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A Snorkel Trip To Remember

By Kaitlyn Davis

I waited anxiously with my older sisters, watching as the small propeller plane glided above the water in a clean landing. Big white platoons kept it afloat as the gentle hum of the engine became a roar and the machine was right before me. The door swung open and the pilot stepped onto the small wooden dock my family and I had been waiting on. He spoke quietly to the hotel worker who waited with us, then reached his big hand out towards my small preteen one.

"You ready to hop on, miss?" He asked me, and I nodded while stepping onto the the white plastic that kept the plane buoyant. My legs were too small to pick me up, so he lifted me by the waist and dropped me into the seat upfront. My sister came up next, and we placed the big headphones on our ears.

When the rest of my family had piled into the small vehicle, we slid over the water, rocking slightly in the waves while gaining speed. Gradually, I noticed we had risen above the water, moving solely through air, and I looked down at the reef below me. The pilot was telling us information through the headphones, but I looked deep into the water, imagining what sea life awaited me.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the world. For the day it was mine, and my extreme imagination left me ripe for a little exploration. I tuned in when he said the word heart, and look below me, through windows on the floor. A little reef seemed to float in the perfect blue of the ocean, shaped like a heart with waves beating off its sides. I imagined pairs of sea creatures that lived there, little fishes puckering up for kisses, or sea turtles swimming with their young. Nature had so perfectly understood love, even if I hadn't known much about it yet, expect for princes and princesses living happily ever after.

"We're going down!" The pilot said, and I clutched my sisters arm. Landings always scared me, and this time we were landing in the middle of the ocean. I closed my eyes until we jumped with the impact of the water and slid into a park next to a large floating dock next to a reef. We all piled out of the plane, and I looked around for some sight of land but could find none. We were truly surrounded by open water and air. I was terrified but excited.

The crew gave us snorkel gear and life vests. They threw some fish feed into the water and we jumped in. I grabbed my one of my sisters hands for a little while, but the sea soon held me rapt and I left my life behind me. All I could see were fish and clams, coral and turtles. All these creatures unknown to me were living their everyday lives while I, the outside spectator, looked on, mesmerized by the otherworldly shimmer in their silky scales.

Suddenly, two hands pushed on my back and I sunk deep beneath the surface of the water as something flopped above me, swimming fiercely against the current in the water. My goggles were flooded and liquid poured down the snorkel. I started to cough and sped towards the surface. I gulped in oxygen as I sailed out of the water and tore of my equipment. Spinning, I saw my mother peddling her little legs as fast as she could towards the dock. I watched as she practically dove out of the water with survival instincts in tack, clearly forgetting about me, her youngest child, as she swam for safety.

Curious, as all honorable girls of twelve are, I put my mask back on and peeked under the surface. A huge green fish was a few feet below me, eating the feed the crew had thrown off the dock. I smiled, laughing silently at my mother, and instantly realized what she had not, there was no danger. It was just a large fish having a snack, and nothing else.

I lifted my head up again, looking at my mom who stood with a drink in her hand and a towel around her waist. Her time in the water had obviously ended. My father was waving at me, signaling at me to swim towards him. I saw that my sisters had already followed suit. I quickly paddle my feet and glided through the water to where my father floated. I looked down, and deep on the ocean floor were the liquid smooth movements of shark weaving its tail fin in and out of coral beds. My mouth reacted by dropping open, but I was too afraid to move anything else. Above the shark swam a sea turtle, flying through the water, slow and steady. The sea really did have laws of its own.

"That was so cool!" I said as the shark swam out of view and the four of us popped our heads above the surface.

"Yeah, Dad that was amazing!" My sisters chorused.

"I've had enough water girls, I'm going in with your mother," he said and swam off. My sisters and I smiled at each other for a moment, than took out the water camera our father had given us. We took turns diving under the water while making peace signs, smiling or sticking out our tongues.

When my sisters had followed my parents to the dock, I remained there floating, drifting to the rim where the reef fell off into a cliff face, searching for more sharks and creatures of the deep. I took pictures of more fish, yellow ones that caught the sunlight, or rainbow ones changing colors with every swish of their fins. Giant clams opened for me, and with my eyes, I searched their satin interiors for pearls. Finally, I too became tired and regretfully left the magic of the sea world for my mundane human life.

We ate some snacks, letting our feet dangle in the water, and dried off in the scorching Australian sun. I felt the droplets evaporate off my skin as I joked around with my family. The day was over, and it was time to get back onto the plane. My father walked to the edge of the floating dock, and we soon realized why as a faint trickling sounded in our ears.

"Ew Dad! Gross!" We all grimaced and got into the plane, careful not to put even our toes in the water.

"It's a nice looking piece of bait!" My father joked, and then I didn't really understand. Now, I just shake my head and cover my eyes when thinking of my father's ill attempted humor.

We all managed to fit back into the small plane, and took off, landing back at the hotel in no time, and life went on as per usual. My thoughts however remained with the sea, even as I joked alongside my family while we sat and ate our dinner.

(Snorkel trip occured while on vacation in the Great Barrier Reef, Australian. We stayed at the Hayman Island Resort, and it was fantastic!)