Macrossan Street Tourism News
Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful tourism industry, over $10,000 worth of food and gifts have been donated to The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Uniting Care (formerly Lifeline) and the Douglas Shire community - all recipients of the Quicksilver Group’s 8th Annual Christmas Charity Appeal.
“The overwhelming support and generosity of the local tourism industry and friends of tourism continues to amaze and impress us,” said Michael Healy Quicksilver Group Director Sales and Marketing. “It has been a tough few years for all industry in our region and the charities are in need more than ever. We hope we all can make a difference and everything donated will certainly help make this Christmas much happier for a lot of families and people in need.”
Quicksilver decided to once again to use the money they would normally contribute to buying gifts for agents and suppliers by instead purchasing goods for the local charities.
We would like to thank all the accommodation houses, tour desks, hotels, local suppliers and members of the community who have contributed to this year’s Appeal.
See Santa at Port Village Shopping Centre
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th December 2011 10am to 3pm
2 Shows Daily 11am & 2pm
Santa will be available for photos after each show
Face Painting and Balloon Making
Singing and Dancing
Giveaways
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef: Mother Nature was on cue for the Great Barrier Reef’s annual coral spawning with passengers aboard Silverswift’s Night Dives excursions being witness to this unique spectacle.
From Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform, groups of local and visiting divers and snorkellers were able to participate in guided tours for a once in a lifetime experience. Many excited passengers said seeing coral spawning was something to tick off their bucket list.
With the conditions just right, being about 4 to 6 nights after the full moon in November, with warm ocean waters and little tidal movement, Great Adventures General Manager Operations, Brian Cave, described the spectacle as an upside-down snowstorm as the corals release millions of eggs into the water.
While the most spawning was witnessed at the outer reefs on Thursday night (17 November), inner reef Green Island also experienced significant coral spawning the preceding night as many excited staff snorkelled and dived to experience the natural phenomenon.
Quicksilver marine biologist, Russell Hore, explains that while corals have two reproductive methods, asexual where the individual polyps split and divide to increase overall size of the colony, to maintain a consistently robust gene pool corals need to have a sexual phase to exchange genes. This process is known as coral spawning.
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef: Mother Nature was on cue for the Great Barrier Reef’s annual coral spawning with passengers aboard Silverswift’s Night Dives excursions being witness to this unique spectacle.
From Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform, groups of local and visiting divers and snorkellers were able to participate in guided tours for a once in a lifetime experience. Many excited passengers said seeing coral spawning was something to tick off their bucket list.
With the conditions just right, being about 4 to 6 nights after the full moon in November, with warm ocean waters and little tidal movement, Great Adventures General Manager Operations, Brian Cave, described the spectacle as an upside-down snowstorm as the corals release millions of eggs into the water.
While the most spawning was witnessed at the outer reefs on Thursday night (17 November), inner reef Green Island also experienced significant coral spawning the preceding night as many excited staff snorkelled and dived to experience the natural phenomenon.
Quicksilver marine biologist, Russell Hore, explains that while corals have two reproductive methods, asexual where the individual polyps split and divide to increase overall size of the colony, to maintain a consistently robust gene pool corals need to have a sexual phase to exchange genes. This process is known as coral spawning.
Port Village Shopping Centre MARKET DAY!
Saturday 26th November 2011 - 10am to 3pm
- 30% off Xmas Tress at Target Country
- Balloons for the Kids
- Face Painting
- 30% off at Jay Jays
- Special deals at Coles
- 25% off Clarins and REvlon at the Pharmacy
- $5 Swimwear Separates at Between the Flags
- Free Health Checks with Port Village Medical Centre
- FREE* Makeover at Salon Y
- Adults at Kids prices on Aristocat (60% off)
- 3 for 2 vitamins* at the Pharmacy
- 25% off* at Natural Clothing Store
- 10% - 25% off* at Newsagency
- Below Duty Free* prices on perfumes at the Pharmacy
- 20% off jewellery* at Floral Edge
- Cooking Demonstrations & Daintree Chocolate Tastings
- at Taste on Macrossan
- $8.90 coffee & cake all day at The Coffee Club
- and many more.....
Silversonic passengers and crew recently enjoyed an amazing experience, when an Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio) was spotted swimming around “Barracuda Bommie”, one of Quicksilver’s remote dive sites on the Agincourt reefs.
This gentle giant (one of the few species of eagle ray without a stinging barb) measured nearly 2.5m across the wings, and total length over 5m. The Ornate Eagle Ray is well named, as the patterns across the dorsal surface are exquisite, consisting of a mosaic of stripes and spots.
Shane Down, Crew of Silversonic said, “The last time we saw an Ornate Eagle Ray was 3 years ago on Silversonic. It was an unbelievable sight and this new encounter may be the first one in Northern Australia that has been captured on video. It is a very rare and unique encounter – like winning lotto underwater.”
Doug Baird, Quicksilver Cruises Environment and Compliance Manager said, “The species is not well known, and this is only the second one we have seen at one of our reef sites and there are only a few records from the northern parts of Australia (the last time an ornate eagle ray was spotted was in April 2008). They only produce 4-6 live young, making them highly vulnerable. Eagle rays live in the open ocean rather than at the bottom of the sea. They eat snails, mussels and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their extremely hard teeth. They are excellent swimmers and are able to jump several metres above the surface. They are classified as Endangered”.
At the Restaurant Catering Savour Awards for Excellence event in Cairns on August 15, Zinc was awarded as the "Restaurant of the Year for FNQ 2011". Zinc now goes on to compete at the national awards in late October.
Zinc was awarded "Best Contemporary Australian Restaurant for FNQ 2011" at the Restaurant Catering Savour Awards for Excellence event in Cairns on August 15. This is the second year in a row that Zinc picked up this award.
We are delighted to announce that the Tablelands branch of Hire For Baby will open on Monday! Juanita Hunter (nee Paronella) is a born and bred Tablelander and is looking forward to assisting with all your baby equipment requirements!
Phone 4091 1047 or email tablelands@hireforbaby.com
The humpback whale season is in full swing and whale encounters are a daily occurrence across the Quicksilver range of vessels.
Silversonic had a wonderful whale encounter last week just south of Undine Reef. Shane “Sharky” Down who was one of the crew on board said “On our way to the Reef on Wednesday we spotted a humpback 200 metres in the distance and the Skipper stopped the vessel. The small adult dived and we waited for about 5 minutes to see him surface, but when he did it was beside Silversonic. For the delight of all our passengers and crew he then proceeded to put on a really nice display and was so curious as if he just wanted to say hi to everyone on board. This is one of only a few times a whale has ever popped up alongside and he stayed for 30 minutes.”
The season has only just started so we are looking forward to many more whale encounters.
Source: www.quicksilvergroup.com.au
Great Adventures Outer Reef cruise passengers were delighted to spot a playful humpback frolicking between Moore Reef and Green Island at about 4.00pm on Saturday. Great Adventures, Reef King, first sighted the whale which was approximately 6m in length, and the Ship’s Master stopped the vessel. The whale then swam towards the vessel, breeching and playing in the spotlight for 20 minutes.
Michael Healy, Group Director Sales and Marketing said “It is always an amazing sight and the passengers just delight in being part of this wonder of the ocean world. All our vessels have been sighting whales in the last few days and they seem to be arriving in large numbers. We are also keeping our eyes open for Migaloo who we sighted off Port Douglas last year on the 21st July.”
Beautiful sounds of jazz, island, and pop music added an extra special island atmosphere at Green Island as two world renowned ukulele players performed at Great Adventures Ukulele Island Gig.
Thrilling the crowd with his energetic and fun performance, famous Japanese ukulele artist Iwao Yamaguchi, said the ukulele was a peace instrument in bringing people together.
And it certainly was as an enthusiastic gathering of the four-stringed instrument’s fans came together to enjoy the amazing performances by Hawaii-born Craig Chee and Iwao.
Part of the Cairns Ukulele Festival, Craig was also joined on stage by other performers including Matt Dahlberg, Victoria Vox and Lorenzo Vignando.
Following their hour-long performances, Craig and Iwao conducted a workshop for enthusiasts to learn some news playing skills. A fun jam session followed to complete the day’s program.
Source: www.quicksilvergroup.com.au/news/
We are delighted to announce that the Tablelands branch of HIRE FOR BABY will open on 1st August 2011.
This is a fantastic opportunity for people living in or visiting Atherton, Mareeba and the surrounding areas to take advantage of HIRE FOR BABY's fantastic products, fantastic prices and fantastic reputation!
Contact cairns@hireforbaby.com for more information!
The whales were playing between Tongue Reef and Low Isles traveling north. Silversonic skipper Shane Dowd said “ They were blowing quite a bit and did an amazing breach just before we left. It is always exciting to see the humpbacks arrive and a positive for all our passengers and crew. Our guests are just in awe, everyone was on the decks and just delighted to see such an amazing sight”.
With the onset of autumn, humpback whales begin their long trek up the east coast of Australia. They are easily identified by their extremely long pectoral fins and scalloped flukes. Humpbacks are referred to as Baleen whales, as they filter sea water through large fibrous plates in their mouths to feed on the krill. They rarely travel any further north than Cape Tribulation, so we are at the end of their long migration, and they tend to gather here in large numbers.
The reason they travel north is to get to warmer waters to breed and calve. Warm tropical waters have little food for the whales to feast upon, so the whales rely on their fat reserves they have accrued by feeding on krill in Antarctic waters. As they travel up the coast, the whales begin to form small groups or mating pairs.
To actually see one underway is simply the most unbelievable experience you’ll ever have, says Russell Hore, manager of the company’s Reef Biosearch division.
The whales are regularly sighted at the reef during July to September.
Quicksilver Cruises is thrilled to have hosted comedian and "Australia's favourite Scottish son" Billy Connolly at Agincourt Reef on February 16, showcasing the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef. It was a fantastic day and thanks to Billy for joining us for his first ever trip to the magnificent Great Barrier Reef!
Looking for an exceptional present to celebrate an anniversary, birthday or special occasion? A Finz Gift Voucher is the perfect surprise gift. Treat your loved ones, business associates or friends to a seafood experience that they will remember.
Visit our website to order.
Zinc has two live web cams - One located inside the restaurant and the second located above the restaurant looking down Macrossan Street towards Four Mile Beach.
The ocean temperature is warm, it’s about 4 to 6 nights after the full moon in November, there is little tidal movement and the sun has set… Mother Nature’s conditions are just right for the annual phenomenon known as Coral Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef.
Travelling aboard the luxury dive and snorkel catamaran Silverswift to Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform, certified divers experienced 2 fully guided night dives while a guided snorkel tour was available for experienced snorkellers.
Coral spawning was unknown to science until 1982, when several marine biologists working on the Great Barrier Reef observed it in the wild for the first time.
Certified divers and snorkellers experienced this unique natural phenomenon last Thursday, Friday and Saturday night on night dives from Cairns.