Experience tropical islands where the rainforest canopy towers overhead, visit reefs where multitudes of coloured fish decorate rich coral gardens and cruise where dolphins play and dugongs glide in the unique Hinchinbrook Channel.

  Day 4: Anchoring off Thetford Reef and Sudbury Cay we enjoy our final opportunity to snorkel over the reef. Join our Marine Biologist for a glass bottom boat tour over the colourful coral gardens before gathering on the snorkel deck to participate in a fish feed. Discover some of the 1500 species of tropical fish that call the reef home, including Spangled Emperor, Giant Trevally and the Hump-Headed Maori Wrasse as they are hand fed by the Marine Biologist. Early this afternoon we cruise through Trinity Bay before arriving in tropical Cairns at 1:30pm for disembarkation at Trinity Wharf.

The Great Barrier Reef

In recognition of its outstanding universal value, the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 2,000 kms along the Queensland Coast, was inscribed on the World Heritage List on 26th October, 1981, under the Unesco Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage. The purpose of the Convention is to ensure international co-operation for the protection and care of the world's outstanding and irreplaceable heritage. Over 200 World Heritage sites are scattered around the world including the Grand Canyon in the USA, the Pyramid Fields of Egypt and the Taj Mahal in India.

In the Australian Government's nomination of the Barrier Reef to the World Heritage List it stated "The Great Barrier Reef is by far the largest single collection of coral reefs in the World. Biologically the Great Barrier Reef supports the most diverse ecosystems known to man. Its enormous diversity is thought to reflect the maturity of an ecosystem which has evolved over millions of years...."

Today the Great Barrier Marine Park, including over 2,500 individual reefs and island national parks, is managed by the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife service and is made available for the appreciation and enjoyment of this and future generations from around the world.

THE REEFS

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest collection of living corals. Corals actually refer to a number of similar marine animals, which form the main structure of coral reefs. Each coral contains polyps which bud in a variety of ways. This budding process is responsible for the many shapes and textures of corals. Coral reproduction, which occurs for just a few short days each year in a spectacular display of colour, is one of the most amazing spectacles on the Barrier Reef.

Coral reefs are also havens for thousands of marine animals and plants, in a vista of colour, shape and design. Over 1500 species of fish are known to exist on the Barrier Reef including the world's smallest and largest, giant clams sometimes up to a metre long and 200 kg in weight, and 15 metre whale sharks (thankfully harmless plankton eaters) among many.

THE RAINFOREST

The Great Barrier Reef islands and coastline, encompassing the world heritage Daintree Rainforest, boasts an amazing variety of ecosystems. The sub tropical vegetation varies from towering rainforest canopies, to eucalypt forests, to dense mangrove mud flats and coastal lowlands.

The Southern islands, lying between Cairns and Townsville, are the most tropical of all the islands in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Entire islands such as Hinchinbrook, (Australia's largest island national park) have been declared flora and fauna havens - sanctuaries for Australia's fascinating wildlife. Both Dunk and Fitzroy Islands offer dense tropical rainforests, and a colourful variety of birdlife, nesting high in the forest canopy.

North of Cairns, on the Far North Queensland coast, lies Mossman Gorge and the magnificent Daintree Rainforest. One of the most beautiful coastal locations on the reef is Cape Tribulation, where the rainforest meets the waters of the Coral Sea.

EARLY EXPLORATION

The hundreds of shipwrecks littering the Great Barrier Reef attest to the hazard the Reef posed for coastal navigators. Sixteenth Century Portuguese navigators were the first to describe the treacherous waters off north eastern Australia. A map from this period marked the area as "COST DANGEREUSE".

Two centuries later, James Cook reached Australia during his epic voyage of exploration. Cook described the maze of coral reefs as "Memorials to Distress". His ship the "Endeavour" ran aground on the Endeavour Reef in June 1770.

The first mapping survey of the Great Barrier Reef was conducted in 1802 by Matthew Flinders. Throughout the 1800's, survey of the Reef was slow but eventually resulted in the opening of the Torres Strait Passage to increased sail and later steamer traffic. In 1884 the Torres Strait Pilot Service was officially established.