An extreme low tide of just 0.2 metres combined with an innovative drone mapping research project has given us a unique opportunity to see the stunning Agincourt Reef 3 from a new perspective. The ext

A beautiful boutique eco-resort with just 46 rooms, Green Island Resort is located on an ancient coral cay and the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef – it is one of the most unique and memorable destinations in Tropical North Queensland. Just 27 km and a world away from Cairns on Green Island, this is where the reef truly does meet the rainforest. Wunyami, Green Island’s traditional name means place of spirits. Your spirits are sure to be lifted and awakened with a memorable stay

Whale season in the Tropical North is in full swing with daily humpback sightings. This mother and calf put on a show for passengers and crew aboard dive and snorkel vessel Silverswift as they playfully breached repeatedly out of the water. Watch to see mamma show how it's done! The encounter occurred near Green Island as the vessel was returning from a day at the Outer Reefs. Quicksilver Group Environment and Compliance Manager, and cetacean expert, Phil Coulthard said “Whale season is in full swing and it’s always very exciting to see the humpbacks in our tropical waters. This mother and calf duo have been seen around the same location for several days. We’re seeing the humpbacks almost daily at this time of year. It’s part of their winter migration to our region from the southern oceans of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.” The sightings are recorded for the GBRMPA’s Eye on the Reef monitoring program. Humpbacks are generally seen at the Great Barrier Reef between the months of June to September with regular sightings near Green Island and at the Outer Reefs, bringing an added bonus for passengers at this time. Thanks to Silverswift marine biologist Teresa Souyet for the great footage.

Departing from Cairns in Tropical North Queensland, the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, Great Adventures exciting eco-certified Outer Reef cruise takes you to a spacious activity platform moored at a magnificent site. There’s a great range of activities for all ages to enjoy, swimmers and non-swimmers too. Discover the reef from the spacious semi-submarine with informative commentary and visit the underwater observatory with a reef guide. Snorkel directly off the platform into beautiful coral gardens home to exotic tropical marine life. When it's time to relax, laze on the sundeck and enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. For the more adventurous, there's scuba diving and the unique Scuba-Doo underwater scooter experiences. Learn more about this special environment with a marine biologist guided snorkel tour and for a whole new perspective, there's the thrill of a scenic helicopter flight over the aquamarine reefs below.

Coral Spawning 2021 Music by: Blesson

Imagine coming face to face with the biggest fish in the sea – the whale shark. That’s just what happened to a group of lucky passengers with Great Adventures in a very rare encounter while they were seated in the semi-submarine at Moore Reef. This vision was captured by one of the lucky passengers. The whale shark, estimated to be 4 - 5 metres in length swam up close and alongside the semi-sub window as excited passengers looked on in awe. Quicksilver Group Environment and Compliance Manager Doug Baird said. “For what is the world’s largest fish, we really do know very little about them and their behaviour here on the east coast of Australia.” More often associated with the northern waters of Western Australia, whale shark encounters on the Great Barrier Reef are quite sporadic. This sighting is of great interest to researchers who have been working to identify a potential whale shark aggregation site in the far north regions of the Reef. As the largest fish in the sea reaching lengths of over 12 metres, whale sharks are docile fish feeding mostly on plankton, crab larvae and jellyfish, which they scoop up with their colossal gaping mouths while swimming close to the water’s surface. They are listed as a vulnerable species and prior to the mid 1980s there were less than 350 confirmed reports of whale sharks world-wide. Researchers are able to identify individuals from photographs by analysing the patterns of markings on their bodies - a bit like fingerprints.

A group of very excited scuba divers with Great Adventures Cruises at Green Island were treated to a rare encounter with a young adult dugong. Estimated to be around 2 metres in length, this was the first dugong sighting recorded by Great Adventures divers at Green Island in several years. It was also the first ever sighting for videographer Dan Liu and two very lucky introductory divers on holiday from Ballarat Victoria. “It was so exciting to see! He was very curious swimming near us as the group were diving on a nearby coral bommie. He came close within about 4 metres, swimming away and then coming back for another look before swimming off over the seagrass beds,” said Dan Liu. Dugongs, often called sea cows, as they graze shallow seagrass meadows (eating up to 40kg a day!) are found across the tropical belt in Australia. They reach a length of 3 metres, live up to 70 years of age and can weigh as much as 400kg. Dugongs are fascinating mammals, sharing a common ancestor with elephants, and early sailors are believed to have confused them for mythical mermaids. They are most closely related to the manatee, their northern hemisphere relative. They resemble a large dolphin but lack a dorsal fin and have an upper lip covered in thick bristles. They are well designed for aquatic life, with nostrils situated on top of their heads so they can breathe, and have a large, strong tail that propels them through the water. Their eyes and ears are on the side of their heads. Although their eyesight is poor, they have an acute sense of hearing.” Dugong are threatened on a worldwide scale and in Australia, are a protected species under various legislation including the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975. This important sighting will be reported to GBRMPA’s Eye on the Reef monitoring program contributing valuable information about these endangered creatures as well as the long-term protection and management of the reef. Video credit Dan Liu, Island Photography Australia

Silverswift (departs Cairns) and Silversonic (departs Port Douglas) will take you to experience 3 different Great Barrier Reef environments in one day for dive and snorkel adventures.

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Has isolation got you wanting a tropical island getaway? We hear you loud and clear! Green Island is open to break those iso blues ON JULY 4th! Covidsafe and ready to show you what you've been missing in between UberEat dropoffs and episodes of Tiger King! When the Great Barrier Reef is on your doorstep you don't need to pop the bubble to break the iso! 🐢🐠🐟🐚🐬

Marine Biologist and Master Reef Guide, Sam Gray, takes us on an underwater tour of one of Green Island’s beautiful dive and snorkel sites - New York – where the fish never sleep! Green Island is 6000 year old coral cay, just 45 minutes from Cairns, the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.

We managed to capture the perfect sunset at Green Island Resort on Feb 10th. Does it get any better than this?!

The Sea Pen is one of the fascinating creatures that you might be lucky enough to see when exploring the Great Barrier Reef! Credit: Shane 'Sharky' Down, Silversonic

The Porcupine Fish has spines which emit toxins 1200x stronger than cyanide. Can you trust this smile?!

Absolutely stunning conditions at our Quicksilver platform yesterday! What a pearler of a day! 😍👌😍👌😍 📹: Avy Christine Lopena McKay

The Agincourt ribbon Reefs had a second coral spawning and it was magical. At the Quicksilver platform at Agincourt 3, our Marine Biologist, Russell Hore predicted the December coral spawn would be more spectacular, as the waters had been cooler in the lead up to the November spawn. Russell Hore, Quicksilver Reef Biosearch Manager said “While the Agincourt Reefs experienced a coral spawning in November, we always believed that the main coral spawn would happen after the full moon in December.“ Two of Quicksilver Reef Biosearch marine biologists, Dr Glen Burns and Graham Carroll, spent the night on Agincourt 3 last night (16 Dec), hopeful that the corals would spawn. “The current water temperature on the edge of the outer reefs was perfect for coral spawning, so we were pretty confident.” And better they were, with one of the better coral spawning events witnessed in the last decade. “We witnessed the branching staghorn coral, shrubby corals and a magnificent plate coral spawning. We were privileged to record this once yearly event at Agincourt Reef.” said Dr Burns The spawning is likely to continue for the next two nights.

The flourishing dive site, New York, filmed at Green Island by Great Adventures dive crew. If you were wondering where the dive site gets its name, the site has a series of gutters running up to the top of the reef flat, which according to Peter Tibbs (the original Dive school of Cairns) appears like streets running down between the skyscrapers of “New York”.

At the height of the Great Barrier Reef’s yearly coral spawning event, this little Christmas Tree worm decided it wanted in on the fun! As the waters of Barracuda Bommie was filled with the eggs and sperm of hopeful coral polyps, it too released its reproductive materials in the hopes of finding the spirobranchus giganteus of its dreams. Thanks to our local guru of being in the right spot at the right time, Shane ‘Sharky’ Down captured the amazing moment were this Christmas Tree coral released its reproductive Secret Santa gifts out into the world. 📸: Shane 'Sharky' Down 🦈

Quicksilver Group Marine Biologist Samantha Gray says that shoes are optional but G'days are compulsory on the Great Barrier Reef. Queensland representative of the international Tourism Australia campaign, Sam tells us all about her philAusophy and what makes Michaelmas Cay, home.

🚨 Whale sharks! This is not a drill! 🚨 A Whale Shark is one of the rarest marine encounters you can experience on the Great Barrier Reef. It was a real treat for everyone on board Silversonic yesterday when they encountered this beauty 400m off Turtle Bay. Some of our lucky crew managed to get into the water to capture some amazing footage of this magestic behemoth. 🎥: Shane 'Sharky' Down/ Silversonic Cruises