I must confess that the experience itself was underwhelming, perhaps a victim of heightened expectations. We have all seen Discovery Channel documentaries, but the visit didn’t live up to that expectation. In retrospect, the reason is obvious: we visited a very small slice of this mammoth structure and then had to extrapolate its true size.

Now, the facts: The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth, growing for thousands of years. Other than Trump, it is the only visible structure from SpaceX’s eyes. It hugs the Queensland coast for more than 1400 miles from a little distance, creating a buffer lagoon from the Pacific, sparing Queensland some of the fury from tsunamis and cyclones. The Dutch are bioengineering dikes with bioreceptive concrete to create a synthetic option that emulates reefs, aiming for a more viable way to ward off rising oceans. Nature threatens, nature lends a cure.

The Reef supports a rich biodiversity, with over 1,500 species of fish that live peacefully within its massive structure, which provides food and shelter. The fish have different food habits and habitats, eliminating the need for destructive competition, at least to an innocent bystander. Under the cover, predation abounds. They float around amicably, just like humans do.

Despite some buyer’s remorse, this is one box we have to check. Seeing threatened turtles is exhilarating. The schools of fish passing by a plethora of species and minding their own business is instructive, in more ways than one.

Tomorrow Tasmania.

– brif