Today we enjoyed our first day on the beautiful Lady Elliot Island. The island is situated at the very bottom of the great barrier reef and has the capacity for 65 guests. Theres an airstrip the length of the island that is accessible only by small planes. Our group was split into four separate flights with two leaving really early and two leaving at a more reasonable time. I was in the later group so we had some time in the morning to stop by the little shopping district at Hervey Bay and pick up some souvenirs and check out the amazing bay and water that is there. From there we went to the airport to start our trip to the island. Flying in was amazing, as we were in small planes that hold 12 people. I had never flown in a small plane before so that was a cool new experience for me. The views of flying in to the island were incredible and I was able to get lots of good pics.
After safely making it to the island we went through a bit of orientation and then were on our own to explore. The snorkeling is amazing here so the first thing we did was hit the water. We were swimming with sea turtles, sharks, manta rays, and thousands of beautiful fish. It felt like I was in a scene from "Finding Nemo" and made me never want to leave the water.
After snorkeling for a while on the west side of the island we took a break and headed to the east side. A bunch of us laid out on the beach and then decided to do some more snorkeling where we hadn't been yet.
This place is truly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and it feels like I'm in the Caribbean rather than Australia. In addition, the island is a paradise for bird lovers. They are literally everywhere and the staff estimate there are upwards of one million birds that call the island their home. I've already been pooped on once, while playing volleyball, as have several others in our group. While they certainly get annoying sometimes it's kind of cool to be in a place with so many birds flying all around you.
Later today we were given a presentation on the great barrier reef and how the island does its part to preserve it. In the middle of the presentation a bird flew in the room through one of the windows and would not leave and could not be caught. Unfortunately it flew into one of the ceiling fans and came down. It did however manage to get back up, where it was then caught and brought outside.
After the presentation it was already dark outside so a smaller group of us spent the remainder of the night just chilling on the beach talking and looking at the stars. With virtually no light pollution the stars out here are amazing and awesome to look at. I spent a lot of time just pondering and thinking about my life and the universe, and found it really relaxing to be able to just sit there and look to the sky for answers. The conversation with the group was great, and I can say that the night spent with each other was one of the best of the trip.
I can't get over the feeling of this place and I have absolutely no problems with that. I'm in a great mood twenty four seven and never want to leave. I feel truly blessed to be able to experience places like this at such a young stage in my life and hope to travel for the years to come.
Tomorrow we're headed out on a glass bottom boat where we'll look at some coral reefs and be able to do some more snorkeling. At night we'll be looking at some turtles nesting and I'm sure it will be another great night like today.
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