Great Barrier Reef?Queensland, Australia
With the planet?s reef habitats withering at an alarming rate, it?s a true see-it-before-it?s-gone wonder.
The world?s largest reef system is arrestingly big. What other living thing is about as long as the American West Coast and visible from space? Nonetheless, it sure can be an ordeal reaching it, marooned as it is off the northeast coast of Australia. Better face it: With the planet?s reef habitats withering at an alarming rate, it?s a true see-it-before-it?s-gone wonder.
Getting there: The best land gateways are tropical Cairns (touristy to a fault) and Townsville (Cairns? yokelly competition about 150 miles south). Americans usually first touch down in distant Melbourne, Brisbane, or Sydney and take a connecting flight to reach the reef. High airfares used to make that leg the deal breaker, but young Virgin Blue (
www.virginblue.com.au) offers one-way Sydney?Cairns flights for $74 (on sale) to $170 (normal price). Add that to a good Los Angeles?Sydney fare ($899 in our summer), and your toes can get to the sea?s edge for as little as $1,047 round trip. Alternatively, a company called Oz Experience (
www.ozexperience.com) will guide you and a busload of other adventurers from Sydney to Cairns, allowing you to take your time, for $287; it requires a minimum of nine days each way.
You made it: Dozens of outfits vie to take you to the reef, an hour offshore. One of the cheapest, Compass Cruises, in Cairns (011-61/7-4051-5777,
www.reeftrip.com), leads snorkeling outings for $45. Three-day, 10-dive expeditions cost around $425, and there?s plenty of equipment to go around. Day trips to the many islands (some overcrowded, some virtually deserted) start at around $20. Generally, the farther from land you go, the better the diving is.
Who knew?: Cairns has more than 20 hostels, many with nice double rooms, so lodging doesn?t have to cost more than $25 a night. Avoid going in the rainy season, from January to March, when waters can get cloudy from river runoff?that?s when transpacific airfare costs the most, anyway. And, for heaven?s sake, always check with locals before jumping into these wild waters: From November to April, the deadly box jellyfish prowls the waves, and, year-round, saltwater crocodiles browse for meals at the shore.
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