Polling Booth Opens on Great Barrier Reef for 7 Wonders of Nature Campaign

The world’s most scenic and remote polling booth opened on the Great Barrier Reef’s tiny sandbank island of Upolu Cay, which is 30 kilometers northeast of Cairns.

Tourism Australia set up this pop-up booth to promote voting for the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru in the new 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. The campaign is a global search to recognize the seven most wondrous natural sites in the world, as decided by the general public. The Great Barrier Reef and Uluru have been shortlisted as two of the 28 finalists of the New 7 Wonders of Nature and face competition from other countries around the world including New Zealand’s Milford Sound, South Africa’s Table Mountain and the U.S.’s Grand Canyon. The final seven wonders will be decided by a global public vote.

Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour Global and ambassador for the Great Barrier Reef in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign, said, “There's no question about it, the Great Barrier Reef and Uluru are simply two of the most spectacular natural wonders in the world. We need to ensure that each continues to be recognized on a global scale. I encourage every Australian to show their support and vote for our icons in the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign.”

Tourism Australia is the Official Supporting Committee (OSC) for Uluru and is also the joint OSC with Papua New Guinea for the Great Barrier Reef. It is using the campaign to showcase why there’s nothing like Australia’s natural wonders, as well as establish the global significance of Australia’s natural landscape by encouraging national and international voting. Voting ends on November 11, 2011.

Visit www.n7w.com/gbr or www.n7w.com/uluru or www.facebook.com/New7WondersofNature