Showing posts with label Cairns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cairns. Show all posts

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Cairns Queensland Holiday Adventures

A view from the Kuranda SkyrailImage via WikipediaWelcome to my video blog post "Cairns Queensland Holiday Adventures"
Below I have added some videos and links to articles to help you plan your next vacation up in northern Queensland paradise we call Cairns!
Cairns Day 3 - Behind The Scenes - Skyrail
A day in Cairns, Queensland, Australia on the Skyrail.



Skyrail & Tjapukai


Skyrail CairnsVoted Australia’s best major tourist attraction for three years in a row, Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is one of the most special and unique rainforest experiences in the world. They’re both favourites of ours too!

Skyrail’s Cairns departure terminal is in Smithfield, 15-minutes drive north from Vision Cairns Esplanade Apartments. The 7.5km Skyrail rainforest cableway travels between Cairns and Kuranda showcasing panoramic views of World Heritage-Listed Wet Tropics rainforest, and the Coral Sea. You can leave your Gondola at two mid-stations to see the mighty Barron Falls and learn more about the rainforest from the forest floor. We recommend you travel to Kuranda on the Kuranda Scenic Rail and return to Cairns on Skyrail because the views are better on the way down.

Tjapukai Aboriginal Culture CairnsNext door to Skyrail’s Smithfield terminal is Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park. Far North Queensland is rich with Indigenous Australian culture and history and a visit to Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park is an excellent way to meet some of these fascinating people and experience a taste of their incredible culture through bush medicine and food demonstrations, dancing, storytelling and performance.
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Cairns Rainforest That Meets The Sea


Once you are up in northern Queensland you just have to go to Cape Tribulation and see where the rainforest meets the sea.
This place is truly spectacular, as you will see in the video below by Australian Geographic!

Daintree Rainforest Footage by Australian Geographic
Daintree rainforest episode by Australian Geographic. For more information visit Cairns Great Barrier Reef: www.cairnsgreatbarrierreef.org.au




TONY'S TROPICAL TOURS – VOTED BEST RAINFOREST TOUR IN ...
The stops at the Bloomfield Falls, Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation, Stingray Bay, Noah Valley included some of the best scenery we experienced in Australia. The entire day was carried out very professionally, the lunch ...
Publish Date: 10/30/2011 11:25
http://www.tropicaltours.com.au/blog/tonys-tropical-tours-voted-best-rainforest-tour-in-port-douglas/
Exchange to Oz: The Daintree Rainforest
We were on the steps of the hotel at 7:00 am to board our luxury BMW mini bus with Roger, our guide to spend the day exploring the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. There were the 6 of us as well as a nice couple ...
Publish Date: 10/06/2011 12:45
http://exchangetooz.blogspot.com/2011/10/daintree-rainforest.html

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Great Barrier Reef Tour with Quicksilver

Great Barrier Reef Snorkel Tour...off to find NemoImage by Miss Jo and the Elves via FlickrAre you looking for a "Great Barrier Reef Tour with Quicksilver"?
This company has been around for years now and provides a wonderful arrangement of tours.
I hear that they are also now doing a night cruise of some sort.
I have provide below for you an article and video all about this wonderful company and what you can expect in your next trip with the Quicksilver!

Quicksilver Cruises Great Barrier Reef Tours Port Douglas

The world's best known Outer Great Barrier Reef cruise experience. Quicksilver Cruises takes you to the renowned Agincourt Reef at the very outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Here, special reefs known as 'ribbons' run parallel to the Continental S...



With Quicksilver, an in-depth Great Barrier Reef tour

By Shane Nelson
Great Barrier Reef from aboveForty-five miles due east of Australia's Cape Tribulation, I was awash in the Coral Sea's mounting crush and having second thoughts about touching a giant clam.

Only minutes earlier, I'd watched a snorkeling marine biologist from Quicksilver Cruises point out an open clam the size of a monster-truck tire. Before diving down to brush it gently with her fingers, she explained to a small group of us how Hollywood had helped falsely brand the sea creatures as man-eaters. A grudging, unhurried jerk followed, and the clam gradually closed its dazzling maw, concealing most of its velvety, electric-blue flesh within the corrugated confines of a far drabber shell.

The process looked simple enough, and shortly after the guided tour finished, I located a giant clam of my own and decided to get a closer look. Sucking in a series of hurried breaths -- hyperventilating apparently helps one go longer without taking a breath -- I bit down on my snorkel and plunged headlong into a canyon of pastels.

An undulating patchwork of muted colors from the surface, the reef became increasingly tangled and complex as I pulled myself closer, descending on the fragile metropolis of coral. Finally just a few inches from the biggest clam I'd ever seen and struggling some with that depth's pressure, I reached out to see what the shell of a wrongly accused man-eater felt like. I ended up stopping short, though, captivated by the colors. It looked like the clam had swallowed a gleaming swatch of green and blue leopard print, and I didn't want anything to do with closing up all that brilliance.

Far-out splendor

Clients who join one of Quicksilver's outer Great Barrier Reef excursions are in for quite a journey. The sailings depart from Port Douglas in northern Queensland and travel just over 45 miles to the edge of Australia's continental shelf and the marine preserve at Agincourt Reef. The trip takes about 90 minutes one way.

Agincourt ReefTalk with Doug Baird, a longtime marine biologist for Quicksilver and the company's environment and compliance manager, and he'll tell you the long voyage is well worth the time.

"If you visit an inshore reef, that may not have a great diversity of coral, and it may not have a tremendous amount of fish life, mainly because of its proximity to the mainland," he explained. "Whereas going with us out to the edge of the continental shelf, we can bank on [150-foot-plus] visibility just about all year round, and there's a tremendous diversity of corals and fish."

Covering a total area of more than 134,000 square miles, the Great Barrier Reef is roughly the same size as New Mexico, and perhaps not surprisingly, many of its most pristine regions are those farthest from where people live.

During our interview, Baird mentioned a range of factors that can be harmful to corals, including sediment runoff, water temperature, salinity fluctuations as well as a growing concern linked to global warming: ocean acidification.

"The more carbon dioxide the oceans absorb, the more acidic the ocean is going to get," he said. "Corals rely on being able to remove calcium carbonate from the surrounding water then lay that down as a skeleton. Calcium carbonate skeletons don't tend to live well in acidic conditions."

Despite those concerns, the Agincourt Reef preserve certainly appeared healthy during my recent visit, and the assortment of both corals and fish was phenomenal.

"It is a full day," said Alana Pietrzak, a Los Angeles-based marketing manager for Qantas Vacations, of Quicksilver's outer reef excursions. "But you get to fully experience the colors of the reef, and there's a far better chance to see all kinds of marine life out there."

Finding Nemo

Patient snorkeling isn't a strong suit of mine, and I'm frequently guilty of trying to see too much as soon as I get my fins wet. According to Baird, narrowing one's focus often yields better results.

Great Barrier Reef coral"What I find most interesting -- and what I try to get folks to do, as well -- is just to follow a fish and see what it does," he said. "See how that fish interacts. See what kind of distance it covers. See what it's feeding on. ... Some fish will spend their entire life cycle in an area not much bigger than a coffee table. Clown fish, for example, tend to spend almost their entire life on one anemone."

Baird told me that actually spotting a clown fish, however, can be tough even for the most patient observers.

"On the movie screen, Nemo looked 4 feet long," he said. "In reality, Nemo is about an inch or 2 inches long. ... And they're also pretty shy. When something creates a big, dark silhouette above them, most of the shy and retiring fish tend to take refuge."

Snorkeling is, of course, only one of many options folks can enjoy once they arrive at Quicksilver's expansive outer reef platform. Those not interested in swimming can join a tour of the region's coral formations on the company's semisubmersible vessel or simply look out the anchored platform's underwater viewing observatory at all kinds of fish -- or passing loved ones.

For an additional fee, patrons can take introductory scuba lessons or plan a certified dive, and Quicksilver also offers novices a helmet diving experience where participants walk along a reef platform in a viewing contraption made mostly of glass. And there's the premium helicopter adventure taking off from a nearby platform, enabling guests to admire the Great Barrier Reef's staggering scale and mesmerizing formations from high above.

"Being Australian, I'm always amazed when I go out to the reef," said Pietrzak, a native of Cairns, Australia, who told me she's gone on at least five Quicksilver cruises. "There's always something magical about being out there, and I learn something new every time I go."

Commissionable to agents, Quicksilver's seven-hour outer reef cruises cost $210 for adults and $107 for children and include a light breakfast and buffet lunch. The company also offers a $534 rate for families of two adults and two children.
View original article here

Visit www.quicksilver-cruises.com.

As you can see from the article above this company really provides one of the best tours on the Great Barrier Reef.
If you are interested all about the Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island and the Whitsunday please follow this blog to keep updated.
Happy Holidays!
Marty
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Sunday, October 9, 2011

Qld Tropical North Queensland Video

Striped Surgeon (Acanthurus lineatus) on Flynn...Image via WikipediaWelcome to my "Qld Tropical North Queensland Video"
I found this video while I was searching the net and thought,"my readers will love this"!
Why? Because Northern Queensland Tropics is like nowhere else on this earth!
View the video below and see for yourself!

Tropical North Queensland, Qld
Tropical North Queensland...where the rainforest literally meets the reef. Cairns is the gateway to this diverse region and the perfect base for you to explore the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef, Wet Tropics and Riversleigh Fossil Mammal Si...


Photo: Below a tropical storm is brewing up


incomingstorm2
Author:asterope*

Cairns and Retreats Video


Robyn Malcolm retreats to Tropical North Queensland

Does luxury eco-lodges and tree-top adventures in the Daintree sound like your kind of place? Follow Kiwi actress and star of 'Outrageous Fortune'- Robyn Malcolm, as she indulges in fun and relaxation in Tropical North Queensland. Find out more www.a...




Who's Blogging About The Tropical Qld

Etty Bay – Tropical North Queensland | Get About Australia Blog
Etty Bay – Tropical North Queensland. Posted on October 2, 2011 by Karen Wheatley. First and foremost you should know that I did a general consensus among other devoted campers to this area, as to whether or not it would be ok if I ...
Publish Date: 10/02/2011 12:19
http://www.getaboutaustralia.com.au/Blog/2011/10/etty-bay-tropical-north-queensland/
Travel Destination Tips – Tropical North Queensland Australia ...
Regional Overview:The Cassowary Coast is centred in North Queensland's Great Green Way. The Bruce Highway motorway and Queensland Rail service the Cassowary.
Publish Date: 10/05/2011 10:15
http://www.talasturs.com/travel-destination-tips-tropical-north-queensland-australia.htm

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Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Four Wheel Drive Cairns Queensland

Are you ready to "Four Wheel Drive Cairns?"
I hope so because its lots of fun!
I know I am getting a little of topic away from Hamilton Island on this blog, but I thought many people would love to read this.
Below I have provide some links and videos for your enjoyment and to help you find all the relative content!

Cairns 4WD Videos


4WD Bus Gets Stuck In Daintree Rainforest
Our 4WD tour bus got stuck in a ditch during a tour of Daintree Rainforest. Fortunately there was a passing Land Rover to give us a tow. Those Land Rovers are tough machines.



Below they really get their 4wd stuck in a bit of a situation.  Also look at the rainforest it truly is amazing!

Nissan Navara 4x4 Cairns Australia
Back across the first crosing


Who Is Blogging About 4WD In Cairns


 This content is highly recommended click the link 4WD Cairns


Cairns' Best-Kept Swimming Holes: Clean, Fresh, Secluded and ...
A look at five of the best fresh water swimming holes in Cairns Australia. Tips on how ... Clean, Fresh, Secluded and Jelly-fish Free Swimming in Cairns, Aus. Tweet ... Travel in a four-wheel drive to avoid getting stuck. There is ...
Publish Date: 05/19/2008 11:37
http://jenna-galley.suite101.com/bestkept-swimming-holes-in-cairns-a54324
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Awesome Cairns Accommodation Specials

Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a park at Ca...Image via WikipediaWelcome to my blog post "Awesome Cairns Accommodation Specials"
Today I have put together a group of links and articles for you to reference to find the best deals for you online today!
Why would I do that?
Well, this blog is called Hamilton Island Specials!
But, I like to get around a bit so this post is all about Cairns and Cairns Accommodation Specials
So, enjoy the content below, there is some cool videos too!



Cairns, Australia, Travel Video Guide
In Cairns I interviewed Peter Stokes from Cairns Dive Centre. Peter has been involved in the dive industry for the last 15 years. We discussed why Cairns is such a dive mecca. Fantastic underwater shots courtesy of Nembrotha Diving. I also took in a ...


Cairns Accomm Deals Found On The Web

Cairns Top Accommodation Special Deals | Travel News Deals
Welcome to my blog post “Cairns Top Accommodation Special Deals“! My guess is that you are here today looking for cool deal on the Great Barrier Reef! If the answer is yes then you have definitely come to the right place. ...
Publish Date: 10/06/2011 9:00
http://www.travelnewsdeals.com/cairns-accommodation-special-deals/

 Find The Latest Specials on Twitter

RT @follow4links: Cairns Accommodation Specials http://t.co/NguWbMNX
By quiyan_oink at 10/03/2011 15:19


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Thursday, June 30, 2011

Diving The Great Barrier Reef

Diving The Great Barrier Reef is an incredible experience! Actually the reef is so large you could never dive all over it in even a lifetime!
Maybe if you dived every day you just may make it!

Great Barrier Reef Diving 2010
Freediving (and some scuba) on the Cod Hole, Ribbon and Agincourt Reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Off the Taka Boat (Deep Sea Divers Den) out of Cairns, Far North Queensland. Footage shot with Panasonic Lumix TZ10 w/ marine housing. Apologies for th...


More Info By Favorite Dive Sites

Shark Feeding Frenzy Great Barrier Reef Taka Dive www ...
Description. Here is the shark feed from my latest trip on Taka Dive out to the Coral Sea on the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns Australia. Edited on the boat between dives. ...
Publish Date: 06/22/2011 9:05
http://www.hdvunderwater.com/ads/shark-feeding-frenzy-great-barrier-reef-taka-dive/

 Part 08 - The Great Barrier ReefImage by Venson Kuchipudi via Flickr

7 Places to Go Scuba Diving in the Southern Hemisphere | Travel ...
There are some fantastic scuba diving destinations in the southern hemisphere, ranging from the pristine dive sites of the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific to the world-famous Great Barrier Reef in Australia. 1.
Publish Date: 06/30/2011 0:35
http://www.travelblissful.com/southern-hemisphere-scuba-diving/

Tweets About The Great Barrier Reef



Wow!! Scuba diving in the great barrier reef was unbelievable! Last couple hours at daydream island, then off to whatever is next.
By bzarnoth at 07/01/2011 6:56


Diving Great Barrier Reef: Liveaboard Diving Trips from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef dive sites *http://tinyurl.com/4yapa96
By rssdirectoryus at 07/01/2011 3:08
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