Tag Archive for Cairns

bubba | 05/17/2012
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Learned To Scuba Dive Finally!

Following the Whitsundays Cairns must be one of the best destinations to have fun in Australia. It was so good I even went there three times in the space of my travels. The Great Barrier Reef from Cairns appeared to be just a bonus.

That’s where I completed my SSI Advanced Open water dive course. I achieved it with Cairns Dive Centre on a 6 day liveaboard scuba dive training course which was certainly wonderful. I actually at first checked out going with a business known as Down Under Dive but these guys sounded very up themselves and I’d heard many a good thing about their dive training. Additionally after a little bit more digging I discovered that they had possibly pretty much the finest dive pools .

Their particular liveaboard scuba dive boat has been recently entirely rebuilt and has all the better technology fitted. It’s got very nice air conditioned cabins which cater for 2-4 people, has a huge saloon, lounge and its own bar. Of course it even has a small spa on the front deck to sit in and chill out . The actual meals was fantastic and created in a very well built galley, among the best foods they prepared was Barbecue Coral Trout . Yummy .

The actual boat is usually based at the diving site but would shift every day to other sections of the reef, which would either be performed over night if some distance or early in the morning if closeby . This was pretty good as you are free to experience a variety of reefs and have a truly unique diving experience . This company had a quick transfer boat that takes you there and back again which also permits you to spend as many days and nights on-board as you wish.

I absolutely would not recommend anybody else to instruct you to Learn to Dive in Cairns however if you decide to look somewhere else please be diligent when selecting a dive course in Cairns as some dive schools utilize fixed platforms at sea which you stay on and travel by means of boat for the diving, not quite the live aboard you would expect!

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bubba | 04/10/2012
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The Best Cairns Travel Tips.

As a booking agent located in Cairns, I decided I might share a few ideas with you.These are my favourite Cairns activities. I trust they can assist you if you’re planning to travel there.

Quicksilver day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. The reef that Quicksilver visit is the most northern of the reefs patronised by day cruises. As one of the original reef operators they have been taking people to this underwater wonderland for over 30 years. Top quality equipment and attention to detail should make this day trip to Quicksilver’s pontoon a memorable component of everyones vacation to Cairns.

Kuranda Scenic Railway, with some stunning scenic views of the rainforest . This train trip has always been popular with travellers and locals as well. Why not go one way on the Kuranda Scenic Railway and return on the Skyrail cablecar.

Mareeba Rodeo Drive In Cinema. Sample movies under the stars at one of the country’s 12 surviving drive in cinemas.

Green Island with Big Cat Cruises. A locally run boat, not too big to remember that you matter. They offer full and half day transfers to Green Island with as much or as little as you want. Very popular with locals.

Flames of the Forest, Experience some indigenous ingredients in a 5 star menu, set in a romantic world heritage rainforest location.

Tandem Skydive from 14000 feet, Whle you can do a skydive anywhere in Australia, not many places offer a tropical beach landing and those awe inspiring views of the great barrier reef. It’s lucky you’re strapped to someone or you may forget to deploy the chute.

Bungee Jump with AJ Hackett. Australia’s first purpose constructed bungee tower located in a spectacular jungle location.

Go scuba diving with Silversonic. This brand new custom designed dive boat is the perfect dive platform to explore the reef. With a brand new refit and impressive customer to crew numbers you won’t be dissappointed.

Spend a day at the Boulders with a packed lunch and a chilled bottle of wine. Some day tours will take you there but why not hire a car and make the most of it.

Visit Tjapukai by Night, for a glimpse of about indigenous Australia. The dinner is also quite good quality.

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bubba | 04/07/2012
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Check Out A Week in Cairns

Monday

For day 1 of our Cairns backpacker package we thought we would get the adrenaline flowing by going white water rafting on the Russell river in two person sports rafts. Although the Russell River isn’t as high a grade as the Tully this is still an adrenaline ride. As you are in 2 man sports rafts there is no guide in the kayak with you. They are paddling their own kayak with you.

Tuesday

Today we thought we might to have an easy day lying around the pool. Some cold drinks and mudcrab for lunch made it a great day.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we finally got to go to the Great Barrier Reef. We went to the reef with Quicksilver cruises. They have an artificial island permanently moored at the outer reef. The snorkelling was amazing with literally hundreds of fish of all shapes and sizes swimming with you. The coral was fantastic and was so close you could virtually touch it.

That night we went out for a meal and a few beers and watched some Cane Toad racing. They are ugly lumpy creatures.

Thursday

Today we went to Kuranda on our package. It’s a quiet little town in the mountains behind Cairns. You can get a bus there, but we travelled via the Skyrail Cablecar. The Skyrail took about an hour with 2 stations on the way. Kuranda’s an interesting place but a little too tacky for me. Just about every second shop is selling didgeridoo’s and the ones in between are selling souveneirs. A must see is the Kuranda Village Markets, with more didgeridoo’s for sale as well as lots of local handmade knick knacks, as well as more didgeridoo’s. We returned by the Scenic Train with more beautiful scenery.

Friday

Friday was another lay day of sorts. We took the opportunity to spend the day at the lagoon. For a place with deadly crocodiles and stinging jellyfish, the lagoon is the ultimate idea.

Friday night we went on a boat cruise on the Cairns Inlet, the food was of a high standard and the singer was top quality. Finishing by 9.40pm, it wasn’t too bad.

Saturday

Today we cruised to the Great Barrier Reef again. This time we went with Pro Dive on a diving cruise. However we only did the snorkelling, as none of us are trained scuba divers. The reef was even better than the first day. The lack or crowds makes it a much different experience than on the big boat trips.

Sunday

On Sunday we took a tour to the Daintree Rainforest . The Daintree is the worlds oldest rainforest, and it’s quite spectacular. They market it as “where the rainforest meets the reef” and thats what happens. The rainforest runs right down to the white sandy beaches.

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bubba | 02/19/2012
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Getting Price cut Cairns Holiday Packages

When planning a Cairns holiday, one of many issues that it’s important to take into consideration may be the price. Once you’ve made a decision on where you wish to go, you then need to find the most cost effective method of getting there.

Holidaying abroad and heading on vacation does not need to end up being as high-priced as you may imagine. You just need to look at several companies to receive the very best prices.

While you’re looking into the various packages and deals out there, you’ll probably come across Cairns Vacation packages. These types of deals are designed to tempt one to have a discount vacation with assorted companies. They generally do tend to be great value for the money and there’s quite a large range of them available too. One of the many advantages involving these kinds of bundles is simply because they actually do contain precisely what you will need so as to create a fantastic vacation. These contain the Cairns accommodation, plane tickets, food and in some cases several activities. So you have all you need in a single bundle.

Each Cairns holiday package will be different so it is extremely important for you to review your selected bundle very carefully before you’ll arrange it. You have got to find out what is included. By way of example is dinner and the afternoon meal included or maybe do you have to purchase it yourself when you are there? It should include things like use of any non-public beaches? Also what holiday accommodation does it give you? So many people merely book their anticipated trip while not planning since they find it at a good price. However, whenever you take a look deeper into a deal, it sometimes can be a little misleading. It could actually consist of things which you simply will not use as an example. As well as it could possibly leave out something you need. So examine the package and find out exactly what it contains along with anything you may want to add.

In general it is easy to choose a Cairns holiday bundle. You will find Cairns vacations practically just about anywhere throughout the world plus they can easily be booked on the internet. Also you can often find discount accommodations online as well which is valuable when you are using a tiny spending budget. For anybody who is continually struggling to find a package geared to you, then you might want to go to a local travel agent where by they will be capable of finding the most affordable deals possible for you. Don’t ignore that travel agents aren’t free of charge however and they don’t invariably find you the best bargains available.

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bubba | 01/17/2012
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Cairns’ Reef

The Cairns harbour has a fleet that features a number of rather astounding dive vessels. The most recent member in this fleet is the Seastar, just brought out this last year.

This beautiful brand-new charter boat is eighty feet long, and tends to make an excursion out to Seastar’s diving sites in under an hour. The vessel is without question really fast and safe, together with plenty of shaded and air-conditioned interior area.

Seastar Cruises has always prided itself on offering a very distinctive as well as personalized cruise, and they are actually evolving their specific operations to enhance the small group feel which these products have usually provided.

We love the fact that the business owners regulate the levels aboard to exclusively forty people, extremely well beneath the actual total capacity of the particular boat; this should tell you there is certainly lots of space on board. By using a swifter vessel they may leave a little less early on, but still end up being the very first charter boat to travel to Michaelmas Cay, consequently snorkelers as well as birdwatchers get it just about all to themselves. This particular tour is actually the A-list escape designed for birdwatchers that want to combine an ideal reef cruise with an an opportunity to witness exotic seabird species.

A quicker trip out there also means that significantly more precious time can be spent on Michaelmas Cay as well as Seastar’s other diving mooring found on Hastings Reef; visitors will currently spend in excess of 5 hours out there on the ocean.

Typically the Great Barrier Reef is one of a kind in many ways, and 1 is that it is the winter home to the only real known white-colored whale in the whole world.

The particular whale, a huge 20-year-old Humpback whale nicknamed “Migaloo”, which means white-colored man in the native aboriginal language, spends his summer season feasting in Antarctica, after that almost all years migrates northward towards the wintertime calving and mating grounds around the northern Great Barrier Reef.

Migaloo was just spotted off Port Douglas this past week, the very first sighting of the one-of-a-kind whale since his migration southward to Antarctica a year ago.

Simply the spotting of this distinctive whale is definitely big news when it comes to Cairns. The Cairns Story, the local newspaper, happened to run a cover story about the sighting, which include both a front page picture along with an inside flip out poster.

This isn’t just the only location in which this amazing whale has an effect, as observed by the following stories that also featured Migaloo these past few weeks:

In August Migaloo was in fact the main poster dude connected with (blank) a set of protests in opposition to the armed forces training exercise close to Shoalwater Bay, located in the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. These exercises were collectively carried out by the US and Australian military forces. Demonstrators had been anxious how the intense sonar that is now an element of such actions would certainly damage whale populations, not to mention Migaloo. Generally there does appear to be sensible proof connecting ocean mammal fatalities due to this sort of sonar, and considering the dispute it appears strange how the exercises could be organized alongside a noted whale migration route at the same time whilst whales are usually close.

Additionally this season, there seemed to be a controversy as soon as a local man successfully copyrighted the word “migaloo”. While many news stories described the person of the trademark as a man who wanted to use the trademark as a method of raising money in order to save whales, others thought the idea a business oriented attack upon mother nature and also aboriginal traditions.

Miglaoo also has got on to Twitter., that means he’s received star status which challenges Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. We’ve still to check on Facebook itself or Myspace . com for Migaloo’s web page, nevertheless it’s certain assuming he’s got a webpage, he’s got countless great friends!

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bubba | 12/29/2011
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Some Facts About The Barrier Reef

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

The Barrier Reef is home to well over 900 fish varieties, dolphins, turtles. An impressive amount of birdlife make their home in the area.

The coral which creates the reef itself is also a living creature, made up of 1000′s of tiny creatures. When it dies it turns white, and forms the basis for further reef growth. Different varieties of coral grow at varying speeds, while some are very quick to grow, some species take well over a hundred years to fully grow. The vivid colours are not formed by the coral but by the growth of algae on it.

The barrier reef needs a tropical climate as it relies on warm shallow water to survive. 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. Access through day tours are available from the communities all 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 extensive areas are restricted from fishing and removing coral from the reef is prohibited to preserve it for our childrens children.

The colourful and exciting capital of North Queensland, Cairns is alive with exciting activities. Located in the centre of some of the most scenically beautiful and environmentally important areas in the world, Cairns is the natural gateway 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 definately positioned as one of the countries 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 fast becoming recognised as the extreme sport capital of Queensland.

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bubba | 11/23/2011
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Some Cairns Great Barrier Reef Boats

The Great Barrier Reef, best visited from Cairns Australia is the world’s largest coral reef and home to an amazing diversity of marine life. There are a large number of cruise vessels that depart from Cairns, I’ve listed the best below.

Sunlover Reef Cruises offers the quickest travel time, longest play time at the Great Barrier Reef. Once tied up at their pontoon on Moore Reef, guests have over 4.5 hours to snorkel, take glass-bottom boat and/or semi-sub trips, enjoy a full hot and cold buffet lunch as well as afternoon tea on the cruise back to Cairns. Full day cruise$186/adult, $66/child or $426/family of 4.

Compass Cruises is Cairns cheapest tour to the
Great Barrier Reef price is $50.00 plus $20.00 for levies, trip includes snorkelling equipment, lunch, afternoon tea, boomnetting, 2 spectacular reef locations Local Family Owned and Operated.

Vagabond Cruise & Dive is a 65′ luxury yacht designed for diving, sailing and entertaining for a maximum of 11 guests operating out of Cairns. The tour is two days and one night which is spent aboard the boat out on the reef.

Reef Magic moors at a ponotoon on the Great reef with the smallest passenger numbers on the market, giving you 5 hours in which to spend doing what you like. Included in the cruise is semi-submersible tripcruises, an underwater observatory, all snorkelling equipment included and offer scenic helipcopter flights and diving (not included in price).
Prices: Snorkelling only: Adult – $169, Child (4-14yrs) – $84, Family (2A & 2C) – $415. Introductory dive: $85 (additional).

Great Adventures offers a variety of advanced ecotourism certified tours cruising daily from Cairns to Green Island and the Great Barrier reef. Guests stopping at Green Island can spend up to 7 hours on the island and choose from 3 departure times daily. You can also combine a 2 hour stopover on Green Island with a day at Great Adventures’ spacious pontoon at the Outer reef. The Great Barrierreef cruise include snorkelling, semi-submersible cruises, underwater observatory, buffet lunch and reef interpretation. Diving, Scuba-doo scooter and helicopter trips are optional extras.
Green Island Cruises: Prices from Adult – $77, Child (4-14yrs) $35.50. Introductory dive: $137 (additional).
Outer Barrier Reef Cruises: Prices from Adult – $198, Child (4-14yrs) – $97. Introductory dive: $134 (additional). Family Fares available for all cruises.

Silverswift is a very modern custom-designed dive and snorkel catamaran. She visits three reef sites daily at either Flynn, Milln, Thetford or Pellowe Reefs from Cairns. This cruise caters for certified divers, introductory divers and snorkellers. Silverswift is the only dive vessel in Cairns that has a state-of-the-art ride control system for a smooth journey. Advanced Ecotourism Certified. (Sistership in Port Douglas is Silversonic)
Prices: Snorkelling only: Adult – $142, Child (4-14yrs) – $180. With Introductory dive: $223

Reef Quest This is a live aboard vessel that can best be decribed an a floating 4 star hotel. she is incredebly comfortable. She moves around Norman, Saxon & Hastings Reefs; and visits three dive sites a day. There are transfers everyday to and from the boat daily so you can stay for as little as one night or as many as you fancy. A great boat for scuba divers and snorkelling .

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