Great Barrier Reef Tourism News

Management system implemented by the Great Barrier Reef Mari

Poseidon Dive - Poseidon Cruises News Feed

ONE of the world's leading experts on coral reef conservation has described the Agincourt system off Port Douglas on the Great Barrier Reef as the best reef he has ever seen.

Dr Rod Salm, director of Transforming Coral Reef Conservation, visited Agincourt last week and said it had bounced back remarkably since his last visit nearly 40 years ago.

“As a conservation scientist, my focus is discovering aspects that demonstrate resilience to climate change and I found a great deal of evidence that the coral at Agincourt are in a very positive state,” Dr Salm said.

“In fact, the corals from the top of the reef down to a depth of five metres were as healthy and vibrant as I’ve seen anywhere with good colour, no disease and active growth.”

Dr Salm, who was in Port Douglas last week for a major meeting on coral reef conservation, said the last time he saw Agincourt it had been damaged by Crown of Thorns starfish.

“In 1973, I worked with a group studying the COTS phenomenon,” he said.

“My strong memories of Agincourt during that trip were a great deal of dead corals in the wake of the starfish plague.

“It is hard to say why the reef is so healthy based on a quick visit of the mass tourism kind, but two things were very clear.

“The water quality seemed very good and there were good quantities of herbivores, like parrotfishes and surgeon fishes, that were browsing and scraping away the bare rock surfaces, keeping down the algae (which compete with corals) and conditioning the substrate for coral settlement.”

Dr Salm said the management system implemented by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority was working well.

“The GBR is very well managed compared to most other places, but I do understand from informed colleagues that the inshore reefs are really suffering badly from agricultural run-off.,” he said.

“The Agincourt reef is a clear indication that ’no take’ or green zones work to protect reef fishes.

“We saw an impressive number of fishes, particularly those that are normally rare because they are fished out, like the red or bohar snapper, parrotfishes and groupers.”

Dr Salm said the Quicksilver pontoon was an impressive demonstration of mass tourism.

“I have seen mass tourism but none anywhere near the quantity at Agincourt managed by Quicksilver,” he said.

“I thought the Quicksilver management of the people they took out and the whole concept of the platform was really an effective way to manage the many people wanting to get out there and focus the effort on one area.”

Savouring the Fresh Delights of Green Island Resort

Green Island Resort - Green Island Resort News Feed

Green Island Resort has welcomed Andy Greub as the new Executive Chef to the Island.  
 
Heading up a talented kitchen brigade of 19 including chefs and stewards, one of the first objectives of joining the Resort was to initiate and create a different seasonal menu every evening.  Not just specials, but an entire new menu, which allows and incorporates the diverse strengths of the Island chefs.  The menus are designed to be creative, beautiful and appetizing and have a wow factor of a lasting memory of the guest’s time on the Island.
 
Andy Greub, Executive Chef said, “I have always enjoyed coming to Green Island and the wonderful surrounds of the Great Barrier Reef.  I believe that our local produce and seafood are all at our doorstep and we will bring those local flavours to the menu.  Our International and Australian visitors want to experience the regional foods and I will be adapting a modern Australian cuisine with local fresh produce as the key menu selections.”
 
Working with a local company, Australian Tropical Foods has provided Greub a direct link to the Tablelands to source local produce along with purchasing meats from a local butcher.
 
Greub is a classically trained French Chef from Switzerland and arrived in Cairns in 1982.  Having worked with several leading hotels he has since 1997 worked at TAFE and then in 2005 commenced with the now called Skill 360 teaching, training and qualifying apprentices and chefs.

Great Adventures community event supports Animal Charities

Green Island Resort - Green Island Resort News Feed

Two local animal welfare charities have received a boost with some much-needed funds
thanks to the recent Green Island Beach Volleyball charity event held during the annual Great
Adventures Green Island Family Day. 

The charity Green Island Beach Volleyball challenge, with 96 players from 16 competing
teams, raised $1840 for the Young Animal Protection Society (YAPS) and the Cairns Turtle
Rehabilitation Centre (CTRC), each receiving $920. 

Sponsored by Great Adventures and Green Island Resort with the support of Cairns Indoor
Sports, players receive free travel to Green Island with their registration fees donated to the
charities. 

“Both of these animal charities are well deserving community organisations and we’re very
pleased to be able to support the great work they do,” said Megan Bell, Quicksilver Group
spokeswoman. 

CTRC recently released the region’s first satellite tracked turtle, “Matilda” on Green Island, a
significant turtle habitat, and will be able to use the funds to feed turtles currently in their
care. 

In addition to the funds, The Quicksilver Group has also laundered and donated around 30
towels from lost property, which YAPS will use for animal care.

Australasia's leading Family Resort

Dunk Island Resort - Dunk Island Resort News Feed

Dunk Island has been nominated for the highly coveted World Travel Awards under the category of: Australasia's leading Family Resort.

FIRST HUMP BACK SPOTTED THIS MORNING

Vagabond Dive n' Sail - Vagabond Dive 'n Sail News Feed

Vagabond has spotted the first hump back whale this year this morning on the Great Barrier Reef ex Cairns.

Good News for Teens

Aristocat - Aristocat News Feed

We are delighted to introduce our new fare category of ‘Teen Fare’ for 15 to 19 year olds of $160 plus EMC of $5.50
which you will see in our new Brochure which is being delivered from today .
 
We believe that this is the first time a Teen Fare has been offered for Port Douglas reef products and represents great value for families with older teenagers.

Our Teen Fare is a price reduction from the Adult Fare which would have applied to this age category.

The new fares are effective from 1st July 2010 now but we are happy to accept bookings for the Teen Fare from today

The Night Dive

Great Adventures - Silverswift News Feed

We’re delighted to announce the launch of an exciting new Night Dive, designed for small groups of adventure-seeking certified divers.

This is Cairns only night dive excursion, departing at 5.30pm to the Outer Reef and returning at 11.15pm. Launching on Thursday 1 July, The Night Dive will initially be conducted each Thursday, subject to weather conditions.

Discover a new kind of night life and dimension to the Great Barrier Reef!
Travelling aboard the luxurious, custom-designed Silverswift, certified divers can feel the adrenaline rush with two fully guided night dives with our experienced dive masters.

It’s a different world at night! After the sun goes down, there’s a whole new cast of creatures to discover... The lionfish are prowling, the reef sharks are cruising, the corals are feeding and the parrotfish are tucked away in their bubbles for a safe night...

Dive pristine coral reefs…
Located on the outer reef, Norman Reef is approximately 60nm from Cairns and boasts some of the region’s most pristine coral reefs and prolific marine biodiversity.

While adventure is high down under, safety is assured with our highly qualified crew and The Night Dive’s base from the Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform.

In between dives, divers will enjoy a hearty soup to keep energy levels up for their next underwater adventure, while a sumptuous hot dinner awaits after the two exhilarating night dives.

For divers travelling with non-diving companions, they too can join in the excitement as a “topside” observer, view from the underwater observatory and take in the spectacular sunset and dine on the reef too!

The Night Dive offers certified divers an extraordinary and highly personal diving experience on the Great Barrier Reef.

The Night Dive Fact File

Who For?
Certified divers only, minimum age 14 years. PADI or equivalent certification card must be presented. 

Cost including EMC
Diver: $240 | Observer: $120 

Inclusions

• Return fast catamaran cruise, departing from Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal
• 2 x guided night dives
• All dive gear including wetsuits and torches.

Meal inclusions:

• On boarding: Tea/coffee, focaccias
• In between Dives: Hot soup and breads, Tea/Coffee
• After Dives: Sumptuous hot dinner and dessert
• Return journey: Cheese & cracker biscuits.
   

Matilda released back into the wild

Green Island Resort - Green Island Resort News Feed

After 19 months of rehabilitation, Matilda the Hawksbill sea turtle has been released back into the waters of the Great Barrier Reef at Green Island, and in a first for our region, has been also been fitted with a satellite tracking device.

After making a full recovery from ‘floaters disease’ under the care of the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, the once critically ill turtle was released into the waters of Green Island by CTRC volunteers with the assistance of Great Adventures.

Quicksilver Group Managing Director, Tony Baker said “Green Island is a natural habitat for turtles and Great Adventures is pleased to assist with the wonderful work by CTRC a-not-for-profit community organisation. Their work is vital in assisting sick and injured turtles back into the wild and donations from companies such as ourselves and the wider community are vital to making sure these turtles find a way home.”

Poseidon Adventure - Dwarf Minke Whale Experience!

Poseidon Dive - Poseidon Cruises News Feed

Saturday June 12th was a great day to be out in the Agincourt Reefs, with multiple sightings of Minke Whales on board POSEIDON.  The first encounter
was with a solitary whale while at the dive site on Light Reef, and most of the passengers were able to enjoy an in-water experience with the curious
animal while it circled the snorkellers close up, enabling Poseidon's photographer to obtain several great shots. See image below.

When Poseidon reluctantly left the whale and moved on to the next site, passengers and crew were rewarded by having three more whales circle the
boat during lunch, resulting in great top-side photo opportunities.

Poseidon is one of only 3 day boats permitted to conduct in-water snorkelling with Dwarf Minke Whales, and now that they have "arrived" at the
Agincourt Reefs, many more encounters can be expected.

Whale Watching Tours again this season

Reef Magic - Whale Watching News Feed

Reef Magic are happy to announce we will be operating our Whale Watching Tours again this season. Below is a basic outline of how the tours will operate.

Planned Operating Dates:

• Commencement Date: Monday 19th July 2010
• Last Tour Date: Monday 30th August 2010

It's normally a shorter season this far north due to the warmer waters but last season we were able to run the tours for 6 weeks straight with almost 100% sightings apart from 1 day.

The start and finish dates are subject to change and dependant on whale activity.
We may commence earlier to run for longer however this is the date range we are predicting.

Call Travstar for more info

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