Tag Archive for reef

Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef

The Cairns marina contains a fleet which includes a number of really amazing dive vessels. The newest member in this fleet is the Seastar, only launched this past year.

This specific wonderful completely new boat is 70 feet long, and helps make an excursion out to Seastar’s scuba sites in under an hour or so. The charter boat is super fast as well as safe, with a lot of shaded and air-conditioned interior open area.

Seastar Cruises also has always prided itself on providing an extremely special and personal journey, and they seem to be changing their procedures in order to improve the small group experiences that these products have generally supplied.

We all really like the inescapable fact that their company owners restrict the numbers on the boat to only just forty five clients, certainly under the capacity of the charter boat; that means that there will be plenty of room on board. With a quicker charter boat they could abandon a bit less early, yet still often be typically the 1st vessel to stop by Michaelmas Cay, which means snorkelers together with birdwatchers have got it almost all to themselves. This specific trip is definitely typically the A-list tour when it comes to birdwatchers that desire to blend an incredible reef adventure that has a chance to observe tropical seabird varieties.

Any kind of much faster journey out also usually means far more free time can easily end up being spent at Michaelmas Cay together with Seastar’s additional scuba dive mooring on the Hastings Reef; customers can right now spend over five hrs out at the reef.

The entire Great Barrier Reef is unique in several ways, and one can be that it is usually typically the wintertime the place to find the only well-known white colored whale in existence.

The whale, a 20-year-old Humpback whale nicknamed “Migaloo”, which translates to mean light fellow in a local aboriginal dialect, gets to spend his summers feeding around Antarctica, and then the majority of years migrates northward to the winter calving and mating grounds within the north Great Barrier Reef.

Migaloo was only identified off of Port Douglas earlier this weekend, the earliest sighting of this one-of-a-kind whale ever since his migration southward towards Antarctica during the past year.

Simply just the spotting of that particular whale is huge news throughout Cairns. The Cairns Post, our own community paper, featured some sort of cover report on the particular sighting, which include either some sort of first page picture and an inside fold out poster.

This isn’t exactly the only area where this unique whale has an impression, as witnessed by the following stories which also highlighted Migaloo these previous months:

Throughout July Migaloo was a poster guy associated with (blank) a collection of direct orders versus an army coaching exercise around Shoalwater Bay, found in the central region of the Great Barrier Reef. These types of exercises were jointly conducted by the Usa and Aussie military services forces. Protesters were concerned that the high intensity sonar which is usually these days a characteristic associated with this kind of activities would harm whale numbers, among them Migaloo. There really does seem to be superior the evidence linking marine mammal deaths using this kind of sonar, and given the controversy it appears to be peculiar that the exercise movements could possibly be planned along the length of a known whale migration course during the time while whales are around.

Furthermore this year, there was a conflict when a nearby individual profitably branded the phrase “migaloo”. Although some media accounts represented the owner associated with the trademark like a man that wanted to use the trademark as a way of raising funds to help conserve whales, other individuals felt that a commercial invasion on nature and aboriginal culture.

Miglaoo of course has made it onto Video hosting sites., this means he’s obtained celeb reputation that equals Paris Hilton along with Lindsay Lohan. We have yet to examine Facebook or MySpace regarding Migaloo’s pages, but it’s sure that in the event that he’s created a page, he’s got a wide range of visitors!

Some Info About The Barrier Reef

The Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world stretching from the northernmost point of Australia to just north of the border. It’s coral reefs stretch over 2000km along the eastern coast.

The Barrier Reef is home to well over 1200 fish species, dolphins, dugongs and turtles. Many different types of birdlife can be found on the reef.

The coral which creates the reef itself is also a living thing. When it dies it turns white, and creates the basis for further reef growth. Different varieties of coral grow at varying speeds, while some are very quick to grow, some take well over a 100 years to reach maturity. The vivid colours are not formed by the coral but by the growth of algae living on it.

The barrier reef needs a tropical climate as it requires on warm shallow water for optimal growth. Clean water and lots of light is required to keep the coral healthy.

With 100′s of 1000′s of square miles of reef it is a watersports mecca. Various day tours are available from the communities right along the coast. Even if you don’t swim you can see the marvels of the reef through reef viewing tours.

The reef is heritage listed and vast areas are restricted from fishing and removing coral from the reef is prohibited to protect it for our childrens children.

The colourful and exciting capital of North Queensland, Cairns is alive with life and charm. Located in the centre of some of the most awe inspiringly beautiful and environmentally important areas in the world, Cairns is the natural doorway to the natural riches of rainforest, tablelands, outback, and The Great Barrier Reef. The CBD itself has many attractions – great shopping, theatres, cinemas, museums, botanical gardens, a casino, and fine international dining. Cairns is firmly established as one of Australia’s leading visitor destinations, being the departure point for all the best water based adventures. Cairns reef tours are definately the most popular for most tourists, however the area is quickly becoming recognised as the extreme sport capital of Queensland.

Our Day at The Great Barrier Reef on Reef Quest

Friday , 23rd July, and what a perfect Cairns day to go to the Great Barrier Reef… and we made a great choice to go on “Reef Quest”, from Cairns which provided an absolutely fantastic day trip.
After arriving from Sydney last night I was due some north Queensland weather. It was a little cooler than I’d planned and I was glad I had packed trackies and a hoodie!
I’ve been vacationing in Cairns for over 10 years and have been out on my fair share of Reef Trips and let’s admit it, they all do pretty much the same trip: 2 reefs, snorkelling gear, lunch and coffee & tea – so it’s the reef destinations and little extras that make the difference.

From the time you get on the boat to the time you get off, the service and staff are very professional. The staff to guest numbers are really high, as there was always someone right there to assist with any questions or problems. The crew seem really happy and their service and attention were great.

Reef Quest supply a wetsuit for everybody which is normally an extra (usually $7.00 hire) on other trips. For the snorkelers a wetsuit provides you with sun protection and also buoyancy which makes snorkelling simpler and much more enjoyable.

Reef Quest have a choice of 14 different moorings and select the best 2 reefs based on the weather and visibility for the day. A guided snorkelling tour is also on offer at both sites and this is a real bonus for beginners or anyone wanting to learn a little bit more about the Great Barrier Reef. The snorkel guide dives to the bottom and picks up things like jellyfish and starfish and brings them up so you can all have a close look. They also know where the best bits of the reef are, so it does add a lot to the days experience.

Lunch was yum with plenty of variety including potato salad, rice salad, Asian salad, local fruits, cold meats, bread rolls and prawns. There is tea and coffee and soft drinks from the bar available throughout the day.

To sum things up it was a great day.