The Australians have the reputation to be directly. “If you pass have to do that in a Vintage,” says Brett, and points to paper bags, which hang to the left and to the right of the boat hull. He says: “I have to do in the evening Better to scratch than your lunch from the floor.”
Nervous laughter in the cabin. By a rough boat ride in the travel brochure.
the Board is the captain of a Mini-submarine, with which he wants to show a dozen men, women, and children, the largest coral reef in the world. At least a fraction of it. The Great Barrier Reef is covered under the surface of the water on the North East coast of Australia, an area of 350’000 square kilometers. It is more than eight times as large as Switzerland. The coral reef is so huge that its contours are allegedly from the moon visible.
A sea turtle glides through the shallow water. Photo: Alamy
“anyone Who sees a turtle, please yell “left” or “right”. As all know, in which direction should we look,” says Board. He pushes a lever forward, and the U-boat’s moving. Wherein the U-boat is on the high side. In fact, the water vehicle can not go to the dive station. The view of the passengers on the reef, therefore, is no less spectacular. The tourists sit in Rank and file in the glassed hull from the Board to the boat with the best views of the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.
Up to the first Schildkrötenruf of a passenger, it takes a few moments. A Pacific hawksbill turtle inspects a coral. The Board says: “she’s looking for sponges, a delicacy.” Anyone who looks closely will recognize in the water of small jellyfish. You are the reason why in the Australian summer on the East coast, only a few into the water trust. Their bites were the most poisonous in the world. In bad cases they are even fatal.
the coral is also used to the other animals
disappear to the left and right protrude coral in all directions. In fact, over 400 different species of coral, which are also called cnidarians develop in these waters. Among them are stone-, Soft-, leather -, and tube coral. The harder you are, the slower they grow. Some place per year, only a few millimeters. The fastest to grow up to ten centimeters. On the North Australian coast, have done for 18 million years ago. Whether the reef is so old, however, is questionable. During the journey in the U-boat ghostly white always re-surfaces. At these locations, the corals are dead. Board recommends not to long to look. “It makes depressed,” he says.
The captain was not wrong in that. In the bleached Spots you can see no sign of life: no snails and mussels, no seaweed, not the 2800 on the reef-based fish species, and certainly no turtles. If the reef dies, the entire Ecosystem.
enlarge map
The waters of the Great Barrier Reef has been in the last few years, steadily warmer. The temperature rise, probably due to the climate warming, with the result that the reef receives too little food. And not only that. The coral itself is eaten. The warmer water is the reason for the population increase of the vicious crown of Thorns starfish. These echinoderms feed by put your stomach on the stone coral. Your digestive enzymes ensure that the reef tissue is liquefied.
“a turtle, right!”, Board calls in the cabin. The captain throttles the speed, so that all have time to photograph the animal, before it disappears in the blue haze of the ocean water. The view through the glass walls of the boat hull is less colourful than expected. Even where the reef is alive and well, dominated by the colors Blue or grey. The Board says: “The camera teams of glossy magazines, films, lamps with special.” The colors were much more intense. “But for me nothing surpasses the beauty of the reef in its authenticity.”
The Judicial take the helicopter
The Mini-U-boat after the tour of his goal. “That wasn’t too bad, is it?” Brett asks in reference to the above-mentioned Black. All of them remained hanging. The tourists climbing through the hatch in the ship’s ceiling, on the Deck of the approximately 50 on 50-metre Schiffsstegs on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. No matter in which direction you look, You see only water.
The ride on the ridge take up to one hour in the catamaran. The fast boat leaves for the village of Port Douglas and travels along the North of the coast before it makes a pivot to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. For those who want to sit out on the return journey no one-hour boat trip, there are helicopter connections. However, even if it has around 400 francs per Person for the 15-minute flight left, not straight after a drive in Board U-boat, the question of whether it is for the sake of the reef, but the ship should take: Even before the rotors reach maximum speed, the load on the environment with more exhaust gases than during the entire return trip in the ship.
The trip was supported by Quicksilver Tours.
(Sunday newspaper)
Created: 24.02.2019, 16:46 PM
