cadman

Can anyone who lives in Oz i.e. Cairns / townsville etc. visit the GBR area themselves in their boat for the purposes of diving / snorkelling/swimming/photography?

I have a great interest in the GBR / fish etc. and just wondered wether the only boats allowed were those registered to tourism companies running trips to the reef or wether you can go out there on your own and explore.

I must emphasise that I have total respect for the environmental issues etc. etc. and wouldn't stand on the coral, anchor, nick bits, etc. etc.

I've been on the official GBR gov. site and it talks of the Zones and what is allowed in each colour etc. e.g. swimming, snorkelling and photography allowed but no fishing in some zones but doesn't mention wether you have to be on a "tour".

Just for future reference and may affect where we live.

thanks,

andy

moneypenny20

Don't quote me, but I am sure that you can't go out in your own boat. Think it has to be with a "tour". Have a friend who is a dive master working out of Cairns, I could e-mail him but I still haven't had a reply to a message asking about his new baby who was born in June!

Grayling

Andy

If you are going to visit the GBR you are going to need a 'serious' boat.

It is several miles from the mainland and will need a well equipped boat and good weather plus a lot of experience of ocean boating.

Good luck

G

cresta57

If your boat is seaworthy enough there's nothing to stop you from sailing/motoring up the islands of the reef. We've been sailing up and around the lower end of the reef and done a few dives around Lady Musgrave and Lady Elliot islands and a few smaller ones.
If you go out on an organised trip you'll pay a reef tax as part of your ticket price as a yachty you don't pay. A couple of points to consider are that once your living here as a PR resident you'll need to abide by the laws here that means you'll need a boat licence and need to carry the appropriate rescue/safety equipment for the size of your boat. Also there are a few islands that are out of bounds due to various reasons, one is because some were used as a bomb dump after WW2 and have unstable munitions dotted all over the place[Fairfax island is one I think]. Aussies didn't always appreciate the beauty of the reef as much as they do now.