The first adventure on our Port Douglas holiday was a half day Mossman River stand up paddle board (SUP) tour with our fabulous host Vanessa.

It didn’t take... read more long for my nephew to pick up how to SUP and then he quickly figured out it was a lot more fun to get the VIP guided tour with Vanessa doing all the work.

We learned how to SUP and a lot about the Mossman River.

We stopped at the top on a sandy beach for a morning snack then we drifted back down the river to our starting point.

We loved it so much and our host that we booked another SUP tour of the mangroves near Lowe Isles. This was a day long adventure that departed from the public jetty in town. We were peddle to the metal in an ex police rubber speed boat out to Lowe Isles, about an hour long trip. Our skipper was Kite Surfing Champion and local legend Breto Wright with his first mate Marine Biologist Vanessa.

Breto provided an hilarious running commentary about everything you need to know about the reef and Port Douglas and Vanessa filled us in with fascinating information about the marine life and ecosystem.

We SUPed around the mangroves, spotted some beautiful green turtles and a reef shark. We then drifted, lying on our boards, across to Lowe Isles where we had a snorkel on the reef around the Island, a lunch on the beach, followed a fun tour of the lighthouse, hosted by Breto and Vanessa.

We ended our day with a few spins outside the reef tubing. My nephew was adamant he did not want to go on the tube but after he saw how much fun we were all having, he decided he wanted to sit on the tube just to see what it was like and that test quickly turned into a spin then he immediately wanted another turn.

We left Port that morning with an 8 year old scared of boats and couldn’t snorkel.

We came back to Port with an adventure lover who said he was having so much fun, it was the best day of his life.

We wanted to do the Windswell Beach Kitesurfing Adventure next but it was still stinger season so they don’t start Kitesurfing till next month. We were disappointed but it does leave us something new to try next time we’re here.

Thank you Breto and Vanessa!

  Fabulous trip to the Gt Barrier Reef from PTDouglas with a very professional skipper and helmsman Brett and the expert advice from the onboard marine biologist Vanessa both... read more kept us formed of what to look for and what not touch. It was a magical day seeing turtles, black tip reef sharks and countless tropical fish and coral ! It was just a great experience recommend for all!! Thanks Brett Amd Vanessa very professional and also too their deckhand Peter!

  Great SUP experience with Brett and Vanessa of the Windswell team. They were patient with us beginners and gave plenty of time for rest and a dip in the water.... read more The float back was definitely our favourite part of the day! Very peaceful. The tropical fruit break was excellent too.

  Amazing experience! Ended up being a private paddle boarding session up the Mossman River. Absolutely beautiful scenery and a fabulous guide and instructor. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants... read more a different experience to your normal rainforest walk!