Coral reefs really are magical places. Do see one if you get the chance, before there are none left...
The first time I left New Zealand was in 1985. My parents took my two brothers and I to Raratonga, in the Cook Islands. I recall the thrill of escaping the ground in a Boeing 747, bound for distant shores. Almost twenty years on and it still amazes me that such an aircraft should be capable of flight. Nevertheless it was, and we were transported safely to our destination for eight days worth of tropical island adventure. I was 17, and eager to spend all my time exploring, most especially in the lagoon. At the time I could not understand how my parents would wish to spend their escape relaxing, lying in the sun (I have more insight now). I had always been a keen snorkeller, and lost myself in the clear waters near our hotel. The experience of swimming over my first coral reef prompted me to write a poem at about it:
Plunge into the silent kingdom,
Midst a swirl of bubbles that fizz to nothing.
Water as clear as glass, fading to turquoise,
Wrapping the limit of vision in a green mist.Beams of light filter down from above,
Shadowing surface ripples on white sand.
Fish opalescent, keeping their distance;
Yellow bands, flecks of colour
Blue and silver, red and orange
And cream and black.Clams with lips of purple,
Castles of coral with turrets.
And a mushroom.
Large brains and stag antlers,
Small polyps and crinkled crepe.
Mustard tipped and covered pink.
I have since visit other reefs in Indonesia, Fiji, the Red Sea, and Australia. These pictures (taken on the Great Barrier Reef) describe the same experience for the more visually-inclined:
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Great Barrier Reef, Australia
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