Science & Conservation on the Great Barrier Reef Cruise

Meet your Expedition team at Bundaberg Airport at 4:00pm for a group transfer to Turtle Sands. Independent arrivals may make their own way to Turtle Sands to check in from 2:00pm onwards.

Settle in and enjoy a two-night, all-inclusive pre-cruise stay, enhanced by an exclusive cultural immersion. Be welcomed by Taribelang Bunda Elders in a special Welcome to Country ceremony, offering a rare insight into their enduring connection to Country and cultural heritage. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner among fellow guests and celebrate the start of an unforgettable adventure.

Your stay includes daily breakfast, lunches and dinners.

Enjoy a breakfast featuring locally sourced regional produce ahead of a day of education and conservation. This morning, meet with local rangers at Mon Repos Turtle Centre, which supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland. Learn about the challenges and successes faced in protecting these critically engaged species.

After a hearty lunch, we head to Monsoon Aquatics, for a behind-the-scenes experience of coral propagation that goes towards restoring the reef.

Transfer to Coral Discoverer for an 8:30am embarkation, followed by the program orientation. Your expedition team will introduce the voyage’s citizen science activities and distribute the required equipment.

After lunch, arrive at Lady Elliot Island with time to explore its remarkable reef environment and discover the monitoring projects that will shape the days ahead.

Today we go behind the scenes of Project Manta and meet the researchers at the forefront of manta ray research and conservation. Gain insight into manta behaviours and identification strategies which will be put into practice later today.

After lunch, we snorkel and dive the biodiverse waters surrounding Lady Elliot, including the renowned manta cleaning stations. This will be our first opportunity to deploy monitoring tools and refine our techniques in the field.

Set within the remote Capricorn Bunker Group, Wistari Reef offers a more adventurous and immersive reef experience. Located offshore from the Gladstone region, this reef is known for its expansive coral bommies & thriving hard coral species.

Guests enter the water directly from the vessel, creating a more dynamic, open-water snorkeling experience best suited to confident swimmers.

With a focus here on maximising time in the water, the experience is all about exploration and discovery. For those wanting to go further, optional scuba diving offers the opportunity to experience Wistari Reef from an even deeper perspective.

Today we arrive at the Cumberland Island Group, located off the coast of Mackay. Your onboard team will choose the location of the day's activities according to local weather and tide conditions from a selection of islands including Scawfell and Brampton.

These volcanic islands have a remarkable range of flora and fauna, where reefs and seagrass meadows meet eucalypt woodland and lush rainforest. Here guests can enjoy kayaking sheltered waters, snorkel off a secluded beach and enjoy gentle guided beachcombs and walks documenting any unique wildlife and marine mammals we may encounter. Weather permitting, enjoy a glass bottom boat tour from the surface.

Visit Langford Island, where the castaway-style setting provides calm waters, creating ideal conditions for snorkelling Black Island Reef, Blue Pearl Bay and Langford-Bird Reef (pending conditions on the day). Participate in coral monitoring initiatives with Eye on the Reef to support coral health through surveys. Langford Island is also home to the rare Whitsunday Bottle Tree which we will spend some time identifying and surveying.

For those seeking land-based activities, sign-up for a moderate 1.5km hike up to Langford Island Lookout for stunning views accoss the Whitsundays.

Known traditionally as Yunbenun, Magnetic Island lies within the land and sea Country of the Wulgurukaba People, whose name means “canoe people”. During this exclusive visit, developed with Canoe Projects Inc, Wulgurukaba Elders and local conservation groups, guests will take part in a meaningful Welcome to Country and hands-on citizen science. Activities will focus on protecting the surrounding reef, reducing human impacts and supporting the island’s fragile marine environment.

Located offshore from Magnetic Island, John Brewer Reef opens into the central Great Barrier Reef, offering a more exposed, open-ocean setting. Here, visit the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) via snorkel or dive. Experience a unique underwater gallery where sculptures are designed to evolve into living reef. Later today join your onboard experts to discuss and analyse results obtained during the Eye on the Reef and Coral Watch monitoring programs.

Yamacutta Reef is a remote outer-shelf reef system where steady currents support a unique diversity when compared to inshore locations; creating ideal conditions for our continued monitoring programs. On previous visits, guests identified a new manta ray individual in the area. You may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of 'Discoveray' during snorkels and dives. Due to the exposed location, glass bottom boat tours are subject to conditions.

Just offshore from Mission Beach, Dunk Island is part of the traditional Country of the Bandjin and Djiru peoples. Fringed by seagrass meadows that support sea turtles and dugongs, the island rises into lush, national park-protected rainforest. Spend time swimming in calm tropical waters, walking shaded forest trails or relaxing along quiet beaches. With refreshments served ashore, this is an easygoing day shaped by nature, stillness and the beauty of the Cassowary Coast.

Today we hang up our snorkels and flippers and head ashore to visit the Forever Reef Project, the world's first living coral biobank. Established by Dr Dean Miller and Great Barrier Reef Legacy, the project is dedicated to preserving the biodiversity of Great Barrier Reef corals and safeguarding them for future research, restoration and conservation. Discover the science behind coral biobanking and view remarkable coral specimens collected from across the Great Barrier Reef, including corals gathered during previous Coral Expeditions voyages. Later today we wrap up our findings and observations on the monitoring programs and discuss impacts, challenges and where our data will be deployed to.

Arrive at Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal at 8:00 am. Disembark and say farewell to your fellow guests and crew. Enjoy complimentary transfers to Cairns CBD or airport; transfers to Northern Beaches or Port Douglas can be arranged onboard prior to disemarkment.

Itineraries are subject to change.