WOW. It is so much better up close and personal than watching National Geographic films (surprise surprise!). During my two hours under water at Lady Musgrave Island lagoon, I swam with sea turtles (6 of them together!), butterflyfish, sea cucumbers, a sting ray, convict fish, unicornfish, brilliant blue starfish, all sorts of brilliantly colored corals (my fave colours were the neon greens and blues), triggerfish, wrasses, sea anemones and their buddies, the anemonefish & clownfish, tangs, angelfish, gorgeous & weird longfin bannerfish (I mean, what is that thing?) – and soooooooo many of them, up close and personal!
(A little aside: I learned about most of these organisms while volunteering at the Minnesota Zoo while studying Biology at UWRF. Other than the prairie dogs & bison exhibit, the coral reef aquarium was my favorite. I anchored myself there whenever possible, and was happily mesmerized in that underwater world while interpreting the organisms to the zoo goers. It was my mission then to swim with their wild relatives someday…horay! Mission Possible!)
It was unbelievable diversity, from a snorkeling point of view. And I was virtually alone in this underwater paradise: all others stayed close to or on the boat. Because the experience was so awesome I feel no urge to spend more $$$ for a costly scuba experience to mostly see the same creatures, and for less time under water! (The Great Barrier Reef is quite a distance from the mainland, so prices for dive excursions are steep!)
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