10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Great Barrier Reef

10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Great Barrier Reef No trip to Australia is complete without snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef. You may know a thing or two about this incredible place, but there’s a lot more than what meets the eye to this beautiful and fragile wonder of the world. Check out these ten amazing Great Barrier Reef facts to be truly amazed.

• The Great Barrier Reef is actually made up of 2900 coral reefs, 1050 islands and corals cays.
• The reef is the largest living structure on Earth being around the size of Japan – spanning 350,000 square kilometres and stretches 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast.
• The Great Barrier Reef plays home to over 1500 species of fish, 6 of the world’s 7 types of marine turtle, 3000 species of molluscs, 215 types of bird and 30 species of whales and dolphins and is also where you’ll find the majority of the world’s endangered dugong population.
• The Great Barrier Reef has experienced two mass coral bleaching events, which occurred in 1998 and 2002. Aerial surveys from 2002 showed that over 50% of reefs experienced some coral bleaching.
• The hard coral that acts as the backbone of the Great Barrier Reef only grows a miniscule 1.5 cm each year.
• With the Great Barrier Reef needing a massive amount of protection from environmental and human factors, every visitor over the age of 4 years old must per a $6 reef tax when visiting. The money raised from this goes to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to help fund the continued conservation of the fragile eco-system for generations to come.
• The thin layer of the living coral that comprise the Great Barrier Reef is only 8000 years old, which is a baby in comparison to the 500,000 year old dead coral and algae beneath it.
• One of the most delicate ecosystems in existence, the worst natural predator of the Great Barrier Reef aside from humans are the beautiful, yet dangerous crown-of-thorns starfish. These starfish strip the reef of living coral, however the reef can usually regenerate after an infestation of these spiky gluttons.
• The Great Barrier Reef is so large it can actually be seen from outer space – now that’s a sight!
• One of the seven natural wonders of the world, alongside sites such as the Grand Canyon and Mount Everest, The Great Barrier Reef was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.
Feeling inspired? Visit the reef and see its beauty for yourself with Ocean Safari.

For more information and to book a tour of the Great Barrier Reef visit www.oceansafari.com.au