Page 64 - Port Douglas Magazine 30

Brooke, Louisa and Maddison.
Master Reef Guides for Sailaway Port Douglas

THE MASTERS OF THE

GREAT BARRIER

REEF

INTERVIEW by Rosie Wang

In February 2019 Australia welcomed the first cohort of Master Reef Operators and Tourism Events Queensland, it is the first of its kind for the
Guides. The concept was so well received a second cohort followed Reef.
quickly in November. With only 26 certified guides in Australia Port
Of the six qualified guides based in Port Douglas, and more destined in 2020,
Douglas was fortunate to host six of them.
three of the six work for one local company, Sailaway Port Douglas. Owner
So what is a Master Reef Guide? Steve Edmondson firmly believes that, “Immersing yourself in nature is the
best way to influence a greater understanding of the bigger picture and global
Master Reef Guides are recognised as the world’s leading reef guides,
interpreters and story tellers trained to share the wonders of the Great challenges we all face.” He said “our strength here at Sailaway is having
extremely knowledgeable and professionally qualified crew engaging with
Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. These ambassadors can provide up-to-
small passenger numbers. As our qualified marine biologists become further
date information on the reef, share stories of the magical World Heritage
certified as Master Reef Guides it enables them to effectively communicate
Area and explain what we, as visitors, can do to make a difference.
to visitors how best to enjoy and protect our fragile environment.”
All Guides are nominated and then chosen to undertake comprehensive
We sat down with three of Sailaway’s finest, Brooke Nikora, Louisa Payne
training on the Master Reef Guide programme. Delivered by the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Association of Marine Park Tourism and Maddison Jones to find out what motivated these leaders in their field
to become a Master Reef Guide?
64 tourismportdouglas.com.au