Captain Cook Cruises: 3-Night Townsville - Cairns / Cairns - Townsville

• Exclusive Pelorus tropical island
• Coates & Nathan reefs

• Spectacular Hinchinbrook Channel
• Dunk Island rainforest trails
• Marine naturalist & dive master

* Cruises operate alternate weeks March – October 2008.

Day 1: 12:30pm: Board your small ship cruise at Breakwater Terminal for a 1:00pm departure. Departing Townsville, we cross Halifax Bay, passing close to Magnetic Island before cruising amongst the spectacular Palm Group of Islands. There is time to settle in and discover your ‘home’ for the next three nights. In the evening, join our crew and travelling companions on the top deck as the sun spectacularly sets over the reef.

Day 2: This morning we awaken moored beside your very own tropical island, Pelorus. We invite you to join us on the beach for a delicious beach BBQ, freshly prepared by the Captain. After breakfast, explore the surrounding rainforest on a guided nature walk. Pelorus’ fringing reef, in the shallow waters just metres off the beach, offers some fantastic snorkelling opportunities, allowing us to enjoy an up-close view of the colourful coral growing on this section of reef. Our experienced crew will be on hand to provide assistance, advice and guided snorkelling tours for less experienced swimmers. Admire the many varieties of colourful corals from the glass bottom boat with the Marine Biologist, accompany our Dive Instructor on an unforgettable SCUBA dive or simply relax on the long stretch of golden sandy beach, the choice is yours! Cruising northward, discover the towering island cliffs and mangroves of the Hinchinbrook Channel and the Family Group of Islands. This afternoon we visit Dunk Island Resort where there is time to relax by the resort’s pool, enjoy a drink in the cocktail bar or join a guided rainforest walk discovering the island’s unique flora and fauna. We may be lucky enough to see the brightly coloured blue-winged Ulysses Butterfly, impossible to miss against the ancient rainforest background. Keen birdwatchers should keep an eye out for many of the up to 100 species of native birds recorded on the island, including the Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Emerald Dove and Orange-footed Scrubfowl.

Day 3: Enjoy a full day to discover Nathan Reef. This section of the reef offers some of the most colourful coral gardens found anywhere along the length of the reef, allowing us to view many of the 400 different species of coral living in this World Heritage-listed wonderland. Venture in to the warm tropical waters to explore the corals and marine life on a guided snorkelling tour and join the Marine Biologist for a glass bottom boat tour. For the ultimate Great Barrier Reef experience, accompany our Dive Instructor on an unforgettable SCUBA dive. Later, discover some of the amazing creatures living on the reef with our Marine Biologist at the on-board display tank. Enjoy the rare opportunity for a close up look at sea cucumbers, colourful starfish and other marine life living on this part of the reef. This evening, relax with our crew and new-found friends on the top deck as we enjoy our final night cruising the Great Barrier Reef.

Day 4: Anchoring off Thetford Reef and Sudbury Cay we enjoy our final opportunity to snorkel over the reef. Join our Marine Biologist for a glass bottom boat tour over the colourful coral gardens before gathering on the snorkel deck to participate in a fish feed. Discover some of the 1500 species of tropical fish that call the reef home, including Spangled Emperor, Giant Trevally and the Hump-Headed Maori Wrasse as they are hand fed by the Marine Biologist. Early this afternoon we cruise through Trinity Bay before arriving in tropical Cairns at 1:30pm for disembarkation at Trinity Wharf.

Day 1: 10:30am: Board your small ship cruise for an 11:00am departure from Cairns. As we depart Cairns and cruise Trinity Bay, there is time to settle in and discover your ‘home’ for the next three nights. This afternoon we arrive at the outer Great Barrier Reef, anchoring off Thetford Reef and Sudbury Cay. Join our Marine Biologist for a glass bottom boat tour over the colourful coral gardens before gathering on the snorkel deck to participate in a fish feed. Discover some of the 1500 species of tropical fish that call the reef home, including Spangled Emperor, Giant Trevally and the Hump-Headed Maori Wrasse as they are hand fed by the Marine Biologist. You may wish to enjoy our first snorkelling opportunity for an up-close view of the hundreds of varieties of coral growing on this section of reef. Our experienced crew will be on hand to provide assistance, advice and guided snorkelling tours for less experienced swimmers. In the evening, join our crew and travelling companions on the top deck as the sun spectacularly sets over the reef.

Day 2: This morning we enjoy ample time to discover Coates or Nathan Reef. This section of the reef offers some of the most colourful coral gardens found anywhere along the length of the reef, allowing us to view many of the 400 different species of coral living in this World Heritage-listed wonderland. Venture in to the warm tropical waters to explore the corals and marine life on a guided snorkelling tour and join the Marine Biologist for a glass bottom boat tour. For the ultimate Great Barrier Reef experience, accompany our Dive Instructor on an unforgettable SCUBA dive. Later, discover some of the amazing creatures living on the reef with our Marine Biologist at the on-board display tank. Enjoy the rare opportunity for a close up look at sea cucumbers, colourful starfish and other marine life living on this part of the reef. This afternoon we visit Dunk Island Resort where there is time to relax by the resort’s pool, enjoy a drink in the cocktail bar or join a guided rainforest walk discovering the island’s unique flora and fauna. We may be lucky enough to see the brightly coloured blue-winged Ulysses Butterfly, impossible to miss against the ancient rainforest background. Keen birdwatchers should keep an eye out for many of the up to 100 species of native birds recorded on the island, including the Yellow-bellied Sunbird, Emerald Dove and Orange-footed Scrubfowl.

Day 3: Enjoy a delicious breakfast as we cruise further amongst the scenic Family Group of Islands, the only tropical islands on the Australian coast. Discover the towering island cliffs and mangroves of the Hinchinbrook Channel before arriving at your very own tropical island, Pelorus. We invite you to join us on the beach for a delicious beach BBQ, freshly prepared by the Captain. After lunch, explore the surrounding rainforest on a guided nature walk. Pelorus’ fringing reef, in the shallow waters just metres off the beach, offers some fantastic snorkelling opportunities. Admire the colourful corals from the glass bottom boat with the Marine Biologist, accompany our Dive Instructor on an unforgettable SCUBA dive or simply relax on the long stretch of golden sandy beach, the choice is yours! This evening, relax with our crew and new-found friends on the top deck as we cruise through the spectacular Palm Islands before settling in for our final night cruising the Great Barrier Reef.

Day 4: This morning we cross Halifax Bay, passing close to Magnetic Island before arriving in Townsville at 10:00am where we farewell new-found friends and the Captain and his crew.