#flathal #flatstanleyproject #greatbarrierreef #australia
While Flat Hal and Flat Halena were spending a day on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, friends and fellow passengers went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the only living thing satellites can see from space! It is the world’s largest coral reef system, stretching over 2,300 km (1,400+ miles) along the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia. As a UNESCO World Heritage site, it consists of 2,900+ individual reefs and 900+ islands, acting as a vital, biodiverse marine ecosystem.
Flat Hal noticed that our day at sea after Cairns was listed as “sailing the Great Barrier Reef.” Flat Halena wanted to know if that meant we had crossed the reef at some point, so we spent some time trying to learn about where the reef is, and how we got between it and Australia.
Our ship has been sailing along the coast of Australia since we left Sydney. The Great Barrier Reef starts near Lady Eliot Island, and extends all the way to the tip of Cape York.
A lot of ocean life calls coral reefs home. Our friends who went snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef were really hoping to see a Ocellaris clownfish so they could proclaim when they got back, “I found Nemo!” (They did, and they did!)
