This past week has seen hubby and I chillaxing on stunning Hamilton Island.  A kid free haven (not that I am against kids mind you.lol) of visual delights,  dozens of places to unwind….

Within the first couple of hours,  I felt like we’d been there for days. A very very good sign.

Stepping out of my comfort zone (and by this I mean motion sickness possibility) we went out into the ocean sailing.  We met some stunning people from all over the world. The catamaran is was thankfully as sturdy as you can get out on the water.

The gentle breeze, the 360 views, the sunset delight were all a blessing to our trip together.  20 years being married is something to be celebrated after all.

After this conquering of fear and embracing adventure once again,  I suggested to the hubster that we look into going out to the reef.

Something we’ve both wanted to do for years….but sea sickness and the intensity of such a mammoth day had always won out in the past.

They had the option of flying out, by helicopter to the reef. A costly, but so worth it experience. It was day 4 and time was quickly passing us by. Thankfully there was a place for us in their schedule…. unsure whether it was the deliciously rich food, conversations with strangers or anxiety…but that night I found myself in complete overstimulation mode….all organs, systems were struggling and all I could think was how on earth was I going to get in a helicopter and fly out into the middle of the ocean..that and trying to settle the systems down.

Finally got to sleep after midnight,  spent the whole morning in the room, in the cool.

After chatting with my precious doctor, got the all clear to go!

My fitbit displayed the story later,  where my heart rate went from a normal resting 60ish bouncing straight up to 115 as we headed up and into the still blue sky.

Sick bag,  camera and water beside me,  we thankfully were the only 2 on this trip.  Our pilot Dan, was very reassuring and a smooth operator.(great, now I have Sade playing in my head..) Dan mentioned we might see rays, turtles and dolphins in this part. I mentioned it was a dream of mine to see a turtle,  but Dan (a science fella) said they don’t really come much to the reef. Undeterred,  I hoped.

The further we went out it hit us – the views, intense colours, blues, greens,  aquas and all shades in between…. watching boats endeavour to explore this endless canvas of beauty….priceless. My eyes have never seen such sights before and it struck me that this is our very BIG God who created such magnificence.

Seeing so much of our earth in this way,  was breath taking and such a delight for the senses.

As the reef came into view, Dan gently planted us upon the pad, where a small dinghy shuttled us to the pontoon….

At which point I felt overwhelmed by being in a place where there was no land in sight,  on a rust bucket that looked like something from the movie waterworld. No Kevin Costner here though.

A quick safety chat,  a stinger suit tossed our way,  15 minutes later we had managed to put the wet stinger suit on.(definitely a funniest home video opportunity in that moment)

And we were in the water. Surrounded by hundreds of fish, schools of them,  various shapes, colors, sizes and speeds. Hubby and I headed out with the 8 others who were also snorkeling. The ocean was our oyster on this trip.

I found myself unable to know where to look or go, ..there was so much to see.  Hubby grabbed my arm and pointed towards something a large, oval