I wanted to share my recent vacation trip to Australia. I went to visit my Sisters family in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Mostly when we take the name “Queensland”, it rings a familiar bell - Great Barrier Reef! Yes, the most conserved and largest natural coral reef system in the world. It’s one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World” made by living organisms! Coral Reefs - Support marine life and are a good indication of our water bodies overall health.
To visit Great Barrier Reef, we choose “Lady Elliot Island” a small Island which is the southern most part of the Reef which starts from Close to Papua New Guinea. It’s located 85KM into the Sea North East of closest Queensland city of “Bundaberg”. We choose a day return tour from Gold Coast to the Island.
We Started of early in the morning from Gold Coast Airport at 0645 Hrs on a Cessna Caravan(C208) to the Island which is a 1.5 hour scenic flight. The flight itself was wonderful given the fact that it would fly low over the ocean to see enroute scenic attractions like Gold Coast city beautiful beaches, Brisbane skyline, Moreton Bay Island, Tangalooma wrecks, marine life movements from the sky and then onto the scenic island!
Once on the Island, our tour guide gave an introduction to the Island and prepared us for the day. We changed to swim wear with snorkelling equipment and other safety gear provided by the Tour operator. We first went on a glass boat to the coral reef viewing every thing in the clear waters. Later the boat docked and we made the plunge into water. For me it was my first time in the ocean - I was anxious as well considering I never swam in the seas or rivers - only a Pool swimmer. Once in water, I initially gingerly held onto the safety rope and started looking in the water. The magnificent view of the coral reef along with the beautiful fishes quickly eased my anxiousness that I left the safety rope and started swimming besides the fishes. To my delight, We stumbled upon an “Green Sea Turtle” which swam right next to us and reached the surface to get some fresh air and again ducked underwater and swam away. That moment was epic for me and my excitement knew no bounds. It was simply a wonderful experience to watch the animal we know since our childhood stories live its natural beautiful life unknown to us till that instance. Once back on the Island, we tried to snorkel back on the other side of the island which was shallow trying to take advantage of the high tide to spot more sea life in action. However, the high tide was not that high and the sea current was too strong that we returned back to the island. Back on Island, we changed and ate our Lunch offered by the Island tour operator and chilled by the beach. Afternoon by 1430hrs we were back on the Cessna Caravan to return to Gold Coast.
Overall, it was a wonderful experience for all of us. Greatly appreciate the tour management firm and the Island operators for running a very balanced tourist attraction whilst paying utmost care to safeguard the marine and avian ecosystem. Even plastic water bottles are prohibited on the island in efforts to safeguard the reef. Simply Amazing!
P.S:
This is a personal opinion and none was influenced or paid for by any tour/island operator.
For detailed read, Please read the following links:
Great Barrier Reef - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Barrier_Reef
Lady Elliot Island - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Elliot_Island
Tour Operator - https://ladyelliot.com.au/day-tour-ex-gold-coast
