Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a place that generates superlatives – but instantly transcends them. Rated as one of the seven wonders of the natural world, it stretches for 2,300 kilometres (1,430 miles) along the Queensland coast – from Bundaberg to the Torres Strait.
In addition to being the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, this World Heritage Site is also the planet’s largest protected marine area, supporting 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. Apart from a phantasmagoria of tropical fish, the reef is also home to whales, dugongs, turtles, reef sharks, dolphins and is an important bird habitat.
For the past 50 years, the Great Barrier Reef has been a magnet for divers, sailors and people who dream of finding their own South Sea paradise. The reef, therefore, has a remarkably well-developed tourist infrastructure. A number of islands, such as Lizard, Bedarra and Hayman, have their own self-contained luxury resorts – others offer little more than a tent and hammock.
While marketed as a single destination, the Great Barrier Reef is in fact a big cluster of distinct experiences, which range from the joyful (though a tad full-on) hedonism of Cairns and Port Douglas to the wonders of diving on the pristine outer reef. Despite its remoteness, Queensland’s far north still caters for those on a modest budget, as well as jet-setters who want to charter a private yacht in the Whitsundays.
The Barrier Reef comprises around 2,800 individual reefs, continental islands, reef islands and sand cays and it would be impossible to cover them all in a single trip – or indeed a single lifetime. So you have to think carefully about the sort of reef experience you want and plan accordingly. Here’s a steer to the best of what’s out there.
