May 2022 - Reef and Rainforest Snorkelling Tour 7D/6N

7 days

May 2022 - Reef and Rainforest Snorkelling Tour 7D/6N
  • About
  • Gallery
  • Itinerary
  • Location
  • Things to keep in mind

$AUD 764 per day

This small group tour for as few as 12 guests, is a rich smorgasbord of fine food, iconic wildlife, culture and the best of the region's reef to rainforest experiences. It’s an intimate fully-guided snorkelling and wildlife adventure that will take you places the ordinary tourist never gets to see and spend quality time with people passionate about the region, its conservation and culture.  Your hosts are actively involved in their own habitat restoration, plus the entire trip, including guest flights, is carbon and biodiversity-offset into habitat rehabilitation for Cassowaries. Guests even get to plant their own coral reef! 

Tour includes two and a half days snorkelling charter for the Low Isles and visits to private snorkelling destinations on the outer reef. We hope to see a wide range of other wildlife at sea and on land, including Tree Kangaroos and Platypus.  

Your journey starts ascending into the cool climate Atherton Tablelands on one of the world's longest cable-car journeys over majestic mountains and breathtaking scenery. Your guides will take you on a journey to swim in waterfalls, look for elusive Tree Kangaroos, Platypus and maybe even a wild Cassowary. You will dine on local produce and journey to the Port Douglas coastline to one of the National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, nestled among its own nature reserve. From there, you will join the fastest and most environmentally-conscious vessel operations on the whole Great Barrier Reef. Here you'll meet the team who have developed coral growing technology with local Universities, and join marine biologists to participate in the program and see how it's effecting change. You'll learn from experts about how the reef works and explore their favourite spots in outer and inner-reefs with the chance to swim with turtles, see clownfish and maybe even whales and dolphins.   

Highlights

  • Skyrail onto the Atherton Tablelands over breath-taking rainforest scenery and waterfalls.
  • Exclusive use of an outer-reef charter vessel.
  • Stay in a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World on a private nature reserve.
  • Snorkel Lake Eacham with its rainbow fish and turtles. 
  • Eat local rainforest meals created by world-renowned ethnographers plus a private tour of their lifetime work.
  • Dine al fresco and watch glow-worms after swimming in a privately-owned waterfall.
  • Snorkel on some of the reef’s best locations in the company of local qualified marine biologist guides.
  • Chance to swim with turtles and see whales and dolphins.
  • Plant your own coral reef and contribute to research.
  • Participate in an Aboriginal art workshop and take home your own hand-painted souvenir.
  • Contribute to habitat rehabilitation and offset your tour’s carbon and biodiversity impact.

Our Environmental Impact 

In keeping with our core philosophies, this tour is run as environmentally- and culturally-sustainable as possible. There will always be an impact from any trip but we aim to minimise this as much as possible and contribute back to biodiversity. 

  • Our trip is locally-run.
  • Most meals use locally-sourced produce. 
  • Our accommodation at Thala Beach is based in private nature reserves.
  • Several of our partners are actively restoring native rainforest vegetation. 
  • All Aboriginal cultural elements are led by members of the Kuku Yalanji.
  • Our reef vessels are among the most fuel efficient on the reef. 
  • Our suppliers operate ethical wildlife viewing policies.  
  • A portion of the fee goes directly into reef research with UQ, as well as planting temperature-resistant corals to regrow areas of reef.  
  • This tour is expected to create about 54 tonnes of Carbon. We are contributing $20 per tonne to Greenfleet. Our first preference is that this will be invested in the Gurrbum Reserve, or equivalent project. Gurrbum is connecting Cassowary habitat in Mission Beach. This has both carbon and biodiversity benefits and is also contributing to a greater impact project, with investment from numerous partners. 

Note, a $997 fee applies for single supplement rooms.  

About

Itinerary
Location
Things to keep in mind