Our last blog post highlighted Cruise Whitsundays generous May special for Whitsunday locals. A two for one deal where if you purchased a full day cruise to Whitehaven Beach, you receive a full day cruise to Hamilton Island for free. At the time we stated that this was an extremely generous deal. After taking up the offer ourselves this week, I personally regard this as fantastic.

The full day cruise to Whitehaven Beach is one I would certainly suggest taking, local or visitor. On the full day cruise you get the opportunity to snorkel a fringing reef, take the hike up to Hill Inlet Lookout with time to walk the clean white sands of Hill Inlet beach, then spend a few very relaxing hours on the iconic Whitehaven Beach. Here you can swim, snorkel, paddle a surf ski, walk along the squeaky white sands, have a game of beach cricket or simply enjoy the views. You are in one of the world’s truly special places.

As a local I have been to each area many times before, but never on the one day. There are half day cruises where you will do some of those sightseeing trips. The full day cruise really gives you ample time at each spot where you can pause long enough to really appreciate the beauty and diversity of this world famous pristine area.

People can join this full day cruise from the starting point at Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach, picking up at Daydream Island and Hamilton Island en route. A picnic lunch is provided and a staff member will stay with your group throughout the day to guide you and look after your needs. Matty was our guide on the day and he was an excellent host, showing all some wonderful sights and giving valuable information.

We snorkeled Chalkies Beach on Hazelwood Island, which is directly across from Whitehaven Beach. An inflatable tender picks you up as soon as the Cruise Whitsundays vessel arrives at Whitehaven Beach around 9am. You are shuttled across to Chalkies Beach and after a safety briefing, are free to explore the fabulous reef for about an hour and a half. This fringing reef is full of beautiful corals and curious fish.

One of the definite highlights of the full day cruise, is the fast ride back over to Whitsunday Island once you finish snorkeling. You go around to Tongue Bay where it is a short bush walk up to the Hill Inlet lookout. This, to my mind, is the real advantage over a half day cruise. Hill inlet is spectacular in any weather and a sight everyone should enjoy if only once in their life.

Once you have had enough at the lookout, you can then go down on the Hill Inlet beach itself and see stingrays, reef sharks, perhaps turtles and other marine life close to the shore. The waters are shallow and crystal clear, so it’s good to take your camera for some great nature shots.

After your Hill Inlet adventure, you re-board the inflatable tender for another quick ride back to Whitehaven Beach for the afternoon. The Cruise Whitsundays vessel returns with the afternoon guests and you can enjoy the 7 kilometers of pure silica sand and the beautiful tropical water.

You re-board the Cruise Whitsundays vessel just before 4.00 pm to return to your starting point. The full day cruise is a fabulous experience and you get much more of a feel for the beauty of Whitehaven Beach, as you get to go to Hill Inlet where a half day cruise doesn’t give that opportunity.

If you are lucky and the weather and sunlight are in your favor, the skipper may return to Hamilton Island via Pentecost Island and show you an amazing sight called Indian Head.

Below is a photo of Indian Head, a rocky outcrop at the northern end of Pentecost Island. Notice the broad forehead, protruding nose and heavy lips that seem to come alive in the late afternoon sun.

Getting on and off the Cruise Whitsundays vessel at Whitehaven Beach is easy thanks to the forward gang plank.

Whitehaven Beach. 7 kilometers of pure white silica sand.

Hill Inlet Lookout.

Keep your eyes on the ground while hiking to Hill Inlet. You are in the Australian bush so might see snakes and other wild life.

It is only a short walk from the Hill Inlet Lookout down to the beach.

Our skipper aboard Orca, guiding us through the Whitsundays.

Underwater at Chalkies Beach. Hazelwood Island, which is opposite Whitehaven Beach.

Fringing Reef of Chalkies Beach. Chalkies Beach is also pure silica sand like Whitehaven Beach.

Below is another shot taken on the fringing reef at Hazelwood Island.

Chalkies Beach is a great snorkeling experience. The fringing reef is just meters from the sand making it easy for the inexperience to swim with the fish and see a variety of different corals.

More information and prices for the Full Day Tour to Whitehaven Beach!

Cruise Whitsundays have just announced one of the best specials for the entire month of May.

If you book either the Great Barrier Reef Adventure at Reefworld, a full day cruise to Whitehaven Beach or a thrilling day of sailing aboard Camira, you then receive a full day cruise to Hamilton Island, absolutely free.

It’s a two for one deal and only available through Cruise Whitsundays direct, or an authorized booking agent. (Cruise Whitsundays can be contacted on 07 49464662)

This is really a fantastic deal. Only available for the month of May. Cruises must be taken within 5 days of each other.

We are checking the weather chart and planning on taking the full day Whitehaven Beach cruise and following up the next day for the free cruise to Hamilton Island. It is a saving of around $100 per adult. Great special!

While we are talking about specials in the Whitsundays, here’s another that caught our eye today for our regional friends.

Daydream Island is offering $99 pp, per night, twin share packages, for regional guests only. Bookings only until 28/06/13, with offer for travel between now and 30/06/13. Includes transfers from Abel Point Marina and full breakfast daily.

Contact Daydream Island on 1800 075 040. Children do stay and eat free on Daydream but transfers of $42 per child do apply.

These are great specials and we suggest booking direct with either Cruise Whitsundays or Daydream Island for their respective offers.

So come out and play in the fabulous Whitsundays during May. There’s no better place to be!

We blogged about our recent trip to Hardy Reef with Cruise Whitsundays on 23-4-13. What we didn’t show you among the images we uploaded was the amazing waterfalls that occur as the tide turns from low to incoming.

The coral of Hardy Reef is exposed at low water. (There was a time, many years ago, where tourists were taken for a “walk on the reef”. Of course we know better than to walk on the reef today, thanks to the voices of environmentalists and marine biologists. Walking on the reef kills many organisms and polyps.)

At low tide, sea water is trapped between the exposed coral reef and what is called the river, forming lagoons. At the start of the incoming tide the water rushes out of the lagoon over several low points in the coral wall and causes an effect like a small waterfall. This is an amazing sight resembling a fast rushing stream until the water level within the “river” equalizes with the sea water in the coral lagoon.

What is amazing is the thought that at Hardy Reef, you are some 90 kilometers from the Whitsundays coast. To see a waterfall or fast flowing stream that far out to sea is really special. A wonder of nature.

You must remember that this natural phenomenon only occurs as the tide turns from low to incoming. The timing needed to be on an incoming or departing cruise vessel near this occurrence, at that exact time, is a chance some would call an absolute fluke or small miracle.

Perhaps if you study tide times, arrival and departure times of the cruise vessel, then factor in weather conditions, you could work out when to be there to see the Hardy Reef Waterfalls yourself.

Below is a photo from a flickr member chezynickannie taken from a seaplane. Awesome.

And below is a short video taken by us as we departed Hardy Reef aboard Seaflight, after a wonderful days snorkeling the outer Great Barrier Reef. Thanks again Cruise Whitsundays for a wonderful day at your Reefworld pontoon.

There is nothing quite like a visit to the Great Barrier Reef. We consider ourselves fortunate to live in an area where visiting the reef is simply a decision to take a cruise on any given day. We can awake in the morning, look out the window and if the sky looks great, get ourselves to the marina where there are a variety of cruises taking tours through the Whitsundays.

In fact we did this just yesterday. We awoke and chose to take Cruise Whitsundays voyage to Hardy Reef, on the outer Great Barrier Reef. We have blogged about Hardy Reef before, so why did we go there again? Our reason. The weather was perfect and the tides were going to be just right for snorkeling by the time we reached Hardy Reef, allowing for several hours of fabulous underwater photography opportunities.

No matter how many times we snorkel in the Whitsundays, the Great Barrier Reef gives us the most enjoyment. Fringing reefs are very good, but the water visibility cannot be guaranteed. It is a bit of a hit and miss situation where the water can be cloudy due to tidal flows or recent rain. The outer Great Barrier Reef holds no such problems. Being some 90 kms from the mainland, the water visibility is usually around 10 meters or better. Great for snorkeling or scuba dives.

Cruise Whitsundays “Seaflight” departs Airlie Beach at 8.00am daily. Seaflight is a wavepiercer catamaran with plenty of room and comfort for all. There is free coffee or tea on board all day. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea is provided. Seaflight cruises to Hamilton Island for pickup then makes the journey to the Outer Great Barrier Reef which takes around 3 hours. You then have between 11 am and 3 pm to enjoy all the activities onboard their floating pontoon called Reefworld.

This is a cruise we recommend to all.

It is a remarkable achievement for any tour company to successfully operate their business in the same area for 40 years. This week Air Whitsunday celebrated that very achievement and gave locals the present, $40 scenic flights over iconic Whitehaven Beach.

As locals we snapped up this very generous offer. We made the birthday flight with Air Whitsunday last year, so were delighted to be able to do so again at this heavily reduced price. When we booked we thought it would simply be a scenic flight over Airlie Beach, which is a great flight nonetheless, so you can imagine our excitement when the pilot announced we were going for a 30 minute flight to Whitehaven Beach and back. Incredible!

Anyone wanting to see the Whitsundays should take a scenic flight. From the air the Whitsunday islands are amazingly beautiful. There are 74 Islands that make up the group, with Whitsunday Island being the biggest. It is on Whitsunday Island where you find Australia’s best beach, Whitehaven Beach, plus the much photographed Hill Inlet. Air Whitsunday seaplanes are one of the best ways to see both these iconic land marks and all their flights are quite affordable.

Thank you Air Whitsunday for a fabulous flight. I look forward to celebrating your company’s 50th birthday in the Whitsundays.

Excited group and Air Whitsunday Seaplane

Cruise Whitsundays “Seaflight” returning from the Great Barrier Reef.

Daydream Island with Shute Harbour in the background

Daydream Island resort

Daydream Island resort

Dumbell Island with Border Island in the Background.

Hamilton Island

The yacht Hammer sailing toward Whitehaven Beach.

Hill Inlet Whitsunday Island

Hill Inlet Whitsunday Island

Hill Inlet Whitsunday Island

Hill Inlet Whitsunday Island

Hook Island resort

Eastern shore of South Molle Island

South Molle Island Resort

Tongue Bay Whitsunday Island

Secluded cove on Cid Island Whitsundays

Many Australian tour operators and accommodation providers are creating interest in their products with the use of social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Some are not only creating interest, they are turning this interest into extra income, and it’s those dollars that keep a business afloat in tough times.

One tourist operator in my own region, Ocean Rafting, is using Facebook to it’s maximum advantage. They are taking great still photographs and exciting video footage of their guests during the course of a normal day tour, then posting these images to Facebook on a daily basis.

This creates interest from existing clients who want to look at their own images, and it creates excitement with future customers who want to have the same fun that those images portray. Plus they also offer those very images for sale in high resolution so that they can be purchased by those who enjoyed their day in The Whitsundays. A bonus extra income stream.

Guests are encouraged to “tag” themselves in the images that are uploaded to Facebook, which in turn gives more coverage to their product, as all their Facebook friends get to see the photos and video as well.

Ocean Rafting take both land and underwater footage, with the emphasis on their clients. While the client is able to show what they were involved in, Ocean Rafting is showcasing the beautiful areas that their day cruise visits and the amazing sea creatures, coral reefs and pristine beaches that are part and parcel of a fabulous fun day cruise in the glorious Whitsundays.

Who wouldn’t purchase a photo of themselves snorkeling with a turtle or giant Maori Wrasse, or at the very least show their friends and family where they had visited on the day? This is what social networking is all about. It creates interest for all to share and is the best form of advertising you can get.

Another tourism hotspot in north Queensland is Paronella Park. I was lucky enough to sit and enjoy a chat with the current owner, Mark Evans, a few months ago about the importance of social media in the tourism industry. Mark has a very simple formula for success that others can emulate.

Paronella Park stopped media advertising some time ago, instead relying on “word of mouth” to spread the message, the best form of advertising in Mark’s opinion. Paronella Park also began utilizing social media on Facebook, which is simply an online version of word of mouth advertising.

Mark chose to put the money spent on advertising into venue improvements, which in turn created a greater client experience, which in turn created better word of mouth advertising. You can easily see a pattern forming here. In other words, Mark created free advertising, which has lifted his business to unprecedented levels.

Paronella Park recently were finalists in 3 categories – Tourist Attraction, Ecotourism, and Heritage & Cultural Tourism, at the TTNQ Tourism Awards. They are also winners of the 2012 Queensland Telstra Business Award. Fairly high achievements in anyones language.

Paronella Park’s team on the ground are exceptional and the team who look after the social media Facebook page are remarkable. They create public interest by posting regular updates, asking for feedback, showing historic images and keeping people notified of upcoming events. They also keep fans updated on anything special that may have occurred, such as the recent downpour of rain that swelled the Mena Creek waterfalls to near flood levels. Personally, I like to regularly check their Facebook page to see if there is another image of their pet crocodile, Dundee.

As you can see, social media plays a big role in tourism companies such as Ocean Rafting and Paronella Park. These two exciting companies, and many more like them, are putting more tourists through their respective business models by utilizing the old method of satisfying their customers first. Then the customer looks after them by telling the world they are great operators. Pretty simple, yet there are many multi national companies in business today that outsource their customer relations overseas, just to make an extra buck for shareholders.

If you want to grow your tourism business and don’t yet have a Facebook page, perhaps it’s time to get involved with social media.

People in the know are getting excited that tourism in the Cairns – Port Douglas region is on the rise.

Some, such as the owner of Reef Magic Cruises that operate from Cairns Marina, have put their money into expanding their fleet, recently buying and upgrading the former Fantasea vessel “Wonder” that worked in the Whitsundays.

The renamed Reef Magic III is a fast catamaran that will transport guests from Cairns Marina to their Reef World pontoon, situated on the outer Great Barrier Reef, in just 90 minutes.

Another indicator of the tourism comeback is the arrival of flights into Cairns Airport by China’s largest international airline, China Southern Airlines.

Australian Aviation reports that “Tourism officials see the growing Chinese middle class as the key to efforts to revive the struggling Australian tourism industry. Some 542,000 Chinese visited Australia last year, a 19.4 per cent increase over the previous year that made China Australia’s third-largest and fastest-growing in-bound market.”

There is so much to see in North Queensland and the Cairns region is a vibrant hub, the perfect base to use as a stepping stone to discover pristine rainforests, magical underwater coral reefs and so much more.

With excellent accommodation options right on the waterfront, Cairns rightfully is one of the best tourist destinations in Australia.

When you look at all the tourism activities the area holds, planning a short break or an extended stay will fill the most active persons itinerary to the max.

Below is some of our favorite things to do in the Cairns region.

Paronella Park is full of surprises. Mena Creek falls and the ruins of the romantic Spanish Castle. This is right at the top of must do tours when in the Cairns area.

Cruise to Green Island and snorkel straight from the beach. This is an affordable exciting day tour, and just a 40 minute cruise from the Cairns wharf.

No trip to North Queensland is complete without experiencing the Great Barrier Reef. Come and make friends with Nemo. There are various cruise options departing Cairns and Port Douglas daily.

Take a shower under a waterfall. A short drive from the Cairns CBD, Crystal Cascades is a wonderful nature walk along a beautiful stream, with many cascades and rock pools.

Take a train ride to the charming village of Kuranda. Stops at the awesome Barron Falls, with scenic views all the way up the mountain. One of the most popular tours in the Cairns district.

Get close and personal with thousands of butterflies at the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary, Kuranda.

Far North Queensland has literally hundreds of tourist attractions. Many of them are natural attractions such as waterfalls, rainforests, sandy beaches, tropical islands and of course the Great Barrier Reef. There are many crocodile farms, zoos, bird sanctuaries, Indigenous arts and environmental activities to keep everyone captivated.

The district boasts some of the best golf courses in the world, a casino with a zoo on the roof, lava caves in the outback and the area is said to be the most perfect location for hot air ballooning on the planet.

The only question left to be asked is when are you coming to visit?

For those people with a Queensland postcode address between 4700 and 4883, which just about covers an area from Rockhampton, out to Longreach and all points north, Mantra Aqueous on Port will give a sizable locals discount on all their accommodation, as long as you show proof of residency when booking in.

Just to give an example. A basic Spa Room is normally $175 per night. The TNQ Locals Special rate is just $104 per night. Thats a huge discount!

Of course prices will fluctuate at peak times, so check out the Mantra website. It is one of the best websites to use and online booking is easy, safe and secure.

For those who are not locals, the rates are very competitive. Probably one of the most affordable accommodation houses in Port Douglas in a fantastic location. You really need to compare prices with Mantra Aqueous before booking elsewhere.

Mantra Aqueous on Port is where we stayed last November for the total solar eclipse. We chose this hotel primarily for the location. It is situated right on the main road leading into Port Douglas and just a few yards from Macrossan Street, which is the main shopping area. The bonus was, it is only 2 blocks from 4 Mile Beach, which was one of the best viewing areas to witness the eclipse.

Mantra Aqueous is an apartment complex which means that it is not serviced daily. We stayed a full week and on the 4th day the staff serviced the room. You can get the rooms serviced daily, for an extra cost. They have one and two bedroom apartments, swim up pool rooms as well as the studio spa rooms.

As we just required a basic room, the one room studio was more than adequate for our needs. The spa on the balcony was awesome. It was great to use after a busy day lugging our camera gear around. We also made great use of the swimming pools that surround the hotel complex on both sides.

Why am I writing this a couple of months after staying in Port Douglas? We are starting to plan another trip north sometime after Easter and will definitely be booking into the Mantra Aqueous again. It ticks all the right boxes. It’s cheap, in the right location and very, very comfortable.

Now I’m getting excited for all those other attractions that Port Douglas offers, especially a snorkeling trip to Agincourt Reef.

Every picture tells a story. Here is just one of my tales snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef.

The images that you take while traveling are treasures. Perhaps they are not perfect from a professional point of view, yet to you they are priceless memories of a moment in time that you will never forget.

My Canon Powershot D10 underwater camera has been a trusted friend on many snorkeling trips to the Great Barrier Reef. On our latest cruise to Hardy Reef in the Whitsundays, I realised it has some shortcomings.

To be fair to the camera, the king tides and time of the year did not bring about perfect conditions for good underwater photography. In fact the opposite was more to the point.

Sometimes you just have to make the most of the existing conditions. Certain situations bring about circumstances that you perhaps could normally control, such as traveling when tides are more normal and the season not so unpredictable. However, there are times when you may not have the luxury of choosing the perfect season to visit the Great Barrier Reef.

On this occasion, family members from Melbourne had Christmas holidays and came to Airlie Beach early January, the only time they could because of work commitments. We couldn’t let them depart without experiencing a least one cruise, with snorkeling on the coral reef.

While we couldn’t do anything about the tide heights, we could however look at the weather forecast a week in advance and choose a calm sunny day. Then it was just a simple matter of booking our seats with Cruise Whitsundays and we were set for a great adventure.

Honestly, we have never experienced a “bad” day on the reef. There have been times when the seas between the mainland and the reef have been rough, clouds have darkened the skies and like this latest trip, there were things in the water that equated to poor photos.

The king tides meant we were further away from the coral and fish at high tide while snorkeling and there was a swarm of jellyfish on the day. Luckily they were not the dangerous type, so were a kind of unique attraction that gave great interest to many of the snorkelers.

This is where I noticed the shortcomings of my Canon Powershot D10. It wouldn’t focus through the tiny jellyfish swarm unless it was a very large subject I was attempting to shoot.

My partners underwater setup has no such problems, easily cutting through sand, silt and swarms of thousands of jellies. Sometimes you just have to go with what you have and get memories of the day in other ways. That’s life and you have to swim with the tide so to speak.

While I didn’t get any quality images that I can use on this blog, I did get some shots of the family that are priceless memories of their first adventure to the Great Barrier Reef. I also got some fine examples that will clearly show what I am saying about the focusing abilities of the Canon D10.

(Click on any of the images below to view the larger size.)

This curious creature is called a Salp. It is made up of numerous individual members that can easily be broken apart. Salps or sea sprites have a kind of backbone which scientists say can be linked back to humans in the evolutionary tree of life.

You can see in this image the trouble that the Canon D10 had focusing through the swarm of jellyfish.

This is a jellyfish about 6 inches across that belongs to the group called Ctenophores, sometimes called sea gooseberries or sea walnuts.

Showing the Canon D10 before going snorkeling at Hardy Reef.

One of the better shots for the day. Huge Maori Wrasse.

Snorkeling memory of family at Hardy Reef.

This image was taken with my partners gear. Canon EOS 7D DSLR, Tokina 10-17mm fish eye lens, Ikelite underwater housing. You can see the undoubtable quality that this setup gives over the cheaper point and click Canon Powershot D10.

Another of the fabulous attractions that await tourists to the charming village of Kuranda is Birdworld.

Situated near the Butterfly Sanctuary, at the back of the Heritage Markets, Birdworld features more than 40 different species of birds from all over the world.

Possibly the Macaws from South America take the favorite award with visitors from some very serious competition. Locals such as the Rainbow Lorikeets and Eclectus Parrots are friendly and inquisitive, yet when one of those larger Macaws come and sit on your shoulder, they take the prize as the most photographed birds on display.

Make sure all your valuables are out of view. Earrings, watches, necklaces and other shiny items are too much for nosey birds to pass up, and you could find that your valuables will end up stolen by these cheeky creatures.

Birdworld is not a large enclosure, so you will easily see all there is on display without spending hours and hours trying to cover everything available. It’s an easy walk and extremely interesting.

Make sure you have a camera as there are many opportunities to take a photo of you with these wonderful birds.

Birdworld Kuranda. Very impressive and a must do attraction when visiting Kuranda.

(Click on images to view the larger size.)