The Heart of the Southern Great Barrier Reef

THE HEART OF THE SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER

REEF As the gateway to the Southern Great Barrier Reef, the Gladstone Region is home to what’s considered one of the top dive and snorkelling sites in the world. Dotted with impressive coral cays and reefs that are only a stone’s throw away from the coast, you’ll be swimming, snorkelling, diving or fishing on the reef in no time.

HERON ISLAND

Heron Island offers a unique experience where you can truly immerse yourself in the beauty of nature. Among the music of seabirds, tracks of turtles and clouds of multi-coloured fish, the feeling that you’re a guest of nature itself is inescapable. Surrounded by 24 square kilometres of reef, the island is home to a resident population of over 5,000 green and loggerhead turtles – with many more returning each year during breeding season. There is one resort on the island, Heron Island Resort, which offers several standards of accommodation designed to suit all tastes and budgets.

Access: Guests of Heron Island Resort can access the island via boat transfer, which regularly departs from the Gladstone Marina. Alternatively begin your holiday with a scenic helicopter flight between Gladstone Airport and Heron Island.

WILSON ISLAND

This natural coral cay is both part of the Great Barrier Reef and surrounded by it. Its pristine waters host an unimaginable variety of marine life – in fact some of the best snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef is right off the beach at Wilson Island. Covering just 5.24 acres, Wilson Island is the ultimate island castaway experience, offering seclusion in a setting of unrivalled natural beauty and playing host to just 18 guests at any one time. Enjoy a one-of-a-kind getaway in tents. With just nine sites available you will wake up in the morning to the sounds of the ocean from the comfort of your king size bed.

Access: Access to Wilson Island is via Heron Island which is a 40-minute boat ride away. Transfer times between Heron and Wilson Islands are subject to tide and weather conditions and may vary accordingly.

LADY MUSGRAVE ISLAND

Lady Musgrave Island is the only coral island on the Great Barrier Reef with a navigable lagoon. Over eight nautical miles in circumference, this unique cay truly has it all – reef, island, beautifully coloured corals, marine life, flora, fauna, and of course, turtles. Day trips to the island provide visitors the chance to experience the warm tropical waters of Lady Musgrave Island – perfect any time of year for diving, swimming and snorkelling. For those who wish to stay a little longer, camping is also permitted on the island, however a permit is required and National Park restrictions do apply.

Access: Day trips depart regularly from the Town of 1770, the closest access point to Lady Musgrave Island. Access is also available via Bundaberg for a day tour. Camping is also available through National Parks website.

Did you know?

The Southern Great Barrier Reef is home to eight iconic sea creatures for you to encounter! While you’re out on the reef, keep an eye out for: 1. Whales | 2. Manta Rays 3. Turtles | 4. Potato Cod | 5. Sharks 6. Giant Clams | 7. Maori Wrasse 8. Clown Fish aka “Nemo”

Heron Island

Bucket List

Watch turtle hatchlings erupt from their nest and wiggle their way to the water at Heron Island.

Take a day trip to Lady Musgrave Island and discover its unique inner lagoon – it’s like swimming in a giant aquarium!

Dive your way around the 20 spectacular dive sites surrounding Heron Island and have an up-close encounter with your favourite marine life.

Be a castaway in comfort on Wilson Island, an adult-only private hideaway. Camp on top of Lady Musgrave Island’s 400 acres of living reef with the seabirds and turtles as your only neighbours.

Snap a turtle selfie in the crystal clear waters of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Join a week-long liveaboard fishing charter on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Camp like a local on North West Island, one of the largest coral cays in the region.

QUOIN, FACING & CURTIS ISLANDS

Travel just five kilometres from the Gladstone coastline and you will find Quoin Island. This island is home to the region’s only private turtle rehabilitation centre, and features a fully refurbished retreat which is available to book exclusively for private events including corporate functions, conferences, educational visits and weddings.

If self-sufficient camping is more your style, nearby Facing Island offers visitors a choice of 35 unpowered sites where your only worry is where you’re going to wet a line the next day.

Next door, Curtis Island offers stunning unspoilt beaches, intimate northfacing bays, sparkling ocean, the Great Barrier Reef and wetlands as well as an outback-style cattle station.

Access: All three islands are accessible by private boat. A barge service is also available to access Curtis and Facing Islands. Quoin Island Resort can arrange a ferry service for guests of the resort.

NORTH WEST ISLAND

This hidden gem of the Southern Great Barrier Reef welcomes selfsufficient campers to enjoy an untouched paradise. As the second largest coral cay in the Great Barrier Reef, the island offers opportunities for bushwalking, nature study, reef walking, diving and snorkelling. Fishing is also quite popular on the island, but visitors are requested to limit their fishing and to abide by authorised fishing zones. Your remote island adventure is only a permit away from reality. Access: The island is accessible by private boat. Alternatively the barge service offers regular island transfers. Barge transfers depart from the Gladstone Marina and deliver you right to your beach campsite on North West Island.