Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef
For us, the best part of Port Douglas is being able to access the outer Great Barrier Reef, close to the drop off of the continental shelf. This is our fourth visit to Port Douglas, and our fourth trip with Wavelength Reef Cruises to snorkel on the outer reef. It takes about two hours to reach the outer reef, where we snorkelled at three different locations, this time all on Opal Reef, which covers approximately nine square kilometres. The Great Barrier Reef is made up of aprox 3,000 individual reefs, and 900 islands.
On the way in and out we saw some humpback whales.
Snorkelling at Opal Reef
We were so happy to see that a lot of the reef had regrown after the horrendous bleaching we saw in 2019, almost back to what we saw in 2015 before the bleaching.
Here are links to our other visits to the outer reef with Wavelength. This is a local family owned operator that specialises in snorkelling rather than SCUBA diving so the sites are chosen to be optimal for snorkelling rather than a compromise with diving. They always have marine scientists on board to answer our questions.
Fish
Tim made a compilation video to music.
Corals and other strange things
We had such an amazing day on the outer reef. Oh ! And sea-squirts are absolutely incredible creatures, check this out about them, in particular their ‘circulatory system’ and ‘Life History’. So amazing.
Around Port Douglas
We stayed at the Tropic Breeze Caravan Park, the closest one to the town so it is small but still has lots of gardens and big shady trees. Something to note about camping in Port Douglas: there is nowhere to refill a gas bottle in the town. Apparently, the nearest is Cairns.
On our last day there, we went to the renowned Port Douglas Sunday Market then stopped at the Superyacht Marina for lunch.
Cheers til next time, Helen & Tim