Great Barrier Reef Diving, Snorkeling & Sailing Tours with Small, Fun Groups

We at New Horizon Sail & Dive would like to thank our guests, agents and crew for a great year in 2008. This year we have had some fantastic weather and seen some great things throughout the year. Some of the highlights although there are too many to mention here are;

• The increased sightings of whales each year with this year proving the point again.
• Turtles are a great experience in their natural state, and this year we spotted 15 turtles of all different sizes behind a reef face, an occurrence rarely seen away from nesting areas.
• The turtle mating season was exciting with several different instances of mating being witnessed directly from the boat.
• Dolphins like to join us on the bow when sailing and this year our guides varied in numbers and species, as well as exciting us with some new tricks.
• Refit for both boats with Santa Maria getting a major overhaul and Coral Sea Dreaming enjoying some time on the drydock also.
• The sunrises and sunsets the start and end the day in such a glorious way.
• We must extend a great thanks to our crew for there hard work and our guests for our fantastic customer satisfaction scores that they consistently earn.
• A special mention goes out to our friendly housemates on the Great Barrier Reef who keep our jobs fresh and entertain all of us.
• To all the guests that continue to send in photos of their great experiences.
• Our new features on the website including instant chat, updated online bookings and of course “The Blog” were a big hit.

Thanks again for a great year in 2008 and we hope to see you all again in 2009.

One of the biggest decisions when planning a dive holiday is where to go and then who to choose. Choosing your vacation spot should take into account your impact on the reefs you will visit and enjoy. The latest global report “Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2008″ by Clive Wilkinson details the effect of management practices in different areas of the world and damages sustained of the last four years since the last report. This report should assist in your decision.
Page 11 of the report show the general health of reefs by regions in table form.
Page 18 shows the ongoing monitoring level per region.

In Australia, the report clearly shows the work between the various bodies, such as GBRMPA, Dive and Charter Operators, the Fishing Community as well as the general local community, is showing real results and will continue to improve the health and the condition of the Great Barrier Reef. Below is and extract from the report and I urge further governments around the world to adopt the model used here in Australia to avoid more reefs being categorised as lost.

“Reefs of Australia continue to be well managed and relatively stable with no major climate change or cyclone events damaging the reefs since 2004. Management continues to set the benchmark for best practice, both in Eastern Australia on the Great Barrier Reef and, more recently, off Western Australia. Particular features are the effective partnerships between coral reef science and management. The situation is the reverse in Papua New Guinea with inadequate coral reef conservation and monitoring, with most of this being performed via large NGOs working with local communities. PNG still has vast areas of healthy and biodiversity-rich coral reefs but human pressures, both from within and externally, are increasing.”

News.com has reported the first species to become extinct because of global warming it is the White Possum, native of North Queensland’s Daintree Rainforest. The Daintree Rainforest is adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef so let’s hope this is not an ominous sign of things to come. Greenhouse gases hit record highs in 2007 according to the World Meteorological Association.
These World Heritage Parks both the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropical Rainforest are preserves that have been set aside for future generations of global citizens to enjoy.
So it is important YOU take the time to do some little things that will cut down on emissions and limit your use of fossil fuels. Here are some easy things to do that benefit both you and the planet as a whole.

1. Walk or ride a bicycle to the local shops instead of driving.
2. When choosing a car, buy a car suitable for your everyday use, if you need a bigger car occasionally rent one. It’ll save you money everyday as well as on insurance and repairs.
3. Replace incandescent bulbs with fluorescent or LED bulbs. I know ladies they show complexion issues but vanity is a small price to pay.
4. Don’t run the hot water for a minute to rinse something, most of the hot water is wasted in the pipes and the hot water heater needs to heat that water again.
5. Keep Air-conditioning and Heaters on only for the extremes and set the temperatures at a reasonable level.
6. Reuse and recycle plastics whenever possible especially water bottles. It is incredible to me that people pay more for water in a plastic bottle then they do for soft drinks and other processed products in the same bottle.

More information can be found on the AIMS website also as detailed in our previous post.
The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has published a number of publications providing information on the effect of Global Warming on the Great Barrier Reef. They can be found on their website.