The Maori Wrasse - Species of the Reef

The Humphead, Maori or Napoleon wrasse, is widely distributed across the reefs of the Indo-Pacific and a favourite of our guests. A big fish with a bigger personality, the Maori Wrasse as it is more commonly know here is Australia is an endangered species and is now protected. It has two complimentary traits that do not combine well for survival, it is a very friendly and personable fish and it is a good tasting fish. This species is a very important part of the ecology of the reef as it is one of the few fish that eats sea hares, boxfish or the crown of thorns starfish.
With the current protection offered on the Great Barrier Reef we are starting to see the numbers of this fish increase. They are regulars at our dive sites at almost every reef now.
This first photo is taken at Thetford Reef by myself and the second was taken by one of our honeymooning guests Olga at the Pinnacles at Milln Reef.

Fantastic Sunrises Across the Reef

For those of us who like to get up first thing in the morning you get to witness some amazing sunrises over the Great Barrier Reef. For those of you who would rather sleep in that is no problem either and I have taken this photo so you too can enjoy the wondrous sunrises.

International Year of the Reef Song

With the International Year of the Reef well on it's way there are a number of activities and competitions to get involved with and show your support. The latest is the International Year of the Reef Song competition.

Help save reefs and share your creativity and culture with others by creating a video using the Year of the Reef Song. Reef Check Foundation (International) is running this contest with the goal of getting young people to learn more about the marine environment. In addition to having a lot of fun, you could win great prizes!

About This Contest: Three cash prizes will be awarded to the best group performances of the IYOR Song to help finance events or activities with an educational focus on the marine environment, such as a visit to a local aquarium, trip to the beach, acquisition of marine educational materials, etc.

This is an International Contest, free to enter, and groups from every part of the world are encouraged to participate. Participants must be part of a group (e.g. school, club, religious group, etc.). We will be looking for creative, original videos that reflect your culture and celebrate ocean conservation; technical video quality will not be judged.

Please see the Reef Check website and the attached for more information: http://www.reefcheck.org/video/video_contest.php

Did I Mention Amazing Sunsets?

Here are just are few of the scenic sunsets we get to enjoy on a regular basis. This is the precursor to the wonderful blanket of stars that we get to view without the interuption of city lights.

Dive Instructors Working Hard

I keep telling our dive instructors that they have the best job in the world and of course they keep talling me that they bust their butts everyday. Imagine my embarrassment when one them called me over to show me they actually do bust their butts. Everyday I am still not sure about but occassionally they do and we now have the photos to prove it.

New Job Board

Everyone in the industry as well as ourselves are always looking for enthusiastic people to come and join us in one of the greatest job in the world. To his end I have created a blog to post jobs from the industry in Cairns and for you to enquire about. If you are interested in a job in Cairns checkout our job postings and even if there isn't anything there for you right now send your resume in something may come up shortly.

Moore Reef - Surrounds - Our Dive Sites

Surrounds on Moore Reef offers a great insight into the resilience of mother nature and the life cycle of the fragile ecosystems that make up the Great Barrier Reef. Moore Reef suffered from a large outbreak of the Crown of Thorns starfish early this decade. In the time since a great diversity of coral and fish have returned and started to repopulate the site. Some great fans and swim throughs make this a very educational and fun dive.

Flynn Reef - Links - Our Dive Sites

The Links at Flynn reef offers great corals gardens and canyons to glide over as you snorkel or immerse yourself in when you scuba dive. A smaller reef on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef the visibility is normally superb. Many blue spotted stingrays and species of smaller sharks can be found along the reef edge. The many isolated bommies and scattered reef behind the main body of reef provide great opportunities to explore and provide a unique experience.

Thetford Reef - Mystery - Our Dive Sites

Mystery is known as one of the best dives on the Great Barrier Reef due to the great diversity of marine life and corals. Huge Giant Clams with spectacular colours adorn the site as well as several giant fans. Formed by several bommies joining together the remaining crevasses enable the snorkeller to view many deeper fish such as Coral Trout and several cod species.
New Horizon monitors this site in partnership with the Eye on the Reef program run by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Monitoring visibility, temperature, species of fish, and the coral on a regular basis across the marine park gives a better picture on the health and life cycle of the ecosystems that make up the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef.

Thetford Reef - 360 - Our Dive Sites

360 at Thetford is named because the reef surounds you in every direction providing a spectacular view as you sit aboard our yacht marvelling at the wonderous blue and green hues of the Great Barrier Reef. There are swim throughs and very large anenomes that host several different species of clown fish. Several large bommies have merged to form canyons and passes that provide great diving memories. One cluster of anenomes has to be seen to be believed.

Milln Reef - The Pinnacles - Our Dive Sites

The Pinnacles at Milln Reef have everything that you are looking for on a great coral reef dive. A reef face that runs from the surface down to about 15 metres hosts a great variety of corals as well as fish species. Running down one side of the dive site are four pinnacles that vary in depth. As you move further away from the reef front the depth increases for each pinnacle providing a different experience as you dive each one. Large schools of humphead parrot fish, several different species of sharks and the resident turtles are common sights. Visibility is generally at least 20 metres.

Algae Blooms

Another event that is important in the life cycle of the marine world are the algae blooms. This photo taken just outside Cape Grafton shows the streams of algae that are taken with the coastal currents along the East Coast of Australia.

New Online Chat Feature

To assist you better with your questions about your travel to the Great Barrier Reef and booking your cruise we have added an online chat feature. This will enable you to have instant answers on the trip, diving, marine life and any other questions that you may have relevant to the trip. And yes once we work out the meaning to life we'll happily answer any questions relating to that also. Simply go to chat.reefcharter.com or use the mini window on the right hand side of the blog.