Ocean Safari — Mackay Reef

Well worth a visit.

Ocean Safari offers a fast 25-minute boat ride to snorkel the pristine untouched Great Barrier Reef off the Daintree coast at Cape Tribulation. This half day eco tour visits two snorkel sites including Mackay Reef and Mackay Cay. Each spot has an array of marine life and coral species. You get to snorkel for approximately 2 hrs all up.

There are two tours that depart from the Turtle rock cafe, one at 8am and one at 12pm. We opted for the arvo tour as they were fully booked up for the week we wanted and reckon it was perfect timing to warm up a bit and for the sun to come out and shine.  Only down side is the wind can pick up in the afternoons.

Included in your tour is all your snorkel gear and wetsuits for kids if needed. It’s an additional $8 for an adult wetsuit. The fun begins trying to board the boat. You have to get on to the boat straight from the beach so that means you have to wade out into the water where it is deep enough for the boat the keep the engine running.

If it’s fairly windy you have to walk very quickly as the boat gets pushed along the beach. This is all part of the fun and excitement that adds to the day’s enjoyment. On the day of our tour we were warned we would be in for an exhilarating wild ride due to wind knots of over 25 on the day we were head out. This meant the sea would be fairly rough.

The kids were pretty pumped though and after already experiencing Ocean Rafting in the Whitsundays they were pretty keen to bag the front row seats. Oh boy that was one hell of an epic ride to remember that’s for sure.

After the quick boat ride, you get yourself ready to jump into the pristine sea waters that is like a sheltered lagoon. You get to explore around at your own leisure but within certain boundary’s. The coral colour and marine life are spectacular and well worth a visit.