Queensland Sojourn – Reef Sprinter – Post 5

I like the water. I like the water a lot. I’ve been snorkeling at a lot of places around the world including the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). This trip didn’t look good for getting some in since most operators of snorkeling and scuba diving trips, use a full day. During that day you might hit three different locations along with a having a lunch of burgers and hotdogs. When I went 15 years ago, I was the only non-Japanese person on the 200 person boat that wasn’t working for the dive company. I enjoyed the dive once I got to myself and the reef.

If you are planning to do snorkeling at the GBR, most folks say the best folks to go with is Wavelength because the just do snorkeling, respect the environment and limit the trips to 30 people a trip. You need to book them in advance according to everyone I talked to. This leads me to how do you squeeze in a quick trip without a lot of formal planning and part of a day left. the solution is Reef Sprinter.

Reef Sprinter is a speed boat powered by two 300 horsepower outboard motors that can do 70 MPH and get you to their low isle reef spot in about 15 minutes. Once there, you have 90 minutes to enjoy and then you head back. The make 3 trips a day. I would suggest avoiding the late afternoon one since the water gets a little shallow as the tide has moved out. One of the nice things that whey do that I haven’t seen elsewhere is that they have a decent underwater digital camera (actually 3 of them) that you can rent for $35 AUD and when you get back, then dump the photos on a CD and you take it with you. I think its a good deal.

Now the reef that Reed Sprinter is licensed for isn’t the biggest or the best in the GBR, but it is alive and active and there are fish and turtles there. The speedy boat ride there and back is also a lot of fun. It runs $100 AUD for adults and less for children.