I traveled from Brisbane to Heron Island, a small island off the coast of Queensland. Getting there involved traveling 6 hours by bus to the coast and taking a 2.5 hour ferry boat out to the island.
I traveled all the way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Brisbane, Australia, to study abroad for several months. That's a journey of more than 9,000 miles! My trip to Heron Island was another adventure within my Australian adventure.
I traveled by boat to reach Heron Island and explored much of the island on foot. To explore the underwater world, I used a snorkel, mask, and fins. For my research, I also walked across shallow reef flats to look for marine animals and record my observations.
Heron Island's coral reef was the most amazing place I visited! It is part of the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. At sunrise, I explored the shallow reef flats and searched for tiny animals hiding in the water. Later, I snorkeled above colorful corals surrounded by fish, turtles, rays, and sharks. The best part was realizing that every little patch of reef was home to living things.
