michaelmas Cay
Great Barrier Reef Tour
Set sail from Cairns to Michaelmas Cay on the Great Barrier Reef aboard Ocean Spirit, a spacious sailing catamaran offering a full-day Great Barrier Reef tour. This outer reef experience combines snorkelling, optional diving, and wildlife viewing at a protected coral cay and seabird sanctuary. Spend four hours at Michaelmas Cay exploring the fringing reef filled with vibrant marine life, or relax on the beach observing the seabirds that call this sanctuary home.
Your Great Barrier Reef day trip from Cairns includes snorkelling in calm shallow waters and a semi-submarine or glass bottom boat tour for underwater views without getting wet. Enjoy informative presentations with the Reef Biosearch marine biologist including a fish feeding presentation, and plenty of time to unwind on Ocean Spirit’s spacious decks or the sandy beach.
Snorkelling is the perfect way to explore the coral gardens and marine life of the Great Barrier Reef, suitable for first-time snorkellers and experienced swimmers alike. With easy beach access at Michaelmas Cay, families and visitors of all ages can snorkel together in the protected, shallow lagoon waters surrounding the cay.
Most of the reef’s incredible diversity—around 90% of marine life—is found in the top few metres of water, so you’ll see colourful corals, tropical fish, and other reef creatures while staying close to the surface.
Michaelmas Cay is a birdwatcher’s delight and one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most important seabird nesting sites, with at least 23 species calling this protected sanctuary home. Take time to observe them in their native habitat as you relax on the soft, sandy beach, or watch the marine biologist's fish feeding presentation.
With a full four hours at Michaelmas Cay, there is plenty of time to enjoy all the included activities and then simply chill out on Ocean Spirit’s spacious decks or on the beach.
Michaelmas Cay
Michaelmas Cay is located on the western tip of Michaelmas Reef 45km north-east of Cairns and 17km north of Green Island. The vegetated coral reef island covers an area of 1.8 hectares and rises to a height of 3.5m above sea level. Around 360m long x 50m wide.
Michaelmas Cay is a National Park and a protected sanctuary for migratory seabirds. The Cay is rich with a myriad of sea life including green seat turtles, molluscs and hundreds of species of tropical reef fish. The reef surrounding the Cay is especially renowned for its abundance of giant clams.
As a major natural seabird habitat and one of the most important in the Southern Hemisphere, it is home to at least 23 species of seabirds. Many breeds find this island an ideal nesting habitat and is one of the most significant bird sanctuaries on the Great Barrier Reef.
The Cay has cultural significance to the local Gungandji, Mandingalbay-Yidinji and Yirriganydji indigenous peoples.
Ocean Spirit
Ocean Spirit I is a beautiful 32-metre (105ft) schooner-rig sailing catamaran, purpose-built to deliver a 5-Star Great Barrier Reef experience.
Step aboard and enjoy all the comforts of cruising in style: an air-conditioned cabin with seating and tables, a buffet servery and licensed bar. Outside, choose from undercover seating or relax on the foredeck beneath the sails, and enjoy the tropical breeze and panoramic ocean views. On the homeward journey, it’s the perfect place to enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine.
Powered by a combination of the wind in our sails, and twin Caterpillar engines, depending on the day’s conditions, our footprint is gentle.
Length: 32.0m, Beam 12.8m, Draft 1.8m.
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