My Once in a Lifetime Experience: Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef

As part of the travel link-up for this month, I’ve been thinking about once in a lifetime experiences, the ones that make your heart skip a beat and your eyes gleam everytime you think about that moment. For me, that moment is snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef in 2015 with my best friend Katie.

Australia is a one in a million kind of country whether it’s the wildlife, the landscapes, the food or the history. It is a country with no limits and where everything you see opens your eyes to the world…

You can walk around the world biggest single rock, visit the most isolated city in the world, say hello to the world’s most poisonous jellyfish – the box jellyfish, cuddle a koala, ride a camel in the outback and my favourite, swim in one of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef.

We did a five-day tour with Cruise Whitsunday, which included snorkelling, diving, visiting Hamilton Island, walking along Whitsundays and sleeping on a pontoon. The trip included a 2-day Great Barrier Reef Adventures and REEFSLEEP, full day Camira Sailing Adventure, 1-day Island Hopper Pass and 5-nights’ accommodation.

My favourite day was day 4 and 5, when we headed on over to Reefworld, located 40-miles from shore on the Great Barrier Reef. It was our sole location for the next two days!

The pontoon is permanently moored on Hardy Reef and is located in one of the most spectacular stretches of the Great Barrier Reef. It is where the day guests come on board. Throughout the day there are lots of activities for guests to experience with amazing activities such as diving, snorkelling, swimming with thousands of fish, on board massages and even a scenic helicopter flight to Heart Reef! What more could you want?

By 3pm, the day guests departed and we were left alongside 10 other Reefsleep guests on board the boat. All to ourselves!!!! We grabbed a position on top deck and watched the sun set before we slept under the stars in our comfy beds on the top deck of the pontoon. There is really nothing like sleeping on a pontoon in the middle of the ocean!

After an unforgettable Great Barrier Reef experience with REEFSLEEP sleeping under the stars, we awoke to a feeling of being on top of the world, in a hysteria of happiness. When else can you awake in the morning on a boat in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef?
 

In the morning, we enjoyed more private time on the reef before the day guests re-joined us on the boat and we got to enjoy another full day exploring the reefs and doing whatever we wished!

After tiring ourselves out snorkelling and sunbathing, we headed back to shore around 3pm to Airlie Beach!

I remember feeling so overwhelmed when we returned by what an amazing experience it had been, and to this day I still remembered every little bit of that trip, from the sleeping under the stars that night, to the turtle we swam with on the last day. A magical trip, and even though I originally thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I hope to one day return!

Read the rest of my blog post on my trip here.

Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef was an epic experience and there are loads of ways to see it, from scuba diving to helicopter rides or even skydiving to get a birds eye view! Chat to the guys at RatPack Travel to find out more about exploring this underwater paradise, they can let you know all the options and give you 10% off using the promo code ‘SOPHIE10’. To book your tour contact Sammy at [email protected].