Great Barrier Reef and Green Island
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
— Chief Brody, Jaws
This trip to Oz had an underlying purpose: to overcome some of my fears. The first was flying, which I tackled by spending about 30 hours on airplanes getting here. The next one was waiting for me on the Great Barrier Reef — THE FEAR OF SHARKS!! I remember seeing Jaws in the 1970s and being so terrified that my sister and I were afraid to swim in our own backyard pool. Now here I was in Australia, about to go snorkelling and diving in the open ocean. On the recommendation of the great staff at the YHA hostel in Cairns, I embarked on a day aboard the Ocean Free.
The day would be spent diving and exploring around Green Island. The crew warned us that “the Queensland sun takes no prisoners,” so before leaving I ran into a nearby mall and bought the silly-looking sun hat you see me wearing in the photographs. Hey, at least it says Cairns on it. Once we reached the reef, one of the crew began attracting fish near the boat so we could see some of the enormous and colourful reef life. I was a little nervous about what else might decide to investigate.
Diving the Great Barrier Reef became one of the greatest experiences of my life. I was constantly getting water in my mask because I couldn’t stop smiling. After spending the morning in the water, we were dropped off to explore Green Island, where I visited the crocodile park and met Cassius — an absolutely enormous saltwater crocodile. Suddenly my fear of sharks had some competition. Oh, and the little baby croc I’m holding in one of the photographs had its mouth securely closed. I wasn’t quite that brave.
The Ocean Free was awesome, and the crew were friendly, funny and had my belly hurting from laughter. Special thanks to dive instructor Andy and skipper Des for making the day such an incredible experience — and, most importantly, for keeping all those imaginary open-ocean crocodiles away. I went out there determined to confront one of my biggest fears and came back having experienced something I’ll never forget.
