Discover The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
See the Reef for yourself with Great North Queensland Holidays>>
The Great Barrier Reef, situated off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia, is one of the wonders of the natural world and was declared a World Heritage area in 1981. It can be seen from outer space and is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit.
It is located in the Coral Sea and is actually made up of around 2,900 different reefs and 900 islands. Over 2000 kilometres long, it starts just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and stretches along the Queensland coastline from just north of Bundaberg right up to Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.
The Great Barrier Reef, situated off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia, is one of the wonders of the natural world and was declared a World Heritage area in 1981. It can be seen from outer space and is the only living organic collective visible from Earth's orbit.
It is located in the Coral Sea and is actually made up of around 2,900 different reefs and 900 islands. Over 2000 kilometres long, it starts just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and stretches along the Queensland coastline from just north of Bundaberg right up to Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait.
The reefs are made from coral which are formed by tiny individual coral polyps forming colonies together. Different species create different shaped corals which can look like fans, antlers or brains. They live in shallow warm water where there is lots of light and water movement, and form the structure for an underwater ecosystem with a rich biodiversity.
Over 1,500 species of fish and 17 species of sea snake are known to live on the Great Barrier Reef. In addition there are thirty species of whales, dolphins and porpoises and large populations of dugongs and six species of sea turtles. Added to this are over 200 species of birds that are attracted to the reef, and nest or roost on the islands.
The Great Barrier Reef is something you have to see first hand to really appreciate. A variety of boat tours and cruises are available to the reef, and many start from the Cairns and Port Douglas regions. Single day trips are the most popular but there are also longer trips available. The best way to see the reef if you are fit enough if by scuba diving and snorkelling. Tour operators have large pontoons anchored in the reef with netted areas where it is safe to snorkel. There are also a large number of glass-bottomed boats and underwater observatories which offer wonderful viewing of the world under the water, and are accessible to those too old or frail to actually go into the water themselves.
Tourism on the Great Barrier Reef is managed so that it is ecologically sustainable and there are policies for cruise ships and charters to limit the traffic on the reef. A fee is levied on tourism operators which goes towards research of the Great Barrier Reef.