We were up early to finish off the basket of breakfast food, take some Dramamine, and by 5:57am head down the windy road back to Cairns and the marina. We grabbed our day trip bags and hustled through the rain to the boat that would shuttle us out to the reef. 
Grateful for the Dramamine we were happy to move onto the boat at the reef (where they snapped this pic) and get settled into our rooms. Not long after our orientation we picked up our googles, snorkel, fins, and sting suit then hopped in the water for our first snorkel. The sting suit covered us head to toe and made the reef safe sunscreen we purchased absolutely unnecessary – waste of money but so nice not to worry about getting burned and just immerse ourselves in the underwater world.
The waves were big and a bit intimidating as we started to enter the ocean. I was so impressed, the girls put on their brave faces and got in the water, quickly learning that once in the water the waves felt much more managable. Kate didn’t last long; she didn’t like using the snorkel and being without her glasses meant she wasn’t seeing much anyway (I totally forgot about her glasses – should have had a better plan for that).
The coral was absolutely gorgeous and so varied. The water was the perfect temperature-neither hot nor cold. When they blew the whistle to end our snorkel, we were ready for a break but so excited to go again later.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch with lots of salads and stir fry and in no time at all it was time for our 2nd snorkel. Kate chose to stay on the boat but the rest of us jumped in and saw a shark amidst the beautiful coral and fish. They moved the boat to a new spot while we enjoyed a nap and some hot chocolate. Then it was time to snorkel again – this time we had to swim a bit to get to the coral but once you got there it was like hitting a coral wall. It was fun to see some different geography underwater. This time we spotted a turtle and another shark. Lily only lasted the first 30 mins because the current was really strong, so I swam her back early and unfortunately, she missed the turtle. 
After 3 trips in the water in one day my body was happy to have a hot shower and stay dry for a while. We explored the boat, enjoyed a little sunshine, and did some reading before a delicious dinner of mashed potatoes and beef with gravy – happy girls! We played some card games to kill time waiting for the 8:00pm dessert of banana cake and mint ice cream – more happy girls. By then we were all so ready for bed. With the early wake time, jet leg, Dramamine, and being worn out from snorkeling, no one had difficulty falling asleep.
Tuesday morning Emily, Greg, and I woke early for the 6:30am snorkel. They had moved the boat again and this one required a really long swim to find the reef and the water was sort of murky. I was glad that Lily had enjoyed sleeping in even though she did miss another turtle.
The kids were feeling a bit sick at breakfast, so I passed out more Dramamine while the boat moved to another new spot. This one was supposed to be especially good for sea turtles, so Greg and Lily headed out while I stood up top with Kate and Emmy trying to convince Kate to join us. She wasn’t interested, before leaving her we spent a few minutes looking for turtle and sure enough we spotted one close to the boat just as Greg and Lily were entering the water. They luckily got a quick view of it before they jumped in in hopes of a closer view. Sadly, they didn’t find another one, but Emmy and I did see another one on our snorkel.
The 10:30am was our last snorkel and we convinced Kate to join us. She got out into the coral enough to see the colors and identify a shark before she headed back. We did get a chance to all pose for the photographer underwater before Kate left. As I stepped out the water for the last time I was so grateful that I had the opportunity to experience the Great Barrier Reef, but my ears were ready to stay out of the water for a few days.
These are the photos Greg purchased from the photographer - they capture a bit of the amazing stuff we experienced.
Reef Sharks
Giant Clam (I missed this😢 but Greg and Emmy saw some)
Puffer Fish
Green Sea Turtle
Greg, Emmy with her noodle, Lily, Lisa
We all enjoyed a hot shower, clean, well brushed hair, and real clothes instead of a swimsuit while we ate lunch, packed up and prepared to leave the boat. While Greg talked to the photographer and purchased tons of her pictures, the girls and I played Trivia Pursuit with an Austrian couple.
Emily had been the most excited to see the reef and she loved it; she was a great snorkeler, never leaving our 6 snorkels till the blew the whistle, and she knew so much about the coral and sea life. She was sad to leave, but unfortunately, she was feeling a cold coming on, so it was time to stay dry. 
We got back on the shuttle boat and played 4 up and down until everyone was tired of that so I taught the girls to play Blackjack. As we pulled into the marina I had to put shoes on (other than flippers) for the first time in 35 hours. What a blessing! All my blisters had mostly healed, the water had helped my swelling disappear and my feet were fine to slip back into my sandals.
Disembarking in the pouring rain (hadn’t missed that on the reef) we loaded up in the car and started searching for food, petrol (they don’t call it gas), and a bathroom before hitting the road to the Daintree. Whitney told us we needed to try some pies, like dinner pies so we had our eye out for pies. We found a place called Pie Face at a gas station, perfect, three in one stop. The server was kind and let us use the employee only bathroom while we waited for our pies and tried an ice cream bar on Kate’s list of foods to sample. Well, that ice cream bar was by far the best part of the meal- should have known better with gas station food. The girls didn’t mind it, but Greg and I didn’t eat much.
During the two hour drive the backseat vacillated between joyful laughter and singing or grouching fighting. We failed to take the advice from the staff at Daintree Crocodylus to load up on supplies at Woolworths in Mossman an hour and a half north of Cairns. An oversite we wouldn’t appreciate till breakfast. Until we were across the river it was difficult to appreciate just how remote and disconnected the Daintree coast is and of course the devastation of Cyclone Kirrily in December only became apparent when seen the next morning. Greg managed to get us to the ferry, across the river and to our place despite the pouring rain and server road damage and construction.
It was a bit of a rainy adventure, but we found our little cabin complete with three bunkbeds and a queen bed all equipped with mosquito nets. It felt a bit like the Amazon mixed with girl’s camp. The wall was built only halfway up with netting on the top half allowing the sound of the rain and juggle to lull us into much needed sleep.
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