Year 2 – 24 March 2025 - Lady Elliott Island- Great Barrier Reef

If anyone reading this and is free from late June to mid July 2025 to come to Australia then do contact me as I am short of crew during this period at present.

When I woke our stern was to the swell and the wind had moved from East to South. This meant we had been sideways on to the swell in the night and now our stern was rising up and down and crashing a bit into it. There was nothing we could do but it was not as bad as we had at Noosa Heads. I cooked banana pancakes which went down well and we prepared to go ashore and to snorkel.

We brought the dinghy down from the davits and we had to be quick in releasing the clips to get out of the swell. We were not sure where to go ashore but watched one of the resort boats and where they went and we thought we should do the same and then we cannot be criticised. We changed into our swimming gear and got our snorkel and flippers. There were a number of buoys with flags and lines of little buoys between them. We later learnt that these were the snorkelling areas. We got in the dinghy and motored round the last flagged buoy and then toward a post with a basket on it, following the route the other boats went. We later learnt that this was a basket for shoes. So you walked out to the pole – took your shoes off and left them in the basket and put on your flippers and cleverly they had a little seat just under the water to assist you do this! Why have I not seen this before and what a great idea.

The Island must be about 800 meters long and about 500 metres wide. It has a beach on its western side which is really crushed coral rather than a smooth beach. It has a low level of trees and bush and a smallish lighthouse and a radio/aerial tower and is probably about 15m high. It has a reef all around it which is more pronounced on its Northern and Southern sides. The water is known for its clarity and apparently most of the year round you can see about 30 m and we can see the sandy bottom from where Stormbird is moored.

We went in past the pole and there was a gap through the coral reef which took us right to the beach. We had seen a number of snorkellers on a tour around parts of the coral reef. The colours of the reef came back to me and it reminded me of being in French Polynesia again. We carried the dinghy on to the beach and then went for a snorkel. Within a few minutes we were above the coral reef and saw a multitude of fish – parrot fish, sergeants, emperors etc and it was great to be able to snorkel as it has been a bit difficult to date in Oz. We swam around for some time enjoying the experience. I then saw a large turtle and it was slowly and regally swimming through the reef. They are lovely creatures and many turtles come here to lay their eggs. This had a grey, brown and green back and I followed at a respectful distance for some time. We all had a lovely snorkel and dried off.

We then decided to explore the Island further. There was a path leading up to the lighthouse and the tower and some old lighthouse keepers huts which have been preserved. There is an eco-resort here which can accommodate about 150 people and they come by air as there is an airstrip. This island was used many years ago as a farm for sea slugs and then to mine the Guana off the land which has about 3,000 years’ worth of bird poo on it which brought it back to bare rock!! This devastated the Island and with re planting etc it now looks like a proper Island.

We walked along the track and came to the airfield which had about 4-5 small planes there and over the other side was the resort which was quite low key. We went to reception and they were quite happy for us to go to the bar and restaurant but we were only allowed on the Island between 9-4.00pm. We therefore went to the bar and had a drink and sat outside overlooking the reef on the East side which was called the Lagoon. There were lots of birds and frigate birds and it was lovely and we enjoyed just being there and watching the world go by. We then decided to have some lunch which was nice and we had an enjoyable few hours chatting and enjoying the scenery.

We then walked back across the island and decided to go to a different are to snorkel called the Coral Garden. We got in the dinghy and motored round to the right area and tied the dinghy to a rope on a buoy. We then went off into the water and there were different types of coral and lots of fish and before long I came across two more turtles and followed them for some time, Once we had had enough we got back into the dinghy and returned to Stormbird.

We had some tea, showered and got ourselves sorted having had a great day. We then chilled and I got on with more planning for 2026 and reading up about the weather in the Indian Ocean and when you can go from the Northern part to the Southern part of the Ocean and the safe times to do that.

We then rendezvoused for a drink and Trevor cooked a chicken curry which was delicious. We plan to head over to Lady Musgrove Island tomorrow and hope to get into the Lagoon there. This day felt a bit like I was back in the San Blas Islands or French Polynesia. What great times they were.

The picture of the day is a picture of Lady Elliott Island which gives you an idea of what it looks like.

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from late June to Mid-July so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com