Lady Elliot Island
In August of 2022, we decided to take a very last minute holiday. We were able to get four nights on Lady Elliot, and tacked on a few days before to visit K’gari – Fraser Island.
Getting There
Lady Elliot Island is a coral cay at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
Access to Lady Elliot is via a small plane from the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Bundaberg, or Hervey Bay. We opted for Hervey Bay because it was convenient for Fraser Island. I got to sit in the co-pilot seat for the 40-minute flight, and the pilot did an orbit so both sides of the plane were able to see the amazing view before landing.
Lady Elliot Eco Resort
We last visited Lady Elliot in 2016. Since then, the dive shop has had a massive upgrade and the rooms have been refurbished. Despite being short staffed (like all of Australia), the grounds were well maintained.
We stayed in reef unit #15. The unit was a short walk from the dining room, and had a queen bed as well as bunk beds (which we basically used as a closet). The unit was basically beachfront, just separated by a few octopus bushes and cassuarinas, Unit #9 and the glamping tents have are the most beachfront.
Turtles
The focus of this trip was turtles, so we were literally in the lagoon 30 minutes after we landed. The lagoon is tide-dependent; You can only swim in it two hours before and after high tide. The turtles were better than I imagined, and we lucked out with the weather and the timing of the tides. We also lucked out and saw eel, octopus, and a few reef sharks.
Mantas
We didn’t plan to dive on this trip, but we did go on a snorkel safari. It was peak manta season, however that meant that there was a lot of plankton in the water so the vis wasn’t great. There was a bit more wind on the west side of the island. Here’s a really crappy video 🙂
Sunset
Each night, we’d migrate to the west side of the island for drinks and sunset. As an added bonus, there were heaps of whales passing by and we could see blows, fin slaps, and breeches.
At dusk, what seemed like millions of shearwaters returned from their day at sea to roost in the trees on Lady Elliot. Here’s a clip from our table on the terrace at dinner. Also note that this isn’t considered bird season!
Night Sky
It was a full moon during our visit, but it didn’t rise until 11 so we were able to capture some great milky way images.
More Whales
We had an afternoon in Hervey Bay before our flight home, so we decided on one last whale watch. Because we booked so late, the only boat with availability was the massive Spirit of Hervey Bay. I was a little worried about the crowds, but it was a great boat for photography because there are multiple decks and lots of space to move around.
Fun fact: Hervey Bay is one of the few places on the East coast of Australia where you can see the sun setting over the ocean.
