if we can manage it, is a big drive – about 7 hours – to get us half-way to our destination of Noosa for Sunday. 

We’ve stocked up on all the necessary things for the drive: Tim Tams, water, trail mix and candy for Ben. 

So far this week, the funniest thing has been our fixation on the Tim Tam biscuits.  Delicious chocolate wafers and soft filling would count as a reasonable snack to most people, however what about for breakfast? 

This week we’ve had one every morning, as we prepared to head out to our next hotel en route.  This evening, Jayne offered one to Ben as dessert, however he looked up at her with absolute confusion.  “But it’s not breakfast.”

More pictures will follow, however spotty internet service is making it difficult to post...