Welcome to our Summer issue of Quickies

Reservations enquiries and existing bookings

• Quicksilver Port Douglas: [email protected]
• Great Adventures Cairns:  [email protected]
• Pro Dive Cairns:  [email protected]
• Green Island Resort: [email protected]

After an eight week closure of accommodation services, Green Island Resort reopened on Wednesday 8 December and is ready to welcome guests for a tropical island holiday to the iconic Green Island, where the rainforest, sandy beaches and the Great Barrier Reef come together. 

Quicksilver Group Managing Director Tony Baker said, “We’re delighted to be re-opening the resort’s accommodation services in perfect timing for the holiday season and the anticipated reopening of our State border next week.”

The resort’s accommodation offerings temporarily closed from mid-October due to the sustained border closures effecting business from key domestic markets, with many guests having to postpone or cancel their holidays simply because they could not get here.

Green Island Resort General Manager, Sue O’Donnell said, “Our staff are so excited to welcome everybody back again. While our day facilities have been open, it’s wonderful to be reopening the resort just in time for the holidays and festive cheer.”

“A stay at our beautiful little resort is so much more than just a room, it’s a whole tropical island experience in a magical setting of rainforest and pristine coral sand beaches. In addition to luxurious suites, all guests receive fantastic value free inclusions of catamaran transfers from Cairns (with Great Adventures), snorkelling, glass bottom boat tours, beach deck chairs and umbrellas, kayaking and complimentary sunset drinks. Children under the age of 14 can also stay for free when using existing bedding making it a wonderful experience for the whole family.”

Green Island Resort, a boutique 46 room eco resort nestled in the island’s lush rainforest is located 27 km offshore from Cairns. Recognised as one of the world’s most environmentally sensitive tourism developments, the resort was recently entered into the Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame, having been accredited with Advanced Ecotourism for 20 continuous years since 2001

Here's an overview of the current operating schedules for our range Great Barrier Reef experiences. During the holiday period additional services may operate subject to demand. All operations are in accordance with COVID Safe guidelines and some services and optional activities may be subject to demand.

NOTE: 25/12/21 and 01/01/2022 no services with the exception of:

• 25/12/21: Green Island Resort house guest transfer, Pro Dive Cairns.
• 01/01/22: Great Adventures Green Island transfer, Pro Dive Cairns.

For more information and the latest daily updates, please contact our Reservations teams at:

• Quicksilver, Wavedancer, Silversonic, Poseidon: [email protected]
• Great Adventures, Ocean Spirit, Silverswift: [email protected]
• Pro Dive Cairns: [email protected]
• Quicksilver Dive: [email protected]
• Green Island Resort: [email protected]

With widespread reports the annual mass coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef has been one of the most significant in recent years, it’s wonderful news and highlights a story of health and continual renewal for future generations of corals.

While corals reproduce asexually with budding or cloning throughout the year, the annual spawning sees millions of coral eggs and sperm released ensuring distribution and a consistently robust and diverse coral gene pool.

Getting in on the action over the nights of 23-25 November, passengers and crew out on Pro Dive Cairns liveaboard trips, quite literally immersed themselves night diving amid this spectacular natural phenomenon.

Likened to an upside down snowstorm, Quicksilver Group’s Environment Compliance Manager, Doug Baird said, “the coral sperm and egg bundles released are highly buoyant and float up to the surface so for divers experiencing the event in the water, it’s a little like being in a snow globe in reverse.”

For the annual coral spawning to occur, a variety of factors come in to play. We know the moon cycle and specific water temperatures (greater than 26 degrees celcius) play a role, but also tides, salinity levels and day length can also affect the timing. Spawning usually 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.

Thanks to Jordon MacDonald who captured this rather festive looking snowy video clip taken out at Flynn Reef with Pro Dive Cairns.

With the school holidays upon us and the Great Barrier Reef on the doorstep, learning to scuba dive for kids is a surefire and popular way to stop the holiday boredom blues! From Quicksilver Dive's state-of-the-art diver training centre in the heart of Port Douglas, here's what you need to know about junior aqua-holics becoming divers.

PADI Bubblemaker

For children aged 8-10 years, the PADI Bubblemaker is a great fun introduction to breathing underwater. After learning some of the basic skills, they will be able to dive up to 2 metres deep in the safe environment of the training pool with a professional instructor by their side. And they'll receive a PADI Bubblemaker certificate to show off to their friends afterwards!  To participate, parents or guardians need to sign the PADI Bubblemaker medical statement.

PADI Discover Scuba Dive is another great option for the older kids to get a taste of underwater adventure in Quicksilver Dive's 4 metre deep training pool. Check out 10 year old Willem in the video as he experienced his first underwater dive adventure with a Discover Scuba Dive.

PADI Junior Open Water Diver Certification

For children aged 10-15 years, our 4 Day Learn to Dive Course is the most popular way to learn to scuba dive and is a real adventure.

• 2 days at our training centre learning some theory and fun pool practice
• 2 x day trips to the Great Barrier Reef to complete four mandatory training dives. After this, there’s the option of two guided fun dives as a certified diver!

What are the requirements for Junior Open Water?

• The minimum age is 10 years old.
• Student divers who are younger than 15years earn the PADI Junior Open Water Diver certification, which can be upgraded to PADI Open Water Diver certification upon reaching 15.
• Parent or guardian permission.
• Ability to swim - 200m (or 300m with mask, fins and snorkel) and tread water (float) for 10 minutes.
• Some medical conditions may preclude people from diving. Prior to commencing the dive course, a self-assessment Student Diver Medical Declaration needs to be completed.

Quicksilver Dive is a 5 Star PADI Training and Instructor Development Centre, which means we provide the highest standards of dive education and training facilities available. Like all of our learn to dive courses, the students will have the same instructor for the whole course.

For more information, contact our team, our friendly instructors are ready for a chat! 

Congratulations to Great Adventures Reef and Green Island Cruises and Green Island Resort on entering the Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame, having been accredited with Advanced Ecotourism for 20 continuous years since 2001.

Rod Hillman, (former) Chief Executive of Ecotourism Australia said, “As one of our nation’s first ecotourism innovators, you have helped to pave the way for responsible and sustainable tourism as we experience it today. In 1997, we had just 18 certified operators, certified under the National Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP) – the world’s first ecotourism accreditation program. Today we have close to 500 certified operators.”

Tony Baker, Quicksilver Group's managing Director said, “Through independent certification, the Quicksilver Group is recognised for high standards which enhance environmental protection, reef resilience and sustainability.”

“What this means for our customers is that we care; care about our fragile and beautiful World Heritage environment and the opportunity for visitors to learn, engage and join us in becoming ambassadors for reef protection.”

Quicksilver’s Port Douglas based operations entered the Ecotourism Australia Hall of Fame in 2018, having been continuously accredited since 1997. The Quicksilver Group’s full range of Great Barrier Reef products are recognised as High Standard Operators by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.

You just never know what you may see when you walk underwater with Seawalker Green Island. Reef sharks, giant clams, Koopa the turtle, colourful reef fish, Nemos and even an underwater drone! Yep, an underwater drone!

Teleport.fish operate underwater robots with one now housed under the Seawalker pontoon dive site at Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

Providing fantastic educational and virtual tourism experiences, the Teleportal underwater robots can be controlled anytime day or night directly from your web browser. The robots are solar-powered and have sonar obstacle avoidance, ensuring an eco-friendly experience in this fragile ecosystem.

Thanks to DD from Island Photography Australia for capturing this video action.

The team at Pro Dive Cairns are excited to announce their Minke Whale Liveaboard Trips will be back again for 2022 with limited trips to the Ribbon Reefs scheduled to coincide with prime minke whale season.

This special 3 Day / 3 Night Liveaboard Trip will depart every Tuesday from 31 May to 2 August 2022. The Great Barrier Reef’s renowned Ribbon Reefs north of Cairns provide the most consistent opportunity to encounter these remarkable creatures.

Introduced this year, Pro Dive Cairns dedicated minke whale trips were a great success and full of amazing experiences and encounters for passengers, crew and researchers aboard. Check out the short video featuring some customer highlights and minke encounters.

Pro Dive Cairns has one of the few permits from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to swim with dwarf minke whales if encountered, making for a truly unforgettable liveaboard adventure.

For more information contact the team at Pro Dive Carins

School days have never been so good!  The Quicksilver Group launched an exciting new curriculum based educational product and facility – Great Adventures’ Green Island Living Classroom, a first for our region, providing accessible education experiences on the Great Barrier Reef.

Tony Baker, Quicksilver Group Managing Director said, “It is a great pleasure, particularly during these challenging times, to be launching such a positive initiative for school children with our Green Island Living Classroom and educational programs.

“Operating in the Great Barrier Reef, we work in one of the most amazing natural environments in the world and it also makes for an amazing classroom. We’ve worked closely with Sea Country Education and our marine biologist team to develop fun and engaging learning experiences for primary and secondary students.

On Green Island, we have a dedicated classroom facility, access to tour Green Island Resort’s ‘back of house’ environmental management systems, a leading edge coral research project, in addition to all the wonderful activities to participate in during a day on this beautiful Great Barrier Reef island.”

The launch of the Green Island Living Classroom and Outer Reef education programs, is timely with the State Government’s Great Barrier Reef Education Experience Program providing incentives for Queensland schools to undertake educational experiences in the GBR World Heritage Area.
 
Marie Taylor, Sea Country Education said, “I’m thrilled to be working with the Quicksilver Group in bringing the Living Classroom and education to life. With Green Island’s close proximity to Cairns and its diverse ecosystems, the Living Classroom opens up fantastic new learning opportunities in a highly interactive way, from glass bottom boat tours and guided snorkelling to rainforest investigations.”

Students are guided by marine biologists and Master Reef Guides on projects aligning to the Australian Curriculum, covering two of the cross-curriculum priorities of Sustainability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. Wunyami, Green Island’s traditional name, holds cultural significance to the Guru-Gulu Gungandji Aboriginal people.

In addition to Great Adventures’ Green Island Living Classroom, specialist educational programs focus on the senior syllabuses for Biology and Marine Science with Outer Reef excursions providing stimulating experiences for students to investigate reef ecosystems.

For more information 

Great Adventures Reef Education Experience Packages  

Contact our team at [email protected] 

A very lucky group of school students and visitors to Green Island with Great Adventures were treated to an extra special experience, witnessing the release of a hawksbill turtle, aptly named Billy, back into the wilds of the Great Barrier Reef. 

Estimated to be around 20 years of age, Billy had been found at Airlie Beach having swallowed a fish line and hook, and transported to Cairns for care by the team at Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (CTRC). Jennie Gilbert, co-founder of the CTRC said Billy is the first turtle in their care to have undergone open oesophageal surgery to remove the hook.

After the successful surgery and recovery, Billy spent several months “fattening up” and recuperating at the CTRC facility at the Cairns Aquarium.

Prior to release, Billy was fitted with a satellite tracker which will aid research and insight into the lives of these graceful marine creatures. His movements will be able to be tracked on the Citizens Great Barrier Reef “Reef Tracker” site.  https://citizensgbr.org/explore/reef-tracks

Watching the open water release from a glass bottom boat, it was a wonderful sight for visitors to see Billy dive into the clear blue waters of Green Island. With abundant seagrass beds and coral reefs, it’s a turtle paradise! 

We are inspired by the dedicated team at the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre and wonderful work they do in caring for sick and injured turtles, with the ultimate goal of releasing them back into the wild where they belong in a healthy reef environment.

It was fantastic to welcome Amy and Geroge Sheppard from ARIA award-winning Australian indie band Sheppard, and the breakfast crew Stav, Abby and Matt from Brisbane's popular B105 to Green Island. They had an awesome day seeing the island from above and below, enjoying parasailing and walking (and talking and singing) underwater with Seawalker Green Island for their breakfast show broadcast.. 

Welcome aboard to Melissa, our Group Sales Manager and also looking after charters and events for our wonderful range Great Barrier Reef experiences. Born and bred in Cairns, Mel joins us from a background in hotel marketing, sales and events. Melissa can be contacted at [email protected]  

As Executive Assistant to the Sales and Marketing department, Bronwyn is our go-to gal! Bronwyn has worked with the Quicksilver Group for over 11 years with extensive experience in Reservations before joining the Sales and Marketing team in July. Bronwyn is a qualified diver with an interest in underwater photography and you'll find her spending her days off exploring our beautiful region which includes diving and snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. "I love that there is always something new to find or experience on our various cruises and you don’t have to be a diver to experience them."  Bronwyn can be contacted at [email protected]  

Holly is our Port Douglas based Sales Executive and after moving here last year, decided she never wanted to leave! With a background in travel tourism and more recently before joining Quicksilver, as a Dive Instructor and Skipper along the East Coast, Holly has over 1000 dives under her belt and goes wthout saying, is passionate about the Reef. The sheer number of dive sites accessible from Port Douglas means each dive is a new experience. Holly can be contacted at [email protected]