Located in one of Beijing’s major shopping complexes, this new themed travel shop, complete with beautiful imagery, digital displays and trained specialist staff, is the 15th such branded shop to be opened in mainland China in a Quicksilver Group led activity now spanning 10 years.

The newest shop with Beijing Caissa International Travel Service Co Ltd is the result of a jointly funded partnership with the Cairns-based China Sales Group and Tourism Australia.

Speaking at the launch of the new shop, Michael Healy, Quicksilver Group’s Director of Sales and Marketing said, “This is the second themed shop we have opened in Beijing and these branding initiatives bring the purchase of tourism product and experiences to a whole new level. They also enable us to engage with our key distribution partners and ensure high levels of product knowledge.“

The China Sales Group brings together a range of quality Great Barrier Reef and Cairns land-based touring products and accommodation, including Quicksilver, Great Adventures, CAPTA, Hot Air, Seawalker Green Island, GBR Helicopters, Accor Hotels and Kingfisher Bay Resort amongst others.

Australia House in London last week attended by royalty, film stars and even our very own Group Director of Sales and Marketing, Michael Healy!

During an interview, Sir David said that after his own home, his favourite place in the world is North Queensland. And we’d have to agree! At the Quicksilver Group, we’re very privileged to call Tropical North Queensland our home.

“It’s got mountains, it’s got tropical rainforest, it’s got the Barrier Reef. It’s got wonderful creatures that occur nowhere else. It’s a great place,” Sir David Attenborough.

The documentary “Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough” will broadcast early next year, coinciding with Tourism Australia’s aquatic and coastal experiences campaign.

The very basic and quaint holiday cabins seen here are a far cry from luxuries that greet our guests today at Green Island Resort. Generations on, Green Island is still the dream tropical island holiday adventure - but now with all the modern day comforts!

It was a chance for the kids to gain a better understanding of the Great Barrier Reef and its environment, as well as the role we play living in a World Heritage area.

Quicksilver strongly believes in engaging with local children to help build a better future for this unique environment, investing $20,000 over two days to cater for the students and their escorts. The positive feedback was overwhelming, with teachers also pleased to see their students socialising with others who face the challenge of moving onto secondary school next year.

Quicksilver Group Managing Director Tony Baker said it was a great opportunity for our dive and marine biologist teams to witness this rarely seen event in their ‘office’, gaining from the personal experiences and also the intimate knowledge they can impart to our guests.

While our marine biologists can predict the likely timing of the annual coral spawning occurrence, a precise date is difficult to predict. This is because a variety of factors come in to play, with the coral only spawning in perfect conditions. We know the moon cycle and specific water temperatures (greater than 26 degrees celcius) play a role, but it also appears that tide height, salinity levels and day length can also affect the timing. Spawning happens two to three hours after sunset, which scientists believe is timed to ensure most of the plankton feeders are asleep, creating a greater chance of pollination for the corals.

This simultaneous mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef was first scientifically observed in 1981 by several marine biologists and it's Mother Nature's way of maintaining a consistently robust coral gene pool.

This year saw the major refurbishments to Great Adventures’ Reef King, dive and snorkel catamaran Poseidon and Pro Dive Cairns’ liveaboard vessel Scuba Pro II.  This follows on from last year’s extensive and super stylish refurbishments to our Quicksilver V wavepiercer and sailing catamaran Ocean Spirit. It was also quite a sight to see the Agincourt 2D and Moore Reef activity platforms towed into Cairns from the Outer Reefs for refurbishments.

But it doesn’t stop there! During 2016 our flagship wavepiercing catamaran Quicksilver VIII will undergo (a 10 week) major internal refurbishment, as will Pro Dives Cairns’ liveaboard vessel Scuba Pro I.   Quicksilver’s premier platform at Agincourt 3 will also be towed into the mainland for refurbishment – a journey of over 100 km from the Agincourt ribbon reefs to Cairns.

While all of our vessels undergo annual refit and ongoing maintenance, Quicksilver Group Managing Director Tony Baker said we have always recognised the need to reinvest and keep our products to the standard of a five star reef operator.

“We have a fantastic in-house engineering team of qualified tradespeople and marine specialists as well as local contractors who work very closely with us to ensure the maintenance and presentation of our fleet are always to the highest standards. This means our passengers have the newest and best facilities available to enjoy their time at the reef.”

 

Quicksilver VIII 45.5m Wavepiercer Catamaran	Quicksilver V 37m Wavepiercer Catamaran	Reef King 30m High Speed Catamaran
Reef Spirit 24m High Speed Catamaran	Green Island Express 22m High Speed Catamaran	Silversonic 29m Dive & Snorkel Catamaran
Silverswift 29m Dive & Snorkel Catamaran	Poseidon 24m Dive & Snorkel Catamaran	Wavedancer 30m Sailing Catamaran
Ocean Spirit 32 m Sailing Catamaran	Scuba Pro I, II, II 24m Liveaboard Vessel

Available to resort house guests, limited seats are also available to be enjoyed by day visitors who want to make their Christmas just that little bit more special, along with the choice of a glass bottom boat tour or snorkelling on the Reef.

There’s still time to book but be quick and bookings are essential. For more information contact the crew at Great Adventures Reservations on 4044 9944 or email [email protected].

Green Island Resort Emeralds Christmas Day Lunch Menu

This particular whale shark, only around three metres in length, popped by to say hello and hung around for about 15 minutes at one of Pro Dive Cairns� popular dive sites, Petaj on Milln Reef, before heading on its merry way.

We were also pleased to participate in `Business Events Cairns� �SELL TNQ 2015�, giving event planners the opportunity to experience firsthand the amazing and diverse range of business events products in our region. Highlights included an amazing beachfront gala dinner at Palm Cove and a wonderful day at the idyllic Low isles on Wavedancer.