SYDNEY, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- A captain of a luxury charter boat has joined in the bandwagon and become the latest person to personally invite Hollywood heart-throb Leonardo DiCaprio on a free trip to visit conservation efforts undertaken at the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia.
DiCaprio had previously described the Great Barrier Reef as a natural attraction that was full of "dead zones".
Last week, the Oscar winner reiterated the matter at the "Our Oceans Conference" held in Washington D.C. and was particularly vocal on the impact coral bleaching and global warming has had on the Great Barrier Reef.
"This year, Australia's Great Barrier Reef suffered what is thought to be the largest bleaching event ever recorded," DiCaprio said.
"Over 600 miles of reef previously teeming with life is devastated. We are seeing this level of impact on coral reefs around the world," he said.
Since that speech, DiCaprio has been inundated with offers to visit the reef coming from scientists to non-governmental organizations who had extended a "non-political" offer to the actor to show him the impacts of coral bleaching once again.
Queensland deputy premier Jackie Trad was quoted as saying in Brisbane last week that the actor was "absolutely welcome to come to Australia, to come to Queensland and to come to the Great Barrier Reef."
"I know he's been there before and I really applaud his passion and his commitment to conserving and protecting the earth's oceans," she said.
The latest invitation from Aroona Luxury Boat Charters operator Ross Miller was for a week-long trip to the reef, News Corp reported on Thursday.
The eight-night voyage, worth 54,000 thousand Australian dollars (40,000 thousand U.S. dollars), would visit several key dive and snorkelling sites, including the stunning Ribbon Reefs, Miller said.
Miller, who has previously hosted billionaires on-board his boat, said he wanted to show the Revenant star that the Great Barrier Reef wasn't in as bad a condition as many believed due to the recent widespread bleaching event.
"There's many locations that we have been diving for the last 15 years that show serious signs of coral bleaching and other issues," Miller said.
"There are also other sites that we are going to that still look pristine," he said.
