Friday was our day on the Great Barrier Reef and it was absolutely magic. Grumpy had done some research and we decided on Seastar Cruises as it was a smaller group (fewer than 40) and took us to two locations for snorkeling. The weather was perfect which was such a bonus, as it had been raining and windy in the weeks before. We set off around 8am and even got to see some whales on the way! Such a bonus! Then it was time to get our snorkeling gear on and get into the water!

It was interesting to see how all the kids took to this activity. Chance was his usual cool calm self and was happy to go with the flow. There were a couple of guides who got into the water with us and pointed out cool things along the way. Darby was a bit unsure to start with so he went on the glass bottom boat over to the sand island with Gran and Aunty Kate. Quinn wanted to stay very close to me, so we grabbed a pool noodle and swum around side-by-side. And Julius? Well let’s just say he jumped in and never looked back.

Jules was incredible! Not a moment of hesitation, he just wanted to get in amongst it all. Uncle Khicken was doing some deep dives and Julius was trying to copy him! It was just amazing to watch.

On our way back to the boat, swimming with Quinn, we swam over a white tip reef shark. I was hoping Quinn wouldn’t see, but she made it very clear that it had been spotted but she kept her cool and we made it back to the boat with a great story to tell!

The crew took a bunch of photos that they posted on to their fb page as well which I saved. Such good underwater shots compared to ours! 🙂

The crew served us lunch after the second spot of snorkeling, then it was time to head back. Unfortunately Darby couldn’t get past his fear, but hopefully we can try again another time. We were lucky enough to see more whales heading back but I didn’t get any photos – I was just happy to sit on the front deck of the boat and enjoy the show. Unbeknownst to us down on the deck, Julius and Darby both had a go driving the boat! I did feel like we were doing more doughnuts than on the way out!

On the trip back I was overcome with a sense of peace and happiness. My wonderful family, all together, all happy and healthy after the most spectacular day of fun and adventure. I do not take this for granted, ever, and I make sure I take it all in and keep it close to my heart. This is what life is all about, after all.

Our friend Chris came along with us, and his partner Ally came over for a delicious seafood dinner that night. A fantastic way to end a mammoth day.

After our massive day on Friday, we tried not to cram too much in to Saturday, but Aunty Kate had bought Uncle Khicken a ride on the Bad Fishy jetboat and took all the kids along for the ride! Julius had had enough after about 15 minutes- clearly snorkeling around tranquil seas is more his style – so he and Aunty Kate got dropped off, but the rest of the kids enjoyed the rest of the ride with their uncle.

We finished up with milkshakes while everyone dried out in the sun, then headed back to the BnB for some down time before heading out once more. I had asked our friend Chris to take some family photos for us while we were all together, so we headed down to a lovely park and he shot away. He took some really lovely ones and I can’t wait to get some printed out to hang on the wall.

It was Mum and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary on the Saturday night – it’s like we planned it or something! So I had booked, on recommendation from a friend, Dundees at the Aquarium for dinner that night and it didn’t disappoint! It was so amazing having the fish tank to watch while we ate our dinner. It had the kids engaged for the two hours we were there.

We were all so full from dinner that we took the cake home to eat later while watching more All Aussie Adventures together and having another glass of wine. That’s the beauty of an early booking! We were home before 8pm so there was plenty of time to hang out on our final night.

It wasn’t easy going our separate ways the next day, and the following few days were very tough, but I’ve come out the other side with a full heart and lots of joyful memories to look back on. The next task will be putting a photo book together. And of course planning the next family holiday! 🙂