Instead of just skimming the surface on your next coastal getaway, why not really immerse yourself in the experience?
The Great Barrier Reef is the place to be in June-July for the annual dwarf minke whale migration. A limited number of dive operators, based in Port Douglas and Cairns, have been granted permission by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to take dive-swim-snorkel tours with the whales as part of a monitoring program.
The Minke Whale Project, based at James Cook University in Townsville, monitors the dwarf minke whales when they visit the northern part of the reef in the Australian winter because it is the only known predictable aggregation of these whales in the world.
The World Heritage-listed reef stretches more than 2300 kilometres from far north Queensland to Bundaberg. It offers a variety of tourism-based adventures and experiences along its shoreline and in the waters. There are more than 30 species of whales and dolphins, 1625 species of fish, 33 species of sharks and rays and 600 types of hard and soft coral.
For ideas on what to see and where to go, visit www.queensland.com
For details of the whale project, see MinkeWhaleProject.org
