A mild, overcast day means pretty perfect conditions for a boat cruise cum snorkel venture out on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lady Musgrave Island, a 2-hour rocky boat ride from the Town of 1770, was created entirely of dead coral. It was an easy 40-minute walk around the whole thing, stopping to check out all the Black Noddy nests in the Pisonia forest and a few photos at the most picturesque spots.

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef is an unbelievable experience. I’ve never seen so many different varieties of coral, with so many different colors. We learned that coral in the cooler south is of a harder variety so not much swaying with the waves but still quite serene. My favorite: a giant mollusk with huge mouth. Its wavy ‘lips’ – which opened and closed in pace with my breathing it seemed – were black, pink, green, blue, purple… Surrounded by all the yellow brain coral and blue stag antler coral, it was a scene I’ll never forget.