Islands such as the Whitsundays and Lady Elliot Island have excellent accommodation options and provide easy access to the reef. These islands are quieter as compared to the mainland.
Tips for an excellent Great Barrier Reef experience
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This massive coral reef is home to over 9000 known species of marine wildlife (both flora and fauna). Given the size of the reef, it is safe to say that a lot of it is unexplored and many more species are yet to be discovered. The … Read more
This massive coral reef is home to over 9000 known species of marine wildlife (both flora and fauna). Given the size of the reef, it is safe to say that a lot of it is unexplored and many more species are yet to be discovered. The reef’s vibrant corals, exotic fish, sea turtles, and the iconic dugong draw in almost seven million visitors each year, and that’s impressive, to say the least. Read less
The Great Barrier Reef, located off the northeastern coast of Australia, is one of the most remarkable destinations you will come across in Australia. The Great Barrier Reef, stretching over 2,300 km (1,430 miles), is the largest living structure in the world and also the world’s largest coral reef system. As per reports, the coral reef is so big that it can be seen from space!
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Did you know that the Great Barrier Reef is actually made up of almost 3000 individual reefs?
This massive coral reef is home to over 9000 known species of marine wildlife (both flora and fauna). Given the size of the reef, it is safe to say that a lot of it is unexplored and many more species are yet to be discovered. The reef’s vibrant corals, exotic fish, sea turtles, and the iconic dugong draw in almost seven million visitors each year, and that’s impressive, to say the least.
So if you also have the Great Barrier Reef on your travel wish list, here are some tips on how to make the most of your visit.
- The best ways to get up close and personal with the Great Barrier Reef are by snorkeling and scuba diving. Since almost all the main attractions are underwater, you might as well get your gear ready. You can look into some of the many dive operators and snorkel tours available. They are there for all skill levels.
- There are guided reef tours that you can join. Most of these include glass-bottom boat rides that are great for viewing the sea floor. But most importantly, what these guided tours do is, they help visitors with valuable information about the reef’s ecology and the conservation efforts.
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Islands such as the Whitsundays and Lady Elliot Island have excellent accommodation options and provide easy access to the reef. These islands are quieter as compared to the mainland.
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- There are also helicopter or seaplane rides that one can explore to see the reef from up above. From air one can truly appreciate the beauty and the vastness of the coral reef.
- There are multi-day liveaboard snorkel safaris that will give you more time and access to the reef. These safaris will also allow you to explore the quiet corners of the reef.
- Lastly, if you want to explore the reef on your own, you can do that as well. For this, rent proper equipment and explore the shallow end of the reef at your own pace. You can also go for some boat or seaplane services. They will drop you on one of the islands where you can have a day to yourself and check out the shallow waters.
- What is the Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, located off the coast of Queensland, Australia. - How can I visit the Great Barrier Reef?
You can visit the Great Barrier Reef by booking snorkel or dive tours, taking boat trips, staying on reef islands, or exploring it from the air with scenic flights or helicopter tours - Why is the Great Barrier Reef important?
The Great Barrier Reef is crucial for its ecological significance and as a hotspot for biodiversity.
This coral reef resurrected itself — and showed scientists how to replicate it
With measuring tape and notepad, marine ecologist Enric Ballesteros surveys the organisms living on a healthy reef in the islands. When author Enric Sala and his team first visited here in 2009, they found these reefs in a pristine state, with a profusion of species, many of them rare. Jon Betz/National Geographic hide caption
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Jon Betz/National Geographic
With measuring tape and notepad, marine ecologist Enric Ballesteros surveys the organisms living on a healthy reef in the islands. When author Enric Sala and his team first visited here in 2009, they found these reefs in a pristine state, with a profusion of species, many of them rare.
Jon Betz/National Geographic
Though they may not know it, about half a billion people worldwide depend on the ecosystems created and sustained by corals. And with climate change threatening coral’s survival, marine scientist Enric Sala had a goal that might have seemed impossible.
“We wanted to get into a time machine, go back hundreds of years and actually see a coral reef like they used to be everywhere, before we started exploiting them and polluting them and killing them all over the world,” Sala said.
The goal was, in essence, made possible during an expedition that Sala led in 2009 with National Geographic Society. The team traveled to a corner of the South Pacific Ocean, to see if the vibrant and virtually untouched reefs there held any clues to bringing damaged reefs in other parts of the ocean back to health.
Climate
“The bottom was covered by thriving coral. It was, like, crystal-clear, blue, turquoise water, schools of silver jacks. And then the corals, pastels, oranges and beiges — it was so beautiful. It was like an impressionist painting,” Sala said of the first time he saw those thriving reefs.
A parrotfish scrapes off and eats turf algae from coral skeletons at Millennium (Caroline) Atoll. This promotes the growth of pink, rock-hard crustose coralline algae — the best surface for coral larvae to settle on and rebuild the reef. Enric Sala/National Geographic hide caption
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Enric Sala/National Geographic
A parrotfish scrapes off and eats turf algae from coral skeletons at Millennium (Caroline) Atoll. This promotes the growth of pink, rock-hard crustose coralline algae — the best surface for coral larvae to settle on and rebuild the reef.
Enric Sala/National Geographic
His team presented their findings to officials in the island country of Kiribati. The Kiribati government took steps to protect the waters from fishing and other human activity, but between 2015 and 2016, record levels of ocean warming decimated half the coral reefs the team had been studying.
After hearing that news, they lost hope for the health of coral reefs, thinking that the increase in temperature meant a certain doom. But, the study continued, and last year, they went in for another dive. Sala, dreading what he was about to find, jumped in with no gear.
“I look down, and my first thought is, did anything ever happen to this reef?”
A school of small reef fish, one of many fish species that inhabit these waters. Manu San Félix/National Geographic hide caption
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Manu San Félix/National Geographic
A school of small reef fish, one of many fish species that inhabit these waters.
Manu San Félix/National Geographic
Despite the reported conditions, the reef had somehow restored itself, filled with life and color once more. Sala and his team were elated. This resurrection is something that Sala says can be traced to two key factors.
The first is, thankfully, half of the corals had not died, as was previously thought. Despite the rise in temperatures, there were enough surviving corals left behind to help reproduce and replenish the reefs.
The second factor was the Kiribati government’s decision to fully protect those waters.
“It has an abundance of fish that is off the charts. So they were eating all the algae that would smother the dead coral skeletons, and make it impossible for the corals to come back, which is what happens in other places like the Caribbean,” Sala explained.
The November 2022 issue of National Geographic. National Geographic hide caption
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National Geographic
Protecting oceans from overfishing, Sala added, allows the ecosystem itself to become more resilient. In highly protected areas, the populations of fish grow so much that they spill over the boundaries of their areas and help replenish surrounding fishing grounds, in addition to allowing the ocean to capture and store more carbon to mitigate climate change.
“So if countries want a future for the fisheries, they need to manage their fisheries in a more responsible way around areas that are set aside to help regenerate the rest of the ocean,” Sala said.
For him and his team, the rebirth of the coral reef in Kiribati is a beacon of hope among so much pessimism surrounding the future of reefs.
“It’s great to show that protection of biodiversity, protection of marine life can actually provide resilience to global warming,” he said.
Super Reefs (Short Film) | Pristine Seas | National Geographic Society
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This story was adapted for the web by Manuela Lopez Restrepo
