Swimming in nature's finest aquarium

Here we are in Cairns, just boarding the catamaran for our trip to swim on the Great Barrier Reef.
For those of you who don't recognise us, from left to right we are:
Hilary - Anna - Chris - Paul

The Marine World platform moored on the reef (about 35 miles off the mainland), and the Catamaran that took us there ...

The large fish here is "Wally" - a friendly Maori wrasse who enjoys having his picture taken with all the swimmers
Hilary, Anna and Chris are all in the picture somewhere, as well as a diver taking photographs.

We all bought disposable underwater cameras - here are just a few more of the pictures we took

This sight-seeing helicopter picked up its passengers from a pontoon moored on the reef.

Here you can see some of the many outcrops of coral, and in the distance (top right) the hills on the mainland.

On the way back, at the end of a magical day!