I’ve loved snorkeling since the first time I went in Tanzania. When we went to Australia, I couldn’t wait to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef.  We went out of Cairns on a nice sunny day.  Although it wasn’t as spectacular as what you may think, it was still amazing.  We rented an underwater camera so I could take pictures of this great day.

We went on the Falla, an old pearl lugger boat that was built in 1958.

 

The Falla

 

It took about an hour and a half to get to our first stop.  As soon as I jumped into the water, this big fish greeted from right under the boat. 

 

 

One of the other animals I saw next was this giant clam.  That’s my dad swimming up to it.

 

 

We also saw many other sea creatures too. 

 

 

And here’s the Falla again. 

 

 

 

 

One of our guides carefully picked up this starfish, and we all had a chance to hold it. Then we let it drift back down to the bottom. 

 

 

 

Here’s a video of me swimming along.  You can see lots of coral and fish.

 

 

 

This was one of the more colorful fish we saw. 

 

 

 

 

After a delicious lunch, we went to our second snorkel site.  Our guides call it ‘the aquarium’ because of the many kinds of fish.  Here I am diving into the shallow water.

 

 

 

 

 

Here I am swimming!  My dad took the camera for a while here, and dove down closer to the coral and fish. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's some more video. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw another giant clam, and when my dad swam up to it, it clamped shut.

 

 

As we finished our snorkeling for the day, look what was at the boat again!  I wonder if it was the same fish we saw at the start. 

 

 

My brother got to climb up the rigging on the way back. 

 

 

And here we were heading back into Cairns.  It had been a wonderful day! 

 

 

 

Anders Bruihler is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program.

 

 

All photos courtesy and copyright Anders Bruihler