Traveloscopy

A Reef of Riches

// January 1st, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Australia, Travel

A Reef of Riches

Amateur aquanaut, Rod Eime, packs his flippers and trunks for an underwater look at Australia’s fabled Great Barrier Reef.

It’s often described as the largest living thing on the planet. Stretching almost 2000 kilometres from Bundaberg to New Guinea, Australia’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef is certainly the largest coral reef known to man. When seen from space, it forms a surreal aura along the vast Queensland coastline, imbuing the “sunshine state” with an almost magical lustre.

With the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc, it comes as no surprise that the Great Barrier Reef holds enormous attraction to recreational divers from all over the world. Each year, around 2 million people visit the reef, kicking some 6 billion dollars in the Australian economy.

Thousands upon thousands of scuba-equipped aquanauts descend below the picture-postcard turquoise waters to explore the enormous diversity just beneath the surface. But what they’re seeing could be the last hurrah of a dying reef. Researchers are concerned that the cumulative effect of Global Warming and human activity is killing one of the world’s most marvellous natural treasures.

Although protected by both UNESCO’s World Heritage treaty and Australia’s own Marine Park legislation, our Great Barrier Reef is crying out for help.

“Rising sea temperatures increase the frequency of mass coral bleaching events,” explains Eric Matson a marine scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, “Corals live only 1-2 degrees below their upper thermal limit and sustained periods of water temperatures above this threshold stresses the coral and the symbiotic algae (the essential partner for reef-building corals) are expelled.”

Ironically all this attention and doom-saying could be a key to saving the reef. It’s enormous economic value, natural beauty and environmental significance is bringing unprecedented scientific resources to bear. Organisations like the Australian Institute of Marine Science, located in Townsville, are working around the clock to find solutions to the numerous threats facing our reef.

In the meantime, visitors arrivals are unabated, most passing through the idyllically located tropical city of Cairns, and it was there that I headed to see for myself the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef.

My vessel, the Coral Princess II, is one of three operated by the Cairns-based Coral Princess Cruises company. Founded in 1984 by Tony Briggs, Coral Princess Cruises is an acknowledged pioneer in Australian adventure cruising, beginning with extended excursions to the nearby reef and now expanded as far as the Kimberleys, Papua New Guinea, Noumea, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Tasmania.

My itinerary is one of the most popular; a four-night exploration to Cooktown and Lizard Island, stopping at several remote and definitely unspoiled reefs along the way. One of the attractions of the Coral Princess operation is the accessibility of the dive product to all-comers, even those who have never dived or snorkelled before.

Our divemaster, Denis, begins his introductory demonstration in the serene waters of Watson’s Bay on Lizard Island. Four of us, each with a few perfunctory dives to our credit in some past life, are reacquainted with the hoses, regulators, valves and dials of the scuba kit. This is no “Men of Honour” routine, rather a relaxed, but thorough preparation for a few shallow dives in ideal conditions. We each make a few trial plunges and satisfy Denis we can undertake a closely supervised dive – and away we go!

We keep close to Denis as our depth gauges read barely a few metres, but already we’re surrounded by hundreds of unperturbed fish of myriad hues. Starfish cling nervously to little coral clumps while tiny “Nemo” Clown Fish peer suspiciously from within incandescent anemones.

As our voyage continues, the array of underwater vistas continue to amaze us as we progressively tick off the enumerated Ribbon Reefs; 3,6,9. Thanks to both Denis and Pixar Films, my knowledge of the biology of the reef expands considerably. I can now tell a Loggerhead from a Hawksbill Turtle and distinguish a Fairy Basslet from a Harlequin Tusk Fish. The secrets of sea stars, cucumbers and urchins are revealed and the cryptic contortions of the nudibranchs deciphered. But even with this greatly accelerated learning, it’s abundantly clear that the complex web of life beneath the waves is so incomprehensibly complicated that the job of a marine biologist is certainly one for life!

By the time we’d tied up again at Cairns, I’d made nearly a dozen dives into the vivid submarine realms of the reef. For a once-a-year diver (at best), the experience was both enriching and enlightening. I’d seen, firsthand, the exquisite colours, shapes and impossible lifeforms of the reef; each inseparably intertwined and inexorably co-dependent. From the scary, but thankfully harmless, reef sharks to the tiniest mollusc, the reef is simply the most amazing collection of bizarre animals imaginable – and even then it takes quite an imagination!

I was pleasantly surprised at how accessible the diving is and what a complete experience is available to even the most novice of divers, but sadly the reef is currently in the best shape it will be for my lifetime. I couldn’t help feeling slightly melancholy as I wafted weightlessly over the bulbous brain coral and spectacular polyps. As our cruise staff so often reminded us, the reef is a precious resource that must be vigorously protected for future enjoyment and not be selfishly exploited for the immediate needs of this, the instant gratification generation.

Fact File:

Coral Princess Cruises operate 3, 4 or 7 night Great Barrier Reef and Island Cruises. Prices start from A$1155 (triple share) for the 3 night Cairns – Townsville itinerary. Introductory dive is free and then pay-as-you-go.

Contact Coral Princess on 1800 079 545 or visit www.coralprincess.com.au

Myall’s Ahead for Eco Tourism

// December 30th, 2005 // No Comments » // Australia, Travel

A 21st Century eco-resort is born from a depression-era hunting retreat.

Touring around the country with my parents in the ‘60s meant the occasional stop at a caravan park or motel. Even though motels were ‘pretty ordinary’ back then, the caravan parks reminded me more of my uncle’s wrecking yard back home. Plywood overnight vans and cabins were riddled with damp, spiders and cockroaches. Grumpy managers would snap at the kids if we dared play around the yard and the food, well that’s best forgotten. So much has changed in our hospitality industry I shake my head and sigh when I think of the so-called “good old days”.

If I ever want reminding about transformation of the humble campground, I only need visit the Ecopoint’s revitalised Myall Shores Resort. The property itself was first established as a hunting and fishing lodge almost one hundred years ago for well-healed city-slickers to relax and blast the bejesus out of the local wildlife. The original guesthouse, completed in 1927 from salvaged timber, is still there but now forms the basis of the restaurant, kiosk and bar.

Myall Shores Resort joined Ecopoint Management in 2003 and was immediately the subject of a $10M renovation, focussed primarily on upgrading the accommodation and conference facilities and reforesting and revegetating the grounds and foreshore to blend seamlessly with the surrounding Myall Lakes National Park. Working closely with National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), Ecopoint have strived for a solid ‘eco-friendly’ environment and were rewarded with a Bronze Gumnut Award by the NSW Caravan and Camping Industry Association for their efforts thus far.

Further billed as a family-friendly resort, I (read:we) came fully and totally equipped to explore the facilities and activities. Away from PCs, DVDs, Gameboys and Playstations, it would be an acid test to see if Myall Shores’ kids activities could occupy a restless young mind with wholesome, nature-based fun and games.

Managers, Barry and Tracey McGibbon, proudly showed us to our accommodation. The “Presidential” villa couldn’t be further removed from the musty crate I remember from my childhood. Polished wooden floors, stainless, spotless kitchenette, full-sized refrigerator, solid wood dining table, Jacuzzi, two DVD players (both of which would stay off) and a wide-screen TV. Needless to say scallywags (M9, F11) scampered around the four ample rooms opening and closing everything, emitting constant chirps of “oh, look!” “over here!” and “why can’t we have one like this?”

As you’ve already gathered, the Presidential is the select accommodation, but Tracey was equally happy to show me the Lake View Villas in comparison. Although slightly smaller with a narrow frontage, they are still smartly appointed. Each cabin is of the familiar, pre-built type, yet with a quality and finish I’ve never seen elsewhere. No beach shack ever looked like this.

Every villa and campsite is set either directly on the sandy edge of the Bombah Broadwater or in the native gardens immediately adjacent. The “gardens” are really just carefully trimmed and manicured native trees and shrubs with some judiciously placed lawn around the paths – and I’m sure that’s the very intention. It’s common to see big handsome goannas stroll confidently across the beach in front of your villa in search of an evening or afternoon snack.

The resort uses rain- and some bore water for all its needs and waste water is carefully treated and recycled for non-consumption uses.

As our stay was in one of the last weeks of January, kids of all ages were tearing around the grounds. Myall Shores employs staff with childcare qualifications and the infinitely cheery Amy and Miranda run the ‘Kids Club’ that includes damper-making, a disco, movies, karaoke nights and arts and crafts. We turned up in expectation of freshly baked damper emerging from a crackling campfire, but alas, it was high fire danger, so the steaming bush bread emerged from the electric oven instead.

The expansive Myall Lakes just north of Newcastle are more than just big ponds for boaties. There’s plenty of colonial history, wildlife, indigenous heritage and natural beauty to be experienced and Myall Shores Resort provide (at nominal extra cost) a set of interpretive tours for visitors. Each tour explores a different theme and location encompassing the local fishing industry, natural features, wildlife, canoeing, light hiking and lake cruise.

Skipper of the MV Emily, the resort’s cruise vessel, is Mick Johnson whose family has fished and farmed around the scenic Myall Lakes region for four generations. Laconic, dry and unflappable, Mick now ferries varying loads of holidaymakers and day-trippers around his beloved lakes highlighting points of historical and natural interest. We were treated to numerous tales from the earlier (bad old) days of fishing and hunting around the lakes – well before any thought of conservation. Mick’s mindset is now on the preservation of the four main water bodies: the Broadwater, Boolambayte, Two Mile and Myall Lakes. On each trip, he proudly points out a feature that bears his family name: Johnson’s Hill. Previously bare and clear-felled only two decades ago, it now sports a healthy regrowth including sturdy eucalypts and colourful banksias.

Mick explains that commercial fishing is now carefully controlled and that new licenses are no longer issued “willy-nilly”, but are now coveted assets. Stocks of the commercially harvested varieties (mullet, bream and blackfish) are carefully maintained at sustainable levels. Bass, on the other hand, is protected and may only be taken by recreational anglers

“Fisheries (department) now work on a one-in-one out basis, so licence numbers are effectively frozen,” says Mick “they’re even offering buy-backs now and then to get those numbers down even more.”

This type of first-hand narrative makes any visit to Myall Lakes much more than a simple holiday. It’s an opportunity for kids to learn about the then-and-now of an ecologically and historically valuable region of our country.

Apart from the suite of interpretive tours offered from the resort, it’s possible to join any of the NPWS’s program of tours scheduled for holiday periods. These tours include bush tucker, bush safety, Aboriginal story-telling and a beach safari.

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// December 30th, 2005 // No Comments » // Travel

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