The start of my fourth week on Heron Island was fairly standard, with a 7.30 shift on Monday and a 3.30 the following day. I had Wednesday and Thursday off though, and decided to stay on the island to try out some of the marine activities.
On my first day off I had a bit of a lazy day, just relaxing before going for my first proper swim in the afternoon at high tide. Because the beaches are so shallow, you can only go out around high tide because otherwise you'll just cut yourself on the coral, which you definitely don't want to do. I only went for a short dip, but it was so relaxing, especially since the water temperature is about 25 degrees centigrade, a lot different from the sea at home!
On Thursday I decided to take it a bit further and try snorkelling. I wasn't quite sure how much I'd like it, but on finding out that the dive centre have prescription masks (so I can see underwater without wearing glasses), I was much more enthusiastic. I went down to Shark Bay with a couple of friends and we went for a short snorkel around the shoreline.
I found breathing the hardest thing to get used to when snorkelling. It's so unusual to breathe when your face is underwater, so your body takes a while to get used to the ideal, or at least I did. Once I had myself settled down and my breathing steady, I was all set for exploring the coral that lies just off the beach at Heron.
It may be an over-used cliché, but it's like another world beneath the surface. Even on the sparsest patches of coral, there's all sorts going on with countless different fish swimming amongst the reef.
That afternoon I got on the snorkel boat out to the outer reef where the best coral is to be found. Here the wealth of animal and plant life is almost overwhelming. You just swim and float around amongst the reef, admiring all the amazing life below you. I've never seen anything like it before and I can't wait to get out there again with a waterproof camera.
My fourth week ended without too much excitement, with 3.30 shifts on Friday and Sunday, and a split shift on Saturday. I went for a morning snorkel to the Protector - the wrecked boat in the harbour - before work Saturday though, which was pretty cool when you saw the rusty ship as you approached it underwater.
