Under the waves in wonderland
THE sun came up over the horizon, rising surprisingly quickly in the sky. It was 6.43am, right on cue. The first rays of light had broken through the darkness almost half an hour earlier as my travelling companions and I stirred from our swags — a cross between a one-person tent and a sleeping bag — to see something we may never get to see again: daybreak at the Great Barrier Reef. We had seen the sun set more than 12 hours earlier — an equally spectacular sight that will live long in the memory.
We had camped on a pontoon on the Moore Reef, about 30 miles from Cairns in northern Queensland. Even though the city is commonly known as the ‘Gateway to the Reef ’, being able to stay out there overnight is a relatively recent development, and is truly the experience of a lifetime.
Several companies offer a variety of day trips to the reef, but only Sunlover by Starlight offers the opportunity to camp overnight.
Once the day-passengers head back to shore in mid-afternoon, the overnight part of the trip kicks in, and you are alone until the following day visitors arrive. Effectively, the Moore Reef pontoon became our home for two days.
Before night fell, we took a final swim and snorkel, and with no-one else around it seemed as if this part of the reef had swelled with fish of all shapes and sizes, clearly enjoying the peace and quiet as much as we were. Our guide in the water was even happy to bring us beyond the coral into the deep ocean.
This is a truly intimate experience. A couple of crew members stay with you and as the sun goes down they serve up cheese and fruit platters, followed later by a full barbecue and refreshments. There is quite literally nothing or nobody around, and the distant lights of the nearest land are barely visible. We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy the wonders of the night sky and watch as the nocturnal reef came alive before bunking down for the night. It’s quite something to drift off to sleep to the tranquil sound of water lapping against the pontoon.
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef system in the world, stretching for 2,300km along Queensland’s coastline. For that night, and morning, that little corner of the reef was our slice of heaven.
Snorkelling is by far the most popular of the activities you can take part in. As someone who has only recently learned to swim, this was only my second experience of snorkelling and my first in open water, but any initial misgivings I had quickly disappeared as I caught my first glimpses of the underwater world of the reef.
It’s easy to see why David Attenborough still insists that his first reef experience was the most magical moment of his illustrious career. This is an underwater city of spectacular beauty and colour, teeming with an abundance of marine life, and said to be home to over 1,500 species of fish. But it’s the bright colours which
‘The reef had swelled with fish of all shapes and sizes’
dazzle; and the silent grace of the fish as you swim above or alongside them which beguile.
You quickly become lost in this wonderland and time drifts by. I was surprised to learn that on one of our snorkel sessions we had been 45 minutes in the water, and once had meandered several hundred metres from the pontoon while following a turtle at close quarters. When snorkelling, you can head off on your own, or with your group, or join one of the short guided tours with a marine biologist — you even have enough time on a day trip to do both. For those interested in scuba diving, all levels are catered for.
A fun diversion when snorkelling or diving is trying to tick off the so-called Great Eight — the living icons of the reef, the creatures they say should top your wishlist: whales, manta ray, clownfish, turtles, potato cod, giant clams, Maori wrasse and sharks.
You can also take glass-bottom boat tours and even a helicopter ride, where you can marvel at the sheer beauty of the reef from the air. Indeed, it’s only when you take to the sky that you really get a sense of the reef and it’s scale.
The reef is one of our most important natural assets. When we think of it, one of the first images that might pop into our heads — if it’s not Nemo of Disney fame — is the giant clams or the array of colourful coral, so I was surprised to learn that coral makes up only around 7pc of its total area.
There are also coral cays (small islands on the reef’s surface), continental islands, estuaries, seagrass beds, deep oceanic waters and more. In total, there are around 2,900 separate coral reefs, 600 continental islands and 300 coral cays.
It doesn’t take long either to start getting a sense of just how vulnerable
‘The island has white sandy beaches and coconut palms’
this natural wonder is. Access to the Great Barrier Reef for tourists is strictly controlled because of its fragile ecosystem — but newer threats, in the form of climate change and pollution, are an even greater concern now.
Andy Ridley, co-founder of the Earth Hour movement, is now the CEO of a new group called Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, set up to protect the reef ’s future.
The group is particularly focused on its vision for a plastic-free reef through a number of initiatives, but principally by building a global network to spread the word and support their projects.
“The Great Barrier Reef is in grave danger,” according to Attenborough. “The twin perils brought by climate change, an increase in the temperature of the ocean and its acidity, if they continue to rise at the present rate the reefs will be gone within decades and that would be a global catastrophe.”
The reef, which is roughly the same size as Germany, still attracts more than two million visitors a year and its annual economic value to Australia is estimated to be over $6.4bn, and a portion of this money is used to fund projects aimed at safeguarding the reef.
The advent of flights from Singapore direct to Cairns, with Singapore Airlines and their sister airline SilkAir, means this hitherto remote part of Queensland is more accessible than ever before.
The harbour in this small friendly city is lined with several quality hotels. We stayed in the very comfortable Pullman Cairns International, right on the seafront.
Cairns is by no means the only access point to the reef, even in this corner of Queensland.
The picturesque coastal town of Port Douglas, just 70km north, is another worthwhile stop on any adventure to this part of the world.
The town is best known for its spectacular beach, known as Four Mile Beach, which genuinely seems to stretch as far as the eye can see.
Our hotel, the Sheraton Grand Mirage, overlooks the beach and although it’s on the outskirts of town, the central strip with the bars, restaurants and very impressive Sunday market is easily reached via a short stroll.
The Sheraton Grand Mirage is situated on a vast estate, and has a mix of luxury hotel rooms and villas, as well as an 18-hole golf course, and almost five acres of man-made salt water lagoons.
From Port Douglas, Sailaway offers a selection of reef trips. We opted for an afternoon cruise on board a luxury catamaran to the Low Islands, which includes a sunset sail on return with refreshments. The trip combines snorkelling with a guided walk on Low Island, a coral cay of heritage significance. The island really catches your attention as you approach, with its white sandy beaches and coconut palms, and it also features a lighthouse built in 1878 which was staffed right up to 1993.
It’s amazing to think that for over 100 years, families lived on this tiny island in the heart of the reef in one of three small cottages at the base of the lighthouse.
The walk helps give a sense of how they lived and what they endured — such as when the island was hit by a cyclone in 1911.
On our journey back to Cairns that evening, the sun set on our Great Barrier Reef adventure one last time. I thought of all I had experienced and knew for sure I was the better for it. The wonder of it all, the joy, and then those moments of sheer tranquillity...
I was a happy man.