A spectacular day on the Great Barrier Reef (Passions of Paradise (Cairns, Australia))

Member Name: aylawarner

Product:	Passions of Paradise (Cairns, Australia)
Date:	16/05/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great service, brilliant staff, suitable for confident and non-confident swimmers, amazing locations

Disadvantages: None at all

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and a sight not to be missed when on the East Coast of Australia. The main port to the Great Barrier Reef is from Cairns where there are literally hundreds of companies offering boat trips, snorkelling and scuba diving. The choices really will completely befuddle you and we spent so long trying to choose the best one to go with. After looking through loads of brochures we eventually went into a travel agent for some advice and told them exactly what we wanted and they recommended Passions of Paradise. A couple of the agents in the travel agency had been on this same trip and recommended it as one of the best trips they had done so we quickly signed up just happy to have our trip eventually booked up.

The boat is a 25 meter sailing catamaran and looks very stylish and classy - bright white with 'Passions of Paradise' in big red lettering on the side of the boat. There is seating and tables inside away from the sun or a large area outside at the front of the boat where you can sit or lay as well as two large nets, like trampolines, that you can also sunbathe on. They do daily trips to two destinations in the reef - Michaelmas Cay and Paradise Reef.

Michaelmas Cay is a sandy lagoon famous for its inhabitants of up to 20,000 migratory birds. As the boat gets closer to the lagoon you can see and hear all the thousands of birds and they truly are an amazing sight. The boat can't port at the lagoon as the coral is directly on the shallow shore so you have the choice to either jump in the sea and swim to the shore from the boat or hop into a smaller boat which will take you to the shore. The pure white sandy edge of the lagoon is perfect to just sit on and relax whilst looking out at the beautiful bright blue ocean. There is a section in the middle of the lagoon surrounded by a barrier which you aren't allowed to enter so that the birds are protected and the island will remain in its natural state. You can do some snorkelling directly next to the sandy lagoon where you can see the coral and hundreds of different species of colourful fish. Also see if you can spot any black reef tip sharks or sea turtles - we spotted a turtle's head keep popping out of the water near us. The water is very calm here so your snorkelling experience will be brilliant. Only three companies have permits allowing them to access Michaelmas Cay which is what makes this location so desolate and perfect.

Paradise Reef is a hard coral reef in the middle of the sea reaching depths of 25 meters. You can see nothing around you when looking out from the boat which can be a little daunting jumping out into the deep blue sea. Here, you can do snorkelling or scuba diving, either an introductory dive or a certified dive. The waters are very choppy here so you need to be quite a strong swimmer to be confident snorkelling by yourself. I occasionally had a wave flowing up over my snorkel it was that choppy. Although the water here is dark because it's far out at sea, the views of the coral under sea is clear and you will see hundreds of different fish of all sizes and different to those at Michaelmas Cay. Passions of Paradise are the only company to hold a permit to Paradise Reef, hence the name of the boat. This makes this location completely exclusive and even more magical.

The boat leaves at 8 am every morning and returns back to Cairns at around 5 pm so it's a long day and you're bound to be knackered after. As soon as you arrive on the boat you can help yourself to tea or coffee and muffins while you listen to where the day is going to take you. The buffet lunch on the boat is amazing with hot and cold food including meats, prawns, pasta, salad, fruit and desserts, and hot and cold drinks. A cheese platter is served later in the day on the trip back to Cairns. There are also other snacks and beverages available to buy on the trip.

This trip is perfect for anyone who's not such a confident swimmer as the coral in Michaelmas Cay is directly next to the shore and is in shallow waters so you don't need to swim out far. In Paradise Reef, if you're not confident of swimming in such deep and choppy waters, there will be staff members to give you a helping hand. The staff member will lead a few people through the waters, who will all be attached to a rubber ring, whilst pointing out all the coral and sea creatures. All swimming gear is provided including wetsuit, snorkel, mask and fins, scuba gear and flotation vests if needed. Or if you prefer to not get wet there is the option of doing a glass bottom boat tour. There is also a photographer on board who makes their way round the group taking pictures throughout the day. These are printed up at the end and are available for you to buy. I'd suggest taking an underwater camera with you but you can hire an underwater digital camera on board if you like.

Trips cost $139 (roughly £80) for adults and $89 (£45) for children. To do an introductory dive this costs an extra $70 (£35). The prices are very similar to most of the other trips but, if I remember rightly, I think this one was slightly cheaper than a few of the others we had narrowed it down to.

Passions of Paradise offers an absolutely amazing trip out to the Reef that I couldn't recommend enough. It was a superb day due to every single aspect of it - the service on the boat, the brilliant and helpful staff, the food, and, of course, the spectacular locations in the Reef.

Summary: One of our best days in Australia