Gateway to the Tropical North Queensland region is the cosmopolitan city of Cairns, a common embarkation point for sailing yacht charters or Great Barrier Reef cruises up the coast.

Travelling north of Cairns along the remote Far North Queensland coastline discover the World Heritage Great Barrier Reef and the history of early explorers, settlers and World War II. Along with the culture of the indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait people, North Queensland, visited on all Great Barrier Reef cruises promises you a wonderful experience of diversity and culture... read more

Truly one of Australia's last frontiers, Cape York is pure wilderness and adventure... Some of Australia's most spectacular dive sites are to be found in the hundreds of nautical miles of offshore reefs and cays of the Great Barrier Reef... This is a region where life occurs in dramatic abundance - both above and below water... This is Cape York - the tip of Australia - where spectacular landscapes are bordered by the pristine blue waters of the Northern Great Barrier Reef. In terms of interest and variety, the terrestrial and marine wildlife that inhabits the coasts, islands and reefs of these remote northern regions have no equal and are the highlight of all sailing yacht charters taking Great Barrier Reef cruises.

These Great Barrier Reef cruises give you an in-depth understanding of the region's history, environment and of the many diverse cultures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands people who have lived along the Great Barrier Reef for countless generations.

As the waters of the Great Barrier Reef warm with the spring tides, the reef corals produce a spectacular annual display... Coral spawning is an event not to be missed by serious scuba divers and visitors to the Great Barrier Reef and is best seen around the end of October on those remote parts of the Great Barrier Reef at the edge of the Continental shelf.

The Cod Hole, Lizard Island, Pixie's Pinnacle, Steve's Bommie, Wreck Bay, the Great Detached Reef and the 1890 wreck 'MV Quetta', - these dive sites are renowned the world over for teeming marine life, excellent visibility and the variety of hard and soft corals that thrive in the clear, healthy waters of these magnificent reef systems... and readily accessible from any vessel offering Great Barrier Reef cruises or sailing yacht charters.

If you plan diving - and fishing, this is the perfect environment... any Great Barrier Reef cruises itinerary frequently includes - but is not limited to - Princess Charlotte Bay, Cape Grenville, Shellburne Bay, Turtle Head Island, Lizard Island, Osprey Reef, Cape Melville, the Flinders Group, Albany Passage, and Thursday Island and Horn Island in the Torres Straits.

Highly recommended by serious divers is Osprey Reef, a stand-alone location 80kms east from the main Great Barrier Reef. It's remote isolation has given rise to huge schools of pelagic fish and sharks, crystal clear water and walls that drop to depths of over 3,000 feet.

Australia's history and culture feature along this coastline, and Possession Island is where Capt James Cook claimed the continent for the Crown of England. The indigenous culture of this region and the early history of pearling and beche de mer fishing are showcased in the Torres Straits.