Wondering where we've been huh?........Lady Elliot Island

We've found paradise, and we stayed a week. We've just returned from Lady Elliot Island, 90 miles northeast of Bunderberg. We picked Lady Elliot Island Resort for the ability to walk right into the water and snorkel. They are self sufficient, and at most they can have up to 80 guests. Our first night we were 2 of 18 guests at dinnertime, they have many day trippers, but most guests stay 2-3 nights. We were pumped, it's very much like a cruise, the housekeeping ladies made our beds, and drinks are charged to the room and you pay at the end – that parts not so exciting, but not carrying anything around for a week and walking around in a bathing suit all day sounded wonderfully tempting.
We flew to Bunderberg on a commuter plane, and wait at the tiny airport for three hours for our flight to the island. The island is actually a coral cay, completely surrounded by coral and is only approachable by plane. Boats are not allowed to get too close, as it will damage the surrounding coral. An even smaller plane arrives at the airport, this plane seats ten, I (Rachel) am sitting in the copilot seat, and I am instructed not to touch anything. Our pilot looks fifteen years old and he assures us he is much older. This plane is tiny, and neither of us has ever been in a plane this small. It's awesome. Our flight to the island is exciting, not scary and is 40 minutes long. Seeing the island from the air is amazing.
We are greeted by staff on the grass runway, and we take the information filled tour to the education center, dining area, dive center, and to our tent. Our EcoTent is cute, and comfortable, and much bigger than we were expecting. There are two sets of bunk beds, a side table, and table and chairs sitting out front. We settle in (ie: rearrange our room), read the schedule for the coming week, and get fitted at the dive shop for snorkel masks and fins, which we keep for the week. Optional activities for the week when we're not snorkeling include: the historical tour, fish feeding at the lagoon, guided reef walks, a dangerous marine creatures presentation, a fish identification talk, night stalks, and reef bingo. We try to do everything that we can. People rarely stay for seven nights and we make friends with all the staff. Breakfasts and dinners are buffet style in the dining room and staff and guests visit and talk about plans for the day or what they've seen. At 6pm, before dinner, there are cocktails and nibblies in the bar, and scheduling for the next days events.
Snorkeling: The lagoon side of the island is shallow, and at low tide, you reef walk beside the coral with water shin deep. At high tide the water is thigh high, and you float/snorkel over the coral, very close to the fish. It is amazing. You are allowed to snorkel on the lagoon side two hours before and after high tide. We start on the lagoon side first with reef walking then snorkeling. We see all kinds of fish, as well as octopus, sharks and eels. Alison has never been snorkeling before so I am excited that this is her first experience. She is as excited about it as I am, it's wonderful. She says being on the lagoon side is like snorkeling in a dentist office fish tank.
We walk across the airstrip to the west side of the island, to snorkel by the lighthouse. The west side has two entry spots through the coral into the water. You enter at either point: the lighthouse or the coral gardens, and depending on the current you drift toward the other. We put on our fins and attempt to walk through the path. This in itself is amusing I'm sure to anyone watching, but by the end of the week we have it mastered. We float out, and immediately both of us have to empty water out of our masks and snorkels because we both smiled so big at what we saw. We are instantly transported to a National Geographic movie, it's a completely different world. Everywhere we look there is coral, fish and gorgeous water. There is a large hawksbill turtle swimming around us. The visibility is amazing.
We swim with sea turtles everyday, and they are curious, they like their shells and bellies scratched. We see white tipped and black tipped reef sharks, parrot fish, sea cucumbers, and we go early one morning to see manta rays. They are ten feet across (we are estimating, if not bigger) and we see five circling below us. We snorkel all day, everyday. We don't want to leave the water, and only do so because we get hungry. We take photos of everything, but none do the water activities any justice. On three different nights they find baby loggerhead turtles (Alison finds one) that have wandered from the nest (towards the lights at the bar)– we take flashlights and guide them on their walk to the water. They are so cute and tiny, they look battery operated toys.
The entire staff is wonderful, helpful and very knowledgeable. We LOVE it here and I try not to cry on the airplane off the island (Alison as copilot). We get a warm send off from the staff, and we try to figure out how we can come back here and work. We both love the water, and spending a week at The Great Barrier Reef was amazing and a dream come true. We decide if we are able we would bring our friends and family here. It was totally worth it.
Check out their website: ladyelliotisland.com