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Wavelength provides personalised full day outer reef snorkelling tours to the Great Barrier Reef with no more than 48 passengers. On average, many other Great Barrier Reef tour operators take group sizes of 85 passengers or more to the reef on one boat, and some of the larger boats that travel to reef pontoons can take as many as 400 passengers. With Wavelength we don’t have a large or diverse business and our full attention is just on our small group of passengers, so you can be assured of excellent care and service.
Wavelength is still owned by Port Douglas locals. The results of being a family business with hands-on local ownership are apparent in the attention to details, the personal service, the crew’s enthusiasm and passion, and our intimate knowledge of the local reefs.
More InfoOur crew are all passionate about the reef and sharing its secrets and beauty with you, on an amazing day tour to the outer reef. They’re also fond of birds and all creatures great and small!
More InfoWavelength has a fleet of 2 boats. Wavelength 4 and 6. All have been designed to provide maximum comfort during your journey to and from Port Douglas to the outer Great Barrier Reef.
More InfoOur shop is at 6/43 Macrossan Street in the centre of Port Douglas. Drop in and say hello to our friendly team. Check in for your Great Barrier Reef adventure at the boat at Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina on Wharf Street, a short walk from the centre of Port Douglas.
More InfoWavelength is one of the longest running reef operators in Port Douglas.
Starting in the 1980’s, under the ownership of eco-tourism pioneer Steve Simpson, we retain the original philosophy; a small group, low-impact, close to nature educational adventure. Wavelength is one of 14 Australian businesses inducted into the Ecotourism Hall of Fame and was one of the first Advanced Eco-Accredited operators in the country. Wavelength are co-founders of the Eye on the Reef program, one of the largest reef monitoring programs in the world. Since 2014 Wavelength is owned by John and Jenny Edmondson, both local marine biologists, with two young children (Jack and Katie) and a lifelong passion for the ocean.
Wavelength selects all our sites based on the specific needs of snorkellers. As coral needs sunlight to grow, the best coral and fish diversity is near the surface. We take you to exclusive reef sites owned by Wavelength and chosen specifically on the day by the skipper to suit the tides and weather conditions. As one of the longest established local Great Barrier Reef tour operators, Wavelength have the best selection of outer reef sites available for snorkelling.
On windy days Wavelength takes our snorkellers to protected shallow lagoon sites on the outer reef to maximise comfort and ease of snorkelling. When it comes to site selection, mixed dive/snorkel operators tend to favour divers more on their Great Barrier Reef tours. Most of the time on these boats, snorkellers have to wait until all the divers are in the water before they can get in and the schedule is dictated by dive times. Many of our favourite sites are just not suitable for divers as they are not deep enough.
Our sites are natural but we undertake “active local management” to help reduce the impacts of bleaching, storms and Crown of Thorns starfish which have had a major impact on average coral cover across the whole Reef. This means we actively control coral predators and plant corals where necessary to maintain live coral cover and diversity. This in turn maintains reef fish habitat that helps fish abundance and diversity. Boosting live coral cover at specific locations helps create adult corals that produce coral larvae which settle on the broader reef.
Wavelength employs qualified marine biologists as crew in order to offer a high level of interpretation of the Great Barrier Reef as we believe this enhances our guests experience and appreciation of this remarkable World Heritage listed wonder. Our snorkelling marine biologists take our passengers on a guided tour, explaining the many interesting intricacies of the Great Barrier Reef marine life and habitats. They also give a fascinating lunch-time talk. There are normally three biologists on board each day.
Wavelength is owned and operated by Port Douglas locals John and Jenny Edmondson. It is a single-focus business only doing reef tours in Port Douglas. We support local small businesses for catering. maintenance and logistics. All our boats are Australian built and crew are mostly Australians. We aim to provide work opportunities for young marine science graduates wherever possible to help them start a career path in reef science or management, and we contribute to reef research by Australian universities. We very much appreciate you supporting a local business and the community benefits that brings. Thank you!
As an Advanced Eco-Certified tourism operator, we do our best to remain as eco-friendly as we can be. Have a look at our eco philosophy here.
© Wavelength Reef Cruises 2024
