Latest News
09.05.23 – Giant Trevally
Of the large trevally family, the most well-known is the Giant Trevally. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific region and all across the Great Barrier Reef. They will grow up to 170 cm and weigh at least 35 kg. The giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis) is normally a silvery colour with occasional dark spots, but males […]
16.03.23 – Crown of Thorns Starfish
Crown-of-thorns starfish (also known as COTS) are marine invertebrates that feed on coral. They occur naturally on reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific region, and when conditions are right, they can reach plague proportions and devastate hard coral communities. Sighting one on its own is not too much concern as they are native to the reef, but […]
Coral Nurture Program
Ocean Rafting is proud to partner with the Coral Nurture Program, Reef Catchments and the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. This week Ocean Rafting and fellow tourism operators and researchers give our fringing Reef a hand! Our team set out to stock our nurseries with corals of opportunity this week, which are coral fragments that have […]
03.02.23 – Baler Snail
The Baler Snail is a large marine mollusc that belongs to the gastropod family Volutidae (volute shells). Of the 200 species of volutes distributed worldwide, around 70 are known from Australia. Many of those are endemic, found nowhere else in the world. The name “Baler shell” was given by European settlers because Aboriginal people were […]
30.01.23 – Turtle Tracks
Another reason to love the Whitsundays! Summer on the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park means it’s turtle nesting season! 6 out of the 7 species of turtles call the Great Barrier Reef home, and from October to March, the female turtles will drag themselves up on the beaches to lay clutches of over 100 eggs. […]
18.01.23 – Grass Tree’s
Did you know, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park is not just coral reefs? In fact, only 7% of the park is made up of the reefs that make this area so famous! So what else fills the park? Another key habitat is the 600 islands spreading across our 230,000km² playground, here in the Whitsundays […]
