JoelHow to Get There
You’ll be needing your own boat for this one, or a tour through a company – we used Ocean Safari out of Cape Tribulation. It is a 25 minute boat ride from there.
What to Expect
Boat trip, tour, guides, cay, pristine waters, snorkelling, coral, fish, rays, sharks, giant clams.
Where to Stay
The closest accommodation you’ll get to the meeting point (Turtle Rock Cafe) is PK’s Jungle Village and the Safari Lodge. But within Cape Tribulation there are a multitude of choices.
Our favourites were:
- Daintree Rainforest Village
- Noah Beach Campground (National Park)
- Noah Creek Eco Huts
Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist Experience
When we were planning our visits to Cape Tribulation, our activities and experiences revolved around the Daintree Rainforest, tropical fruits, 4WDing and amazing swimming holes. But as we returned for another few days, we booked a snorkelling trip right out of Cape Tribulation – and a bonus – it was only a 25 minute boat ride. I really didn’t expect much out there as I thought most of the best snorkelling spots were further south.
Boy, was I wrong.
We booked with Ocean Safari pretty short notice and we secured one of the last spots. At the time of writing this, they were running the morning half day tours only – with a maximum of 25 passengers.
What makes this tour great is the following:
- Small number of passengers on the boat
- Short trip to the reef
- Two snorkeling locations
- Fun boat trip
- Maximum time in the water (at least two hours)
- Time to walk on the small Cay (made purely of sand, no vegetation)
- Pristine white sand around the reef
- Coral life is abundant
- Giant clam garden
- Opportunity to see amazing fish, rays, turtles, bright starfish and reef sharks
- Mini bar on the boat. What beats having a cold beer in the sun as you sunbake on a remote Cay?
- Tour guides are hilarious and energetic
The boat trip out was fun, there was no wasted time as we headed out to the Cay. We were given safety briefings (with a lot of humour involved to keep everyone engaged) and then given some great tips on snorkelling. Amongst my favourite was using baby shampoo on the inside of the goggles before putting them on – the whole time I had no fog build up. Plus for those who have a beard – smear some Vaseline around the moustache area and it will stop water coming in – bit of these tips revolutionized snorkelling for me.
Once we arrived to Mackay Cay, we spent a few minutes learning the hand signals, then it was straight into it. As soon as I jumped in and started snorkelling – I was in love. As most of the group stayed with the guide initially, I went off by myself to see as much as I could before certain animals got scared off. Within a couple of minutes I spotted a reef shark cruising around. For about two minutes I followed it as it casually glided around the coral. What a rush!
There was so much coral, and when it got sandy, it was this pure white colour. Already it was so worth the money! I kept swimming, taking videos of the fish life and the coral, completely in awe of how pristine it was. There were many rays resting on the sandy sections and these bright blue starfish every now and then. You could spot multiple giant clams (some up to 2 meters wide!) and mesmerizing corals that represented so many bright colours.
We had about one hour to explore this section, and it was such a fulfilling hour for sure. I didn’t spot any, but many people in our group swam with turtles as well. My goal was to find the reef sharks haha.
Picking a nice and sunny day is important as well. As the sun shone through the water, everything seemed to sparkle! I just couldn’t get over how amazing it was – no wonder the reviews were so good.
Once the hour was up, we all jumped back into the boat, and then headed around the other side of the Cay, where we could actually walk straight onto it. Here we were given another hour to chill out on the sand or continue snorkeling. Again, I was the first one in the water trying to spot the more unique animal life before some got scared off.
Pleasantly surprised, within a minute, I was swimming next to a beautiful Eagle Ray – a white underside, funny looking head, black top side and a very long black tail. This Eagle Ray was swimming in circles around me for a couple of minutes. What shocked me the most was the speed at which they can accelerate! At one point I got too close and I made a sudden burst – far out I thought it went into warp speed. The video that I took of it looks like I put it in fast forward, but it’s actually how fast they can go.
After a while of this fun, I kept swimming and found more coral – ranging from large boulder size pieces, all the way down to the tiny soft corals. The colours were stunning. Out of this side of the Cay, you also see the Giant Clam Garden – in which you’ll find many Giant Clams in a small area.
Although half a day didn’t seem like much when we booked, and around two hours of snorkelling didn’t seem enough – once we were done – I realised that it was the perfect amount. I was stuffed! But that was a good thing because both my wife and I had felt like it was money well spent. It was such an amazing experience being out there, I want to do it again!
After another hour was up, we all had drinks from the bar and got seated for the boat trip back to Cape Tribulation. It was a fun ride back! Occasionally we received some spray from the ocean and at one point, the skipper put us in adrenalin mode and weaved in and out, doing sharp turns and going full speed at the wake he had made. A few people were yelling (out of excitement) and everyone had giant smiles on their faces.
What made this trip even more special for us is the friends that we made from it. There was a retired couple and their son on the boat with us who we made good friends with. They actually invited us back to their accommodation at Noah Creek Eco Lodge for some beers and swimming in a breath-taking waterhole in the Daintree. The son offered for us to stay with him in Cairns when we went there again. Within a day we had become good friends! The father actually built amazing stone bridges and buildings on his property close to Brisbane. It’s amazing who you meet!
Another couple we met were on their honeymoon – and they were really fun to hang out with as well. We ended up staying at the Daintree Rainforest Village that night and they were there too. After a conversation around the campfire, we discovered the husband was actually a famous Freddy Mercury Tribute artist – he made it to he finals on Australia’s Got Talent. What a small world! It’s amazing the people you can meet – and it just starts with a friendly hello!
The snorkeling that day was next level, but the biggest lesson for me that day was to get out and meet people when traveling. Everyone has a story, and everyone’s story is different and interesting no matter who they are. My wife and I are generally pretty reserved when it comes to meeting strangers, but we are learning more and more every day to get out of that comfort zone and meet new people.
