The Great Barrier Reef is a popular destination for snorkelling tours and cruises, with over a million tourists turning up every year to explore this pristine eco-system. There are lots to see above the water as well as on a Great Barrier Reef day tour, exploring white sandy beaches, tropical islands and coral cays that are only visible during low tide.
There is no drop in interest with the number of visitors steadily increasing every year, and the tourists to the Great Barrier Reef contribute in excess of $6 billion to Australia's economy. If you still haven't added the Great Barrier Reef to your bucket list of places to see, these unique facts about this spectacular destination might change your mind!
Size!
The Great Barrier Reef is bigger than the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland, combined! It's about relatively the same size as Italy, Germany, Japan or Malaysia. If you are weak in your geography, think of it like this, the Great Barrier Reef is about the size of 70 million football fields. Comprised of 2900 individual reefs, with each reef size varying from 1 hectare to close to 100,000 hectares, the Great Barrier Reef is huge. It's so huge, that astronauts can see it from space! The reefs are surrounded by over 1050 islands and cays, all rich in native wildlife and greenery, which you can explore in detail on a Great Barrier Reef day tour.
Age!!
In case you didn't know, the Great Barrier Reef is a giant living organism that is made up of millions of corals. Experts estimate the age of the reef to be close to 20 million years! The coral that you currently see at the Great Barrier Reef is about 8000 years old, built on the skeletons of dead coral that's over 500,000 years old! Coral's reproduce through mass release of eggs and sperm when a number of conditions align, like water temperature and moon phases. This phenomenon is known as "sex on the reef"!
Diversity!!!
Coral reefs make up about 1% of the ocean waters, but more than 25% of the marine life can be spotted here. No wonder the Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. A Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour aboard a cruise will let you have a sneak peek into this rich marine world that is home to:
· 1,500 fish species, which is about 10% of the global population
· 215 species of birds which nest on the nearby coral cays and islands
· 6 species of sea turtles, they come to the reef to breed
· 30 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises
· 17 species of sea snake also call the Great Barrier Reef home
· The Great Barrier Reef is Dying
Despite being resilient and existing for over millions of years, the Great Barrier Reef is now under threat from rising temperature levels, which are stressing the corals leading to them bleaching and slowly dying. Corals exist through a symbiotic relationship with a certain strain of algae, with the coral tissues providing space for the algae to live which in turn gives back nourishment, keeping the coral healthy. When the temperatures spike, the corals expel the vital algae, turning them into a white shade (bleaching) and slowly starving to death.
A reef tax of $6 per day is paid by any visitor to the reef over the age of four, and this money goes to protect this delicate ecosystem. All of the Great Barrier snorkelling cruise tours and day tours include this reef tax, so you don't have to pay extra.
Now that you have your information handy, go all out on a Great Barrier Reef snorkelling tour on a cruise and explore the underwater ecosystem in detail. Or else, choose a Great Barrier Reef day tour and explore the rich flora and fauna of the islands. Both being a once in a lifetime experience like none other!
Author: Rachel Dawson
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