After Darwin we have got our flight to Cairns , a beautiful little town at the North West coast of Australia – very cute and neat and close to the oldest rainforest , the Daintree Rainforest , in the World which counts 135 Millions of years and to one of the wonders of nature which is the Great Barrier Reef .

It was always one of my dreams to come to the Great Barrier Reef since I love everything what concerns the sea and the ocean – I love swimming , sailing , diving – I mean anything that is on or under the ocean .

The Ocean or the sea is always healing my body , my mind and my soul – it gives me new energies for life and some awesome feeling .

My dream becomes true and I never thought of really being here one day .

Today we will drive to Port Douglas to take a boat to the outer part of the Reef which is the Agincourt reef .

We arrive at the beautiful cute little resort village of Port Douglas which is about 70 km north of Cairns and has a population of about 3-4000 people and enter our boat .It is the Quicksilver Cruise that takes us to one of their platforms outside the reef .

It is very exciting for me as the Great Barrier Reef is the biggest reef in the World with about 2300 km length .

The breathtaking variety of animate beings includes 600 types of soft and hard corals, more than 100 species of jellyfish, 3000 varieties of molluscs, 500 species of worms, 1625 types of fish, 133 varieties of sharks and rays, and more than 30 species of whales and dolphins.

The Great Barrier Reef is also unique as it extends over 14 degrees of latitude, from shallow estuarine areas to deep oceanic waters.

There are animals in the great barrier reef which date back to prehistoric times and which did not change too much during this long period of time .

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park:

• covers 344,400 km² in area
• includes the world’s largest and most complex coral reef ecosystem
• includes some 3000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands
• is between 60 and 250 kilometres in width
• has an average depth of 35 metres in its inshore waters, while on outer reefs, continental slopes extend down to depths of more than 2000 metres

Today the Great Barrier Reef is one of the 7 Natural wonders in the World .

We arrive at the activity platform in mid of the ocean and I cant wait to jump into the sea .

Everything is so colorful over here – the people , the equipment and the World under the Sea .

You can have a diving suit , snorkeling equipment , some fins but I don’t want anything – I want to be one with nature , I want to feel the water on my skin and on my mind and soul.

Before I jump into the water I discover a kind of an Glass- Boat which is available for us .

We enter the Glass- Boat – oh, it is a little tight inside but you can observe the whole underwater world from the boat which is also very interesting .

What an experience – a nice Big Blue World is under us .

After having done our Glass- Boat drive , it is more than time to JUMP into the water NOW .

My Godness, I cant wait – I just take the glasses to have a good view- nothing more .

I just need to feel the Barrier Reef 100% , the energy , the beauty … it is awesome !!!

I jump into the Blue – the water is so soft and so enjoyably warm .

Once you dive into it , you cant believe your eyes .

A huge world of corals , different in shape and color which is home to millions of different colorful fishes and other animals which are living over here in the ocean.

You will find any kind of color and a beauty that will let you speechless .

It is so beautiful that you would like to stay here for ever . As said, the temperature and the softness of the water is so pleasant .

Where ever you look , you see another colored fish inside the coral world , another swarm of fishes moving around – it is nearly silent – a silent stunning blue world .

I really feel as a part of nature in these moments – it is a paradise that is down here and I would wish that everybody could see it , enjoy it , value it and protect it for life time !

Every corner is unique , every creature is unique , every color combination is unique .

It is the endless universe that you experience down in this waterworld , the immense power and variety and beauty of nature which is very difficult to describe .

A totally different world then what we know from outside .

l do enjoy every minute . Hours are passing by . I don’t care about the sun , I don’t care that I am since hours in the water – time is limited , I really need to use each and every minute .

While I am swimming, fishes are around , they are really huge and they come very close .

It is as if they feel my love for the ocean and they welcome us in their beautiful blue home .

I swim , I dive , I swim , I dive – it is not enough !

The sirens of the platform are calling – we need to prepare to go back .

I think I am the last one who is leaving the water – till the last minute I try to enjoy which is really fine .

I am so grateful to have the opportunity for this unique experience !

After having spent hours on the deck and mostly in and under the water we are super tired but more than happy !

And of course Hungry !

As the boat is ready to leave and to drive back to Port Douglas we have time to chat with our friends what we have all seen down there , exchange pictures and films and get some good dishes at the open buffet .

Oh, this is also so nice – great cuisine with some seafood and great friends around !

I feel very happy and wish to come back to this place one day again .

We drive back to Port Douglas having many nice and special memories and moments in mind.

All was very nice actually till I saw lots of news coming from that area about 2 years ago which concerns the climate change in the World which is also heavily affecting the Great Barrier Reef .

Due to the climate change the water temperature in the reef was increasing by 1-2 % which has a big impact onto the corals .

The reef had experienced significant and widespread damage in 2015 and 2016 in forms of coral bleaching and coral dying.

It is reported that about 70% of the shallow water corals were affected from north to south but there was still hope that the corals can recover as long as the rest of the reef is still alive .

In 2016, the Great Barrier Reef suffered the worst bleaching record ever with about 30% of the coral dying. At the start of 2017, it was hit again losing roughly another 20%, leaving about half the coral cover dead.

The damage was worst in the top third of the reef, where some parts lost as much as 90% of their coral. The southern third of the reef mostly escaped any damage.

Certainly it is not just the corals that are affected but the whole ecosystem that is integrated here .

It is a sign how serious we need to take global warming and climate change , how important it is to take care for our natural environment and how easily a whole region can be horribly affected .

We should be thoughtful of what we are doing to nature as damaging our own living space should be critical .

How can anything be more important than our own natural environment and health ?

I do seriously hope that the affected areas in the whole reef have a chance to recover asap- otherwise one of the most beautiful and impressive natural wonders in the world and its inhabitants are seriously under big threat and all this should cause a huge concern to us .

But I will keep being positive and believe in the sensitivity and consciousness of people and continue to share blogs and travel reports on beautiful nature and culture to awake peoples interest and awareness and to stress its importance to mankind.