Great Day at the Great Barrier Reef

Host Families dropped their delegate off at 9:00 this morning. Many hugs, handshakes, and addresses were exchanged. Students had a wonderful time experiencing Australia up close and personal. I overheard many of the Australian moms say, “We just didn’t have them long enough.” Overall, this People to People exchange was a huge success!! On the short bus ride to the reef boat students shared their experiences with one another. Then it was an hour and a half trip from Cairns through azure blue seas to one of the earth’s most magnificent sites – the Great Barrier Reef, which is larger than the combined land mass of the British Isles. Marine biologists provided background information and accompanied students on snorkeling tours. For three and half hours students had a choice of diving, snorkeling, looking at the reef from a semi-submersible, and just snacking and hanging out on the viewing platform. While snorkeling, students saw a beautiful variety of coral, sea turtles, reef sharks, clown fish, colorful parrot fish, giant clams, sea cucumbers, angel fish, butterfly fish, pipefish, -- just to name a few. Think Disney’s Finding Nemo come to life! A very large but extremely friendly Humphead Maori wrasse hung around the boat and had its photo taken with many young snorkelers. Lucky for him (us) we had our underwater cameras ready. Back at the hotel students enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi along with 3 other People to People delegations. I guess they just didn’t get enough water today!
Question: How many delegates can fit in a hot tub?