I found NEMO!

Ok, so not really Nemo himself, but many of his cousins and friends! I did find Dori and the black and yellow guy from the fish tank!
The Great Barrier Reef really is great- especially in meer size and stretch... it's HUGE and I think I saw one one thousandth of it today! We snorkled and people from my boat saw giant sea turtles, a HUGE sea clam, reef sharks, "Wallie" the wrasse, and tons of BEAUTIFUL fish! Red ones, and bright blue ones... green ones, and orange with black and black with orange... black with white polka dots and sand colored monsters! Not to mention some of my favorite rainbow colored fish big and small.
It wasn't quite the experience I was expecting, you're out in the middle of the ocean with waves and choppy water, there are more people than you would like, and the only rest from snorkeling is on a rocking boat. HOWEVER, it was an experience of a lifetime. There are those moments when you've swam and kicked, and remembered to keep breathing, and then... bang you realize if you just stop... you're surrounded by a swarm of schooling bright blue little fish, there's a group of monster sized green and purple guys feeding on the coral below you, and you're floating next to GIANT sea coral of some really cool variety - that's it the moment you've been waiting for - you're in Australia floating on the Great Barrier Reef surrounded by an underwater world! Amazing!
Ooooo... and I tried Scuba diving for the first time EVER... ok, more like scuba sinking, but it was a really cool and terrifying experience all at the same time! So glad I tried it, even if I only got 5 ft down... I'll def take the class and get certified now!
kate