ECO-EXPEDITIONS

The Cairns Section

The Cairns section of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) extends from Lizard Island in the North to Mission beach in the south, and includes some of Australia's best known diving destinations such as the "Cod-hole", Agincourt reef, Norman reef, and Michaelmas Cay. The main reasons for this popularity are the easy access to the GBR, and the tourism infrastructure that has built up around Cairns in the last 2 decades. Cairns has an international airport with direct flights from Asia and the US, and many dive operations and charter vessels are based in the city. There is abundant accommodation ranging from cheap backpacker style hostels to 5-star luxury hotels. The reefs of the GBR are close to shore in the Cairns section, which means a short travel time to dive sites and relatively low charter costs. The hinterland is also very scenic, with world heritage tropical rainforest covering the mountain ranges along the coast. The towns of Port Douglas to the north, and Mission Beach to the south of Cairns, also have well established tourist facilities which include dive operations.

In terms of geomorphology, the Cairns section includes the transition zone between the northern half of the GBR (characterised by a narrow continental shelf bordered by "ribbon" reefs) and the southern half (characterised by a wider shelf and abundant "platform" reefs - for more information see the Overview of the Great Barrier Reef page). The southern limit of the ribbon reefs occurs offshore from Cooktown, approximately 150km north of Cairns. Offshore from Cairns and throughout the southern half of the Cairns section, the GBR consists of a narrow band of platform reefs found ~40km from the coast. Diving conditions are excellent around the small reefs on the outer part of the shelf, with clear water, steep drop-offs, and abundant and highly diverse marine life.

The major drawback of diving in the Cairns section is the poor condition of the coral on of many of the reefs due to Crown-of-Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) outbreaks. There have been three outbreaks recorded since the advent of scuba diving in the area; the first in the 1960's, the second in the early 1980's, and the third which began in 1993 and continues to the present day. On each occasion, the outbreaks began on the reefs in the northern part of the Cairns section and spread slowly south over the following years. In the present outbreak, numbers of starfish are declining around Lizard Island, but numbers are still very high off Cairns and the majority of the reefs in the area have suffered substantial declines in coral cover. For more information on Crown-of-thorns starfish, visit the CRC Reef Research Centre or GBRMPA - The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

The weather in the Cairns section is similar to that experienced in the Far-Northern Section, with moderate to strong SE trade winds predominant during the "dry" season from April to October, and lighter northerly winds, hot humid weather, thunderstorms, and periods of torrential rain during the "wet" season from November to March. Tropical cyclones (hurricanes/typhoons) may also form in the Coral Sea or the Gulf of Carpentaria and affect the area during the wet. The overall speed of the trade winds during the dry season is somewhat lower in the Cairns section than the Far-Northern section, averaging 15-20 knots. This makes live-aboard conditions and diving on the exposed sides of reefs a little more comfortable.

In summary

There are numerous logistic advantages associated with Eco-expeditions in the Cairns section: easy international & domestic access by jet aircraft, a wide variety of charter vessels and accommodation options to choose from, and reefs which are relatively close to the coast. The major drawback is the state of the coral on many of the reefs in the area due to the current Crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak. However, it must be noted that the starfish do not decimate all the coral in a region, and the rest of the reef community is unaffected, so there are numerous high quality dive locations still to be found in the section. This makes the Cairns section an attractive starting point for Tevene'i Marine Eco-expeditions.

Click here to see information on the Ecological themes we examine on Tevene'i Marine Eco-expeditions.

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