the great barrier reef. it'sprobably the most famous reefin the world, and the largest. it's not just visible from theair, but from space. hi, i'm jonathan bird andwelcome to my world! (♪ music ) you know, it's hard to believei've been diving for overtwenty years, and i've never seen the great barrier reef inaustralia, but today i've madeit all the way to cairns, and i'm going to get my chance. cairns is a city in queensland,the northeast state ofaustralia. the great barrierreef runs 1600 miles along the coastof queensland.
it's made up of millions ofinterconnected coral heads,forming the world's largest living structure made by livingorganisms! to see the whole thing, youneed to get pretty high up.this satellite image was madefrom 400 miles above the ocean. youcan see the reef just offshore. for my first encounter on thegreat barrier reef, i'll bemaking the trip out on a big catamaran operated by sunlovercruises. the crew unties the boat and ienjoy the scenery as we headoffshore. ninety minutes later, i arriveat the sunlover pontoon. i havenever seen a dive operation like this before. the boat ishuge, but we don't dive fromthe boat. instead we dock
at this massive pontoon—sort oflike a floating dive shop—andspend the day right next to the reef in a protected spot.pure luxury! time to check out thefacilities! you don't have to be a scubadiver to enjoy the greatbarrier reef. the reef is soshallow, you can snorkel! a lot of people who don't divelove to come out and get afirst hand look at the reef here. the water is clear andit's not too deep. but even people who don't liketo get wet can see the reef. ona submarine! well, tell you what – this isthe easy way to see theunderwater world right here.just
relax, sit back, have a drink,and watch the fish go by. and for a diving experienceunlike any other, anyone cantry the sea walker experience. all you need is a 40 poundhelmet! i walk down the stairsinto the water and the staff outfits me with the strangestpiece of dive gear i have everused. with no fins on, i just walk out to a massiveschool of fish. my hair doesn'teven get wet! this is incredible! they've gotabout a thousand fish aroundhere. i feel like doctor sylvia earle – deep sea diver.this is a very different way togo scuba diving, and this just goes to show you ifyou don't want to wear a mask,don't want to wear a regulator, and maybe youcan't even swim that well, youcan do this! it's just like
walking. you know i've had a lot ofexperiences underwater, andthis is definitely one of themost unique! to demonstrate how this helmetworks, i have an ordinary waterglass, which obviously is full of water, but if i turn itupside down, i can fill it withair. (fills it with air) and now you can see that itkeeps the air in, but if youturn it right side up – so we don't want to turn thisright side up. i pose for a picture, becauseyou never know when you'regoing to get to do this again! next i meet vance fahey whowill be my divemaster for ascuba dive on the reef today. jonathan: oh, i can't wait.let's get suited up.
vance: get right into it. jonathan: all right. well, let's do it. not only do i have a nice easystaircase to walk right downinto the water, but a platform for putting on my fins. i canget used to this! on the platform is a group ofnew divers getting their firsttaste of the underwater world. at last i head out onto thereef to explore. i see many types of hardcorals, beautiful pastelcolored soft corals, and lotsof fan corals.
near the reef, i find one ofthe largest giant clams i haveever seen. i can't imagine how much this clam must weigh. the mantle gets its brightcolors from imbedded symbiotic algae that harvestthe sun's rays for energy. i find a huge crack in the reefand have a little fun swimmingthrough it. on the other end, i'm greetedby a sea turtle. she comes right over. there arelots of divers around this reefand this turtle knows that the divers won't hurt her. once she has decided that i'mnot doing anything terriblyinteresting, she goes back tolooking
for her favorite sponges to eat. i turn and head back towardsthe platform across the shallowreef. at the platform i'm greeted bya friendly mauri wrasse. thismonster of a fish reaches both the length and the weightof a motorcycle. i'm just gladthey prefer to eat crustaceans and mollusks--not divers! i think i've made a new friend! unfortunately, i'm low on airand it's time to head back tomy habitat up above. as we head back to the dock ireflect on a fun-filled day.it's amazing how many things i did in one day on the reef!
well, i finally did it. i gotto see the great barrier reef,and i discovered that, of all the reefs i've visited, and letme tell you, that's a lot ofreefs, the great barrier reef is probably the mostaccessible for everybody, fromcertified divers all the way topeople that don't even like to swim.there's something for every ageand experience level out here on the barrier reef.
