Spirit of Freedom, one of Cairns’ luxury liveaboard boats providing dive and snorkel trips to the northern Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole and Coral Sea, recently underwent a $300,000 refit. Built in 1992, the 37m monohull Spirit of Freedom is always immaculately maintained and the five (5) week refit included interior and exterior work, all completed…

Cairns Dive Centre is excited to commence operations with their new day tour boat, MV Reefkist, next Tuesday 7 June 2011. The 18m (60 ft) MV Reefkist catamaran, replaces MV Sunkist in the Cairns Dive Centre fleet and was designed by Incat Crowther and built by Richardson and Devine in Tasmania, in 2005.

Passions of Paradise will debut its ‘new’ Great Barrier Reef dive and snorkel site tomorrow, Wednesday 1 June 2011, the aptly named, Long Bommie. Approximately 200m long and two (2) nautical miles from Michaelmas Cay, Long Bommie offers visitors pristine corals and a spectacular array of marine life. Long Bommie is Passions of Paradise’s second…

Pro Dive Cairns saw the first Humpback Whales for the season on Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef, earlier this week. In an early start to Cairns’ whale watching season, the first Humpback Whale breaching was seen on Cairns’ southern reefs, at Flynn, Milne and Thetford. Humpback Whales usually arrive in July / August, so perhaps this…

Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef offers visitors the unique opportunity to swim, snorkel and dive with Dwarf Minke Whales. This close whale contact is banned in many countries around the world, but in the northern waters of the Great Barrier Reef, you can enjoy this once in a lifetime experience with a liveaboard Mike Ball Dive…

Want to spend Easter on Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef? This is a great time of year to visit! Our mornings are crisp and clear with blue skies and a minimum temperature of around 22 degrees Celsius. During the day we reach a pleasant maximum of around 29 degrees Celsius and conditions on the Great Barrier…

A rare stingray, listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, has been photographed on the Great Barrier Reef. The Porcupine Ray (Urogymnus asperrimus) was spotted by guests aboard Wavelength Reef Charters at Opal Reef, latitude 16°13 longitude 145°53.5 earlier this year.

Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef day dive and snorkel tour fleet will have a new vessel in June this year, when Tusa Dive launch the latest in their series, TUSA 6. Currently being constructed by leading Brisbane company Aluminum Marine, the 24m TUSA 6 has been designed to maximise passenger comfort and environmental performance.

Cairns’ Great Barrier Reef is hosting representatives from the Seven Natural Wonders Organisation this week, keen to make its mark as the number one natural attraction on earth. A seven member international delegation from the organisation is in Cairns on a 10-day tour. Highlights will include visiting the Great Barrier Reef’s Moore Reef, Fitzroy Island…

Scuba divers visiting Cairns’ northern reefs are reporting 10m visibility and excellent diving. Cairns Dive Adventures visited Saxon and Hastings Reefs yesterday aboard Tusa Dive, and saw turtles, giant clams, anemone fish, trumpetfish, leafy scorpionfish and more. “The diving was brilliant,” said Richard Johnston from Cairns Dive Adventures. “There was some sediment in the water,…