Chapter One
Introducing Australia's Great Barrier Reef
The statistics are formidable, but nothing can prepare you for the reality of the Reef. Experienced divers on their first time here are as awed as snorkelers who've donned mask and fins for the first time.
The Great Barrier Reef stretches more than 2,000km (1,243 miles) along the east coast of northern Australia. It is home to 1,500 kinds of fish, 400 species of corals, 4,000 kinds of clams and snails, and countless sponges, worms, starfish, and sea urchins. It covers an area bigger than the size of England, Scotland, and Wales-a mere 348,700 sq. km (134,634 sq. miles). And if that's not enough, try this: It's the only living thing on earth visible from the moon. Some call it the Eighth Wonder of the World.
So where to start? Take heart-it may be awesome in scale, but a trip to the Great Barrier Reef is entirely manageable with good planning. That's where this book comes in, designed to give you the lowdown on some of the best sites to snorkel and dive this magnificent piece of nature and to provide tips on how to make the most of your experience. We tell you about the top dive and snorkel sites, as well as some remote spots rarely explored by travelers. We walk you through everything from how to fit your snorkel mask to how to pick a dive course, and recommend the best boats for exploring the Reef, from day-trip vessels to dedicated live-aboard dive boats. We tell you about some of the wonderful creatures you will see (and the few scary ones to avoid!). We recommend places to stay, from inexpensive B&Bs to glamorous Great Barrier Reef island resorts. And recognizing that even die-hard snorkelers and divers want to take a break from the water once in a while, we cover the best stuff to do on dry land, such as four-wheel-drive safaris into a World Heritage-listed rainforest or visiting a turtle rookery.
The Great Barrier Reef, which is made up of approximately 2,900 individual reefs, is enclosed within the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. There are three kinds of reef on the Great Barrier Reef-fringe, ribbon, and platform. Fringe reef grows along the mainland and island shores. Ribbon reefs are long, thin "streamers," found only north of Cairns. Divers love these for the amazing variety of life found on the long continuous reef walls. Platform reefs, or patch reefs, are splotches of coral that emerge off the continental shelf all along the Queensland coast. Platform reefs, some of which are more than 130m (427 ft.) tall-taller than the pyramids in Egypt-are by far the most common kind of reef. There are nearly 1,000 islands in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The islands are either "continental," meaning they are part of the Australian landmass, or "cays," which are piles of crushed dead coral and sand amassed over time by water action, sometimes vegetated with scrubby trees or rainforest. Cays are surrounded with sensational coral and fish life, whereas the coral around continental islands ranges from terrific to nonexistent. There are 618 continental islands and 300 cays in the marine park.
To see the Reef, you can snorkel it, fish it (recreational fishing is permitted in most zones), fly over it, sail in it, and dive it. Most of the Reef lies an average of 65km (40 miles) off the coast, though isolated patch reefs and island-fringing reefs lie closer to the mainland.
Whether you snorkel or dive, you will see green and purple clams, pink sponges, red starfish, purple sea urchins, and myriad fish ranging in color from electric blue to neon yellow. You'll see richly colored nudibranchs (they're sort of like shellfish without the shell), Christmas tree worms, giant clams, and Spanish dancers (little flatworms that swim by waving their frilly "wings" that look like a flamenco dancer's skirt). At many reefs, you can pat and hand-feed big, friendly Maori wrasse (you may know these as "Napoleon fish"). You may see harmless reef sharks, giant manta rays (most common Nov-Apr), and big green loggerhead or hawksbill sea turtles. Divers will see moray eels, and often grouper hiding under rocks, and bigger fish such as barracuda, tuna, and the occasional whale or hammerhead shark. En route to the Reef, you may see dolphins and, more rarely, dugongs (also called sea cows) from the boat. Between July and September it's common to spot humpback whales; occasionally snorkelers and divers encounter them underwater, and divers even hear them singing sometimes. Divers may see dwarf minke whales around the ribbon reefs and the Whitsunday Islands in June and July.
Water temperature on the Great Barrier Reef rarely drops below 66F (19C) in the midwinter month of July, and can get to 82F (28C) or even higher in high summer in February. The norm is around 73 to 79F (23-26C). A low tide and a sunny day are what you're hoping for when you snorkel. Choppy water and strong currents can make snorkeling more difficult. After rain, the water silts up slightly with runoff from the mainland, although visibility will still be good. On a neap (extra-low) tide, the outgoing water rushes off the Reef, creating a waterfall effect.
1 The Regions in Brief: Choosing a Gateway to the Reef
Lots of visitors to Australia believe that Cairns is the best place from which to access the Reef. Not so. Cairns is a fine place from which to see it, but the quality of the coral is just as good off any town down the Queensland coast, so don't worry too much about which part of the Reef is "best." The outer Reef is pretty much equidistant from any point along the coast-about 90 minutes by motorized catamaran. It is closest at Mission Beach (an hour away) and farthest away at Townsville and Bundaberg (more like 21/2 hr. away).
The main gateways, taken north to south, are Port Douglas, Cairns, Mission Beach, Townsville, the Whitsunday Islands, Rock-hampton, and Bundaberg. Heron Island off Gladstone is on the Reef itself.
PORT DOUGLAS
The picturesque rainforest fishing town of Port Douglas has plentiful reefs offshore, which most boats take about 90 minutes to reach. It's a 30-minute motorized boat trip or a 1-hour to 90-minute sail from Port Douglas to the Low Isles, two pretty, uninhabited sandy cays surrounded by coral and fish you can snorkel over. "Port," as the locals call it, has only about a dozen or so dive and snorkel boats, but the choice is big enough and the standard of boats is high. Only one live-aboard diving vessel makes trips from Port; most live-aboard boats depart from Cairns.
Port is about an hour's drive north of Cairns, and many Cairns-based tour operators will pick you up here, usually for an extra A$10 (US$8) or A$20 (US$16). Port has more charm and better restaurants than Cairns, a lovely beach, and a championship golf course. It's also the gateway to the Daintree Rainforest. See chapter 4.
CAIRNS
Several large catamarans, a few sailing vessels, and many small dive boats make day trips from Cairns to the reefs offshore. Most liveaboard dive boats running trips to the Great Barrier Reef (and to the diving beyond the Reef in the Coral Sea) depart from Cairns. Lizard Island, 240km (149 miles) to the north, and Green Island, 27km (17 miles) to the east, have some of the best snorkeling to be found anywhere on the Reef. Lizard Island is the only place from which you can make a diving day trip to renowned Cod Hole *. Fitzroy Island, 35km (22 miles) east, is not a top snorkel spot, but has some good diving. Cairns lacks the palm-tree-studded charm of Port Douglas, but the airport is here and the city has a wide choice of Reef cruises, land-based tours, and accommodations. This is also where most dive schools are. You can explore the rainforest town of Kuranda on a day trip. See chapter 3 for complete coverage.
MISSION BEACH
This collection of jungle hamlets hidden along pristine white beaches is really a place you come to escape the tourist hordes, not a prime Reef destination. Nonetheless, from Mission Beach or neighboring Dunk and Bedarra island resorts just offshore, you can visit Beaver Cay on the Great Barrier Reef on a day trip. Mission Beach is a nice spot for snorkelers, but divers should probably consider other destinations. No live-aboard vessels operate out of Mission Beach.
TOWNSVILLE
Although Townsville is one of the points farthest from the Great Barrier Reef, don't dismiss it out of hand. It offers Australia's best wreck dive, the SS Yongala, and its reefs, although distant, offer good diving, often on big drop-offs with fish to match. Diving in these waters is generally for the more experienced scuba diver, although snorkelers and novice divers will find plenty to suit them in the shallow reefs around Magnetic Island, an inexpensive resort island just 8km (5 miles) offshore. The city has a commercial diving school that teaches a huge range of specialty diving skills.
The city is home to the headquarters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, whose premises, Reef HQ, are well worth a visit. Townsville is a modern, unprepossessing place without the tropical appeal, endless tours, and pretty beaches of Cairns and Port Douglas. See chapter 5 for complete coverage.
THE WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
The beautiful Whitsundays are just as good a steppingstone to the outer Great Barrier Reef as Cairns. Some people even think they're better, because while the outer Reef is about the same distance from the mainland here as it is at Cairns, most of the islands also have some additional fringing reef around their shores. There are also good reefs between the islands you can visit on boat trips. A small range of good dive schools, live-aboard boats, and snorkel/dive day trips operate from both the mainland and the region's popular island resorts. The Whitsundays are also prime sailing territory. You can snorkel and make dives on many crewed sailing vacations. The Whit-sundays are far enough south to miss the worst of the hot, humid wet season suffered by Cairns, Port Douglas, and Townsville between November and March. See chapter 6 for complete coverage.
THE CENTRAL & SOUTHERN REEF ISLANDS
The Great Barrier Reef in this region attracts far fewer visitors than North Queensland. This is due more to the area's lack of tourism infrastructure than to a lack of reefs. That said, the region is home to the brightest stars in the Great Barrier Reef firmament, Heron Island, a coral cay surrounded by acres of coral and home to some of the Reef 's top dive sites, and nearby Wilson Island. From Rockhampton to the north, you can visit Great Keppel Island, where snorkel and diving trips around the island's fringing reefs are geared toward beginner divers. Snorkelers and experienced divers will enjoy taking day trips from the mainland to the many reefs in these parts that are mostly unexplored by visitors. From Bundaberg in the south, you can join a snorkel/dive day trip or a live-aboard boat to explore the excellent and untouched Bunker Group islands and reefs. This region is home to the southernmost Great Barrier Reef resort island, Lady Elliot Island, a basic resort whose dive sites are renowned for good coral and marine life, especially manta rays.
Rockhampton, Gladstone, and Bundaberg are rural towns with only a handful of attractions to explore. The scenery in these parts is eucalyptus bushland, not the rainforest vistas you enjoy farther north.
2 Which Great Barrier Reef Resort Is Right for You?
Choosing the right resort can be a tricky business; the Reef is home to about 15 major resorts of varying levels of luxury and comfort. Much will depend on your tastes, budget, and interests-if you want to dive, you will want a resort with easy access to the reef, or boats that go to the reef; if not, you may settle for something where you can get away from it all with a book and a tall drink.
The jewels of the reef are undoubtedly Heron and Wilson islands, the most southerly islands of the Great Barrier Reef. They are both right on the reef-just get in the water and you're there. Superb diving and snorkeling, sea turtles nesting, a range of low-key activities, and-in Heron's case-newly renovated accommodations make these two a "must" in my book. Heron Island is accessed from Gladstone in Central Queensland, and Wilson Island from Heron.
In the far north, there are four major island resorts off Cairns. Lizard and Bedarra are the epitome of luxury, with lodge-style rooms and villas beloved by the rich and famous. Lizard has excellent coral, but it is limited at Bedarra, where the emphasis is on utter privacy for no more than 30 people. Green Island is very close to Cairns and has stylish rooms and good diving. Fitzroy Island Resort was undergoing a major redevelopment at press time and no details were available on reopening dates for 2007, but the simple cabins and bunkhouses will have been upgraded and there will be swish new accommodations by the time you visit.
From Townsville, you can choose between the "suburban" style of Magnetic Island, just a stone's throw from the city and offering a large range of motels, hotels, apartments, and camping facilities, or the simple but pricey exclusivity of Orpheus (which can also be reached by air from Cairns).
The Whitsunday Island resorts offer the biggest choice of all, with access from Airlie Beach on the mainland or through Hamilton Island Airport. Hayman is Australia's most luxurious resort, where you may find yourself rubbing shoulders with world leaders and foreign royalty, but there are plenty of other options if you're not in that league. Hamilton Island is popular with families and has a range of accommodations, including hotel rooms, apartments, and bures (a South Pacific-style beach dwelling).
There's limited access to coral from Hamilton, so this is perhaps not the best choice for serious divers, but there is a huge range of watersports and other activities. Long Island has three resorts, from the stylish and comfortable cabins at eco-friendly South Long Island Nature Wilderness Lodge to the noisy fun of Club Crocodile's Long Island Resort and the romantic luxury of Peppers Palm Bay. South Molle and Dunk islands are popular with families and have activities for kids, but limited coral viewing. Hook Island has basic cabins and dorm beds and is popular with students.
Off the Capricorn coast, further south, there are two islands to choose from besides Heron Island. On Great Keppel Island, you will find a big range of watersports and activities but no trips to the Outer Reef. Lady Elliot is, like Heron, right on the reef, but has very basic lodge-style rooms.
All island resorts offer day trips to the Outer Reef, except Great Keppel. From Orpheus, they are charter-only, and from Long Island they are by seaplane only, making it a more expensive proposition.
3 Picking a Boat: Day-Trip or Live-Aboard, Big or Small? An almost endless variety of day-trip dive boats and live-aboard vessels ply the Reef.
You will experience the Reef's wonders in full if you take a day trip from the mainland or from an island resort. Extended dive or snorkel trips on live-aboard vessels allow you to see more in quantity, but not necessarily more in quality. True, you need to travel on a live-aboard boat to access some sites, such as the wonderful Ribbon Reefs off Port Douglas/Cairns, the shark diving and dramatic drop-offs of the Coral Sea, and renowned Cod Hole off Lizard Island north of Cairns (though Cod Hole is accessible on a day trip if you stay at Lizard Island's very expensive resort). But a day trip will do you fine, whether you dive or snorkel.
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Excerpted from Frommer's Portable Australia's Great Barrier Reefby Lee Mylne Copyright © 2007 by Lee Mylne. Excerpted by permission.
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