Heron Island located approx 50 miles off the east coast of Queensland between Cairns and Brisbane.

Our view of the sun setting over Australia while we ate our BBQ dinner on the patio.

Our Tuesday night BBQ Buffet in Pandanus Lounge. We were fascinated by that marine mural which covered three of the walls and was probably altogether about 40 feet long by 3 feet high.

View of the white sandy North Beach from out on the reef at low tide.

A group of three clams, embedded in the coral.

This little slimy fella is a Sea Hare.

Marine Biologist Jason, our reef walk guide, telling us everything there is to know about this sea cucumber.

Looking down at some coral through the sea scope.

A group of about ten of us on our two hour guided reef walk. You can see Stef is carrying the walking stick and sea scope (for viewing the marine life). You can see all the patches of living coral that Stef is walking between.

island based activities posted for the day

Day 28 recap (Tues Mar 8)

[Scott] We woke up well rested today around 8am and headed over for breakfast. It’s setup like a buffet with some warm foods like eggs, bacon, and sausage, and some cold foods such as yogurt, fresh fruit, pastries, cereals, and toast. Stef really liked the egg McMuffin thing she had which had egg, cheese, and salmon on it. We decided to take the complimentary snorkel lesson at 9:30am to see if we could pick up any good tips, since we were planning on doing a lot of snorkeling this week. This is when we met Paul, who taught the lesson. He’s a really funny Australian guy, and he would be out on the snorkel boats with us throughout the week. We love the Australian sarcastic sense of humor, and this guy really has it! There wasn’t anything earth shattering in the lesson, as snorkeling is a pretty straightforward activity. He gave us a good tip for blowing water out of the snorkel by saying “two” and he noticed that our new masks were really foggy and spit wasn’t clearing it up. He said we needed to rub toothpaste on them to get the clear finish off – which worked really well! So we spent a few minutes in the swimming pool with all our snorkel gear on, and then we headed out with the group for a bit to “The Gantry” snorkeling area on the reef – right near the pool.

At 11am we took our first snorkel boat trip with Paul and Kate and a full boat of about 15 snorkelers. Kate also has a good sarcastic wit like Paul. In her briefing in the harbor, she showed us where to find the life jackets and how to put them on, and told us that if anything were to happen out on the sea, we may need to use the radio. She said to just tune it to Channel 99, press the button and say something like “Heron Island Help Help”. Then she said, “they should get back to you within two weeks if you’re polite!” The waters were a bit rough, but Paul was driving the boat and didn’t seem to care. We were all getting wet as the boat slammed down off the waves, and there was “The Guy” at the front of the boat who acted like he had never been on the water – or out of the house for that matter. (Paul later nicknamed this guy “Little Buddy”) “Little Buddy” was laughing hysterically and yelling every time a wave splashed him, and kept going up closer to the front of the boat to not miss a single wave. Then we hit “The Big Wave” where the bow of the boat came straight down off a 10 ft wave and everybody flew up out of there seats a foot or so and crashed back down on their butt. Everybody screamed a bit, but “Little Buddy”, who was now soaked from head to toe and couldn’t even open his eyes from all the saltwater, was convulsing in excitement now and jumping up and down. I’d say he’s lucky he didn’t get launched right off the boat! After about a five minute boat ride we got out to our snorkeling spot, which is called “Coral Canyons” located on the edge of Heron Reef. The guides buddied everybody up and told us the few signals we needed to know, and told us to all stay reasonably close together and drift down the reef in a group so they don’t have to be watching all over the ocean. They told us how important it is to not touch anything and not to get too close to the wall of the reef, and then they came around and defogged everybody’s goggles. Stef jokingly asked if it was spit that they were spraying on our goggles, and Kate quickly replied “yeah we all sat around and spit into this bottle last night after dinner. It’s a competition among the employees!”

Then they said the pool is now open for one hour, so we jumped in with our underwater cameras in hand. We were the first ones to jump in and looked down to have our first look at the edge of the reef where the really large bright coral is with huge numbers of fish. The guides just stay in the boat and keep a lookout for everybody and monitor the ocean currents. We did a one hour drift snorkel from one of their moorings to another a little ways down the reef. The water was a bit cloudy, and Paul said that was probably because the tide was moving out fairly quick at this particular time and pulling lots of sediment off the reef surface. Soon after we got in the water, our skin started stinging a bit in spots. At first we didn’t think much of it, but then as it was happening more and more, and we realized there were little jellyfish everywhere around us – about the size of a #2 pencil eraser. It never really hurt enough to matter and eventually we got clear of them, but it was our first experience with marine stings nonetheless. We had a good hour of snorkeling, and they put the lifejacket up on the bow of the boat indicating our time was up. We headed back to the resort, took a shower, and headed over for the buffet lunch. They have 3 or 4 cold salads to choose from, and maybe 6 hot dishes to choose from. They have heaps of food and all of it is really good. (heaps is a favorite word for Australians) Half of today’s hot dishes were an Italian theme, and the Chicken Cacciatore was really good.

After lunch we went on the reef walk. Each day they have a schedule of activities you can choose from. Almost everyday they have a reef walk, and then some days they have a walk on the island, or about birds, or on the island’s university research station. These are all guided and no additional charge (unlike the snorkel boat). A marine biologist named Jason was our guide for the two hour walk. We had a group of about 12 people. They schedule this at low tide so you can walk all the way out on the reef in water up to your knees. The water on the reef at low tide is a really beautiful light green color. He showed us all of the different types of coral and various marine animals that we passed along the way. All of the coral on top of the reef is small since it can’t grow any higher than the height of water at low tide. The big stuff is out on the wall of the reef edge, where the waves are breaking. Jason would pick up the various sea creatures (not the coral) such as a variety of sea cucumbers and a sea hare (like a snail) and describe how they function and their role in the ecosystem. We each carried something called a sea scope which basically looks like a megaphone with a lens on the small end. This allowed us to look at the underwater life, since you can’t see much looking down through all the ripples and reflections on the water surface. We learned a lot from Jason and he was able to answer all of our questions, and it didn’t feel at all like we were at school. The best part is that now when we’re out snorkeling we’ll know the names of the various types of coral and know what to look for. We’ve noticed that marine biologists really like their marine jokes. Jason told us that the pearl fish actually lives inside a sea cucumber’s butt for long periods of time and often eats the gonads if he’s not feeling up to hunting for food. He said, “This is why we don’t advise skinny dipping on the reef!” to which everybody chuckled and groaned.

On Tuesday night they have a BBQ buffet in the lounge instead of the usual three course meal in the restaurant. They had lots of seafood, lamb, and a good steak as well. Also, they had an assortment of salads and fresh fruit, and a large dessert table. Stef’s eyes almost permanently rolled back into her head as she ate the Pavlova (similar to meringue). The lemon strawberry mouse was really good as well. They had a really good guitarist playing throughout that we enjoyed listening to on the mezzanine. He played a lot of James Taylor, some Jack Johnson, and a variety of other tunes. We really love the relaxing pace here!

The bar and evening lounge. They have a wonderful view of the ocean, billiards tables, great drinks and live entertainment nightly. It isn't unusual to see one of the many island birds flying around this open air building.

The Dining Room. This is the lunch buffet they had ready for us upon arrival. Miam Miam! (French for "Yum! Yum!")

Scott right off the boat. They deliver all our luggage to our rooms for us, so we are ready to explore.

Arrival at Heron Island! It was a very, very rocky two hour boat ride. The island is located about 50 miles east of the Australian mainland. It is one of the only islands made of coral on the Great Barrier Reef.

Aerial view of Heron Island (from a book). It's so small and secluded! It is less than a mile long! The light blue color in the foreground is the Heron Reef and the background is Wistari Reef. You can see a smal white speck (at the bottom of the picture) on the reef's edge. This is a snorkeling boat, like the ones we took all week.

Day 27 recap (Mon Mar 7)

[Stef] As you read this, to get the full effect of my excitement please read aloud in a raised voice – HOLY CRAP I JUST SNORKELED THE GREAT BARRIER REEF!

Yup, it’s Monday and we snorkeled the reef today. We got up and packed our clothes up and set off to the Gladstone Marina to catch the boat over to Australia’s Heron Island (72km northeast of Gladstone). The boat ride over was really bumpy and for a bit I thought I was going to get sick…. But I made it! Good thing they took the boat today instead of the catamaran (which has a much rougher ride). We watched some informational movies on the 2 hour ride over. One told the story of Heron Island and the other talked about the University of Queensland Research Station on the island. About 40 years ago, this boat trip took 6 hours for visitors of the resort!

As we came into the island, there was an old rusty shipwrecked boat in the jetty area. It originally was a boat carrying supplies in the World War II, after being damaged by a tug it was towed to here where it is home for many of the birds on the island. The water was so blue and the island was so cute! There were a wide variety of birds were circling around the tops of the trees as well. This tropical island sits right on the Tropic of Capricorn, and is located on the Heron Reef (a part of the Great Barrier Reef). The island itself is only 42 acres with a circumference of just 1.8km! We chose this resort because it is one of the only ones located right on a reef. You need to take an hour boat ride to get to the good snorkeling at most of the other island resorts, compared to five minutes here. Another great selling point for Heron Island is they have a maximum of 200 guests and no day-trippers here – remote and very un-commercialized.

Once we walked to the reception area, they brought us into a conference room where they told us about the different resources on the island. Then we split into groups and the guides took us on a brief tour of the amenities and then dropped us off at our room one couple at a time. Scott and I didn’t book the cheapest rooms, but they weren’t the most expensive either. We were more than pleased with our decision. The expensive rooms were individual huts with a hammock off the back – too big for the two of us. The cheaper ones must be a bit smaller from looking at the outside – and they aren’t on the beach like ours. Scott and I have the second floor of a two floor building. (None of the buildings are over the tree line, so you can hardly see them from the beach.) It is a beautiful room with a spare daybed and some wicker furniture. No guest rooms on the island have a TV or phone, and it is a keyless society since there are no day-trippers. All the lights have dimmers on them too, so you can create your own mood lighting in the evening – and people on the beach can’t see in as well! We also have a little balcony which is shaded by the trees and a haven for our talkative birds. Scott says they talk almost as much as me! (I don’t think so! – haha ) I don’t think we could have gotten a more perfect room! After the tour guide showed us the room, he also told us our bags would be delivered to us and that at night we needed to close our curtains. The lights from our room would make it hard for the newly hatching turtles to find their way into the sea. They instinctively use the light horizons to orient them to the sea, so any light on land would confuse and disorient them. With all the birds around, there is of course a lot of bird waste as well. Another guest told us that it is supposed to be good luck if they accidentally hit you. Well, I think Scott wants to take me to Vegas because just in one day, I have become one lucky woman! (3 times already today!)

After we freshened up, we headed over to lunch. It was a buffet, and it was enormous. Everything was fresh – fresh whole shrimp (eyes and all), lobster, a variety of cold salads, and fresh fruit. We were amazed at the selection and how good it was. (Everything is included in our package except for some drinks.) We finished eating, checked in at the Marine Center for tide times and set out to try some snorkeling right off the beach! The water was so clear and amazingly warm. Nothing like New Zealand waters… It was as warm as bath water – somewhere around 28 degrees Celsius. We saw so many things. I even saw a lemon shark – which they say is a nice (non-aggressive) shark. I didn’t stop to find out! We saw beautiful coral and bright colored fish everywhere. It was incredible, and like nothing we had ever seen. I felt like Nemo! So we signed up for the boat tour the next morning to get to see more in deeper water.

After our snorkel, we showered up and went over to dinner. WOW AGAIN! It was a 3-course meal. I had potato gnocchi for an appetizer, roasted lamb loin for an entrée and strawberry something or other for dessert! Scott had seafood bisque for an appetizer, Mahi Mahi (with apricot glaze/marmalade) for an entrée and chocolate crème brule for dessert! It was great to relax and unwind.

After dinner we went over to the bar and I enjoyed a great Mango cocktail – which had fresh mango in it - and Scott had a Toohey’s pilsner (an Australian beer). We played a game of pool and relaxed some more before turning in for the night. It was an awesome day here – only can imagine what the next few days will bring! The air and water compete for the warmest temperature and the exclusion of modern conveniences is beyond perfection. It is the perfect combination of simplicity and elegance!

Day 26 recap (Sun Mar 6)

[Scott] Today is a travel day. This morning we woke up well rested at Fran and Bruce’s condo. They were so gracious and really made us feel at home. Our first surfing experience was really exciting yesterday, and the meals they cooked for us were fabulous! We ate breakfast with them and got on the road by 10am. We started our 8 hour drive north to Gladstone from Gold Coast. Tomorrow we will catch the boat to Heron Island for four nights, and we really can’t wait to get there. We’ve been looking forward to it the whole trip! Whenever we’ve mentioned to somebody that we are going to Heron Island, they really rave about it. One of Fran’s friends goes there every year and gave us some tips on where the best snorkeling spots are, and recommended a motel in Gladstone. Today, Stef drove her first 350k of the vacation – her first experience driving on the “wrong” side of the road. She found out first hand what I was talking about with the initial awkwardness. We both turn the wipers on when we want to signal to turn! The roundabouts take some getting use to as well. They’re everywhere here in Australia (and in NZ). Anyway, we split up the driving today which was great for me. There wasn’t much to see on the drive, and there are long distances between the towns here in Australia. We noticed that in Victoria last week as well. Lachie told us that 85% of Australia’s 20 million people live in urban areas. We stopped at about 3pm for a late lunch in a small town named Childers that Lachie recommended. It was a nice small town, but it was really quiet. Most places are either closed or close early on Sunday, so we just got a burger at this place called Tropicana Café. It was over 100 degrees inside so we ate outside. A short heavy downpour really cooled things down, so we just enjoyed relaxing for a bit there at our sidewalk table. Nobody there seemed to be able to agree on how long it takes to get to Gladstone, which we thought was funny. We got back on the road and it rained sporadically. We’re crossing our fingers that it won’t be raining on Heron Island! We arrived in Gladstone at 6:30pm, and got checked into The Rusty Anchor Motel. They even have a rusty anchor out front – classic! It won’t overthrow the motel with the huge Kiwi on it as our most memorable though. As we arrived, the pink sky was glowing as the sun set (early since they don’t go on daylight savings time in Queensland). We thought Childers was quiet today – well Gladstone is even quieter. I couldn’t even find an open gas station – all five I found were closed. It was a little creepy in the dark, and then around 8pm they turned off all outside lights at the motel and we felt like maybe we were part of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. And to top it off, a large bird scared Stef to death when it flew within a few feet of her. I tried to catch my breath from the laughter as she tried to catch her breath from the fright. We wanted to repack so we can take just one suitcase out to the island. When Stef opened up one of our suitcases, she was greeted by a really nasty odor. She couldn’t imagine what it could be, and then realized we had some musty clothes in the suitcase that didn’t get completely dry in Melbourne. We had intended to pull them out in Brisbane yesterday, but we were so tired that we forgot. So we scoured the town for a place to get change, and eventually found a Blockbuster that was open and got the laundry done. A pretty uneventful day though – exactly what you hope for on a travel day!