Lady Elliot Island

Townsville to Hervey Bay

20 - 23 October 2017

We planned a southern trip, without the camper trailer, based around a visit to Lady Elliot Island. This is a well known bird watching spot so we chose the end of October as an ideal time to visit, and we weren't disappointed. 

Our trip began with the long - almost 1200km - drive south. We allowed three nights as we didn't want to rush. A few days before we were due to leave there was a massive rain event and the Bruce Highway was closed in several places. Fortunately by the time we left on Friday 20 October the road was open. We left very early (for us) and made it to Bowen in time for an early cuppa. From there it was on through Mackay, and into Sarina for lunch. As it was still early we kept on going and finally arrived in Rockhampton where we stopped for the night.

From Rockhampton it was an easy 400km to Hervey Bay. Just south of Rocky we took a detour along Port Alma Road to search once again for the elusive Capricorn Yellow Chat. The first time we planned to visit this spot a cyclone a few days before saw us taking the inland route south, the second time the weather wasn't great and there was no sign of the chats, so Mick was hopeful this time with better weather and plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, despite some serious searching, there were no chats to be found. Oh well, looks like we'll be visiting again.

No Yellow Chat but I did get this Red-necked Avocet.

After our detour we headed south again and stopped for morning tea in Mount Larcom. There is a nice park, just off the highway with picnic tables, toilets and play equipment. From there we continued south, intending to stop at one of the well resourced rest areas for lunch only to find that the one we had aimed for was inaccessible due to flooding. We drove on and saw the turn-off to Lake Monduran so we drove the few kilometres to the picnic area at the dam for lunch.

On arrival in Hervey Bay we chose a place to stay that had rooms on a man-made lake. This turned out to be a very nice spot. It was quiet and the lake was full of turtles which provided hours of entertainment. There were also plenty of birds around too.

Pacific Black Duck

Dusky Moorhen

Purple Swamphen

Purple Swamphen

Tortoise

Australian White Ibis (bin chicken)

We spent two nights there and wandered around Hervey Bay on the Sunday - having coffee at a cafe on the beach, visiting the markets and walking out on the famous Urangan Pier. The weather was glorious and we enjoyed a very relaxing day.

Lady Elliot Island

23 - 28 October 2017

Monday morning saw us ready to fly to Lady Elliot Island for 5 nights - a real treat that we were very excited about. We took the car to the secure car storage facility (cheaper than the airport long term parking) and were dropped off in plenty of time for our 10:30am flight. You can fly to Lady E from Bundaberg, Brisbane (Archerfield), Gold Coast or Hervey Bay. All flights are on small planes (ours was a 13 seater), and all provide a scenic flight. Our flight path took us close to Fraser Island for a close up look at this famous sand island. We were lucky enough to spot a whale - the whale watching season was almost over so this was not expected.

In the Air 

The interior of a Cessna Caravan is a little bit squeezy!

Flying over Fraser Island.

It was approaching the end of the southern Humpback Whale migration but we still saw a couple on the flight over.

Our first views of Lady Elliot Island.

The landing was very bumpy.

There are a number of accommodation options and packages, along with day trips, from which to choose. Our package was for five nights in a reef unit (beach frontage) with full buffet breakfast and dinner included. Also included was a combined glass bottom boat/snorkel tour as well as use of snorkel equipment and a range of free island activities. A number of activities and talks are provided throughout the day, with some on every day, and others on every 3 or 4 days so there is always something different in which to get involved. Although we're not big fans of organised activities we did take part in the quiz night, fish feeding, manta talk and night walk. The activities team are so knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and happy to answer any questions.

Around the Resort

The restaurant and bar roof can be seen on the right our accommodation is behind the tall trees on the left.

Our accommodation was small and basic but what a view! We had the middle of this block of three rooms.

A Ruddy Turnstone rests by our track to the beach.

Buff-banded rails are common and cheeky but usually run when a camera is pointed their way.

Pacific Golden Plovers are common around the grounds.

A drink before dinner.

The lagoon at low tide as seen from the bar.

Sometimes seen at night around the resort is the strawberry hermit crab.

Although our main reason for visiting was to photograph birds, we did purchase a small underwater camera in the hope of getting some fish shots as well.  Each day we snorkelled, and walked around the island looking for that perfect bird photo. After a big breakfast each day we opted for a small cafe lunch rather than the optional buffet lunch. Sunset drinks and then a beautiful buffet dinner finished each day perfectly.

 In the Lagoon
 

At the fish feeding; Moon Wrasse in the foreground.

Blackspot Snapper

Fish feeding was great fun.

Relaxing in the lagoon in the heat of the day.

Of the three types of turtle that occur around the island, we saw two, Hawksbill and Green, dipping out on Loggerhead. On my first early morning walk, I came across a large Green Turtle on the top of the beach. A fellow guest told me that the turtle had become entangled in a beach chair after laying her eggs and she missed the opportunity to return to the sea on the high tide. She made it back to the lagoon at around 9:00am. Christie and I found a similarly stranded turtle a day or two later. Each day we would walk around the island and see new turtle tracks on the beach. Some seemed to go straight up and back with no evidence of nesting.   Mick

A Green Sea Turtle takes a quick breath.

At first I thought she was dead but it turned out she was just thoroughly exhausted.

These beautiful creatures look so glum out of the water.

Green Turtles could sometimes be seen very close to the beach. This one has a barnacle on its nose.

We bought a waterproof point and shoot camera for this trip. At first I worried that it might be a waste of money and not get used or take really bad photos. As it turns out I'm so glad we got it even though I was far from proficient with it. It is a weird feeling trying to shoot a moving subject while being washed around by currents and waves. I found it difficult to see the screen most of the time so there was a lot of 'hit and hope' going on. However, the image quality is reasonable and it allowed us to record some of the most enjoyable parts of our stay on the island. I would love the opportunity to practice more. Mick

Coral in the lagoon.

Convict Surgeonfish

Bluespotted Fantail Ray

Blackback Butterflyfish

Mixed Butterflyfish

Blue sea star

After a lesson in the pool Christie gained confidence quickly.

Convict Surgeonfish

I estimated this Cowtail Stingray to be over 1.5 metres across, quite a surprise in a shallow lagoon.

Picasso Triggerfish were plentiful.

Sixbar Wrasse

Threespot Wrasse

Thicklip Wrasse

Bluespine Unicornfish with a Dusky Butterflyfish in front.

Dischistodus species, these often swim out and bite you as you swim through their territory. It doesn't hurt.

Giant Clam

There were Black Noddies in every tree on the island preparing nests. They chattered and fussed continuously. The females sat in their selected place while the males brought leaves and bits of seaweed to them. If the material was deemed suitable it would be cemented into place with poo. Common Noddies were nesting on the ground in different areas, particularly at either end of the runway. This proves a fatal choice for some. Bridled Terns made their simple scrape nests between the pieces of coral lining the paths. Roseate Terns were starting to colour up for breeding and Crested Terns could be seen nesting in a paddock beside the runway. I only saw one Lesser-crested Tern. There were also some black-naped Terns in breeding plumage. Many of the sea birds had just begun to lay eggs but three pairs of Red-tailed Tropicbirds already had chicks. Mick

On the Wing

Lesser-cresred Tern. Shot with a 100mm macro lens and needing a large crop.

A bridled Tern regurgitates some seafood to impress a potential mate. From what I remember of my courting days, this never worked for me.

Bridled Tern

What male Black Noddies do in breeding season.

Black-naped Tern

Common Noddy

Red-tailed Tropicbird feeding its new chick. A new bird for me.

The little fluff ball is left on its own while the parents hunt.

A very handsome Roseate Tern.

Roseate Tern

Black Noddy

Female Lesser Frigatebird.

Male Lesser Frigatebird

Female Great Frigatebird

Male Great Frigatebird.

Capricorn Silvereye

Common Noddies nesting at the end of the runway.

 On the Beach
 

Only metres from our room.

Waiting for sunset drinks on the western side of the island.

These colourful crabs are hard to photograph as they scuttle away at the slightest movement.

Coral is fused into slabs of rock along the beach.

The beach is a bit rough in places and not recommended for bare feet.

Wandering Tattler on the waters edge.

In the Shallows

Reef walking is a popular activity on LEI so we gave it a shot on our last morning. There is a designated area for this in the lagoon where the coral is more thinly dispersed. It still takes lots of concentration to avoid stepping on something living particularly one the many Sea Cucumbers. There was evidence that some walkers were not so careful. We saw some interesting creatures but both agreed that snorkeling is a far superior way to explore this beautiful habitat. Mick

Blacktip Reef Shark cruising the shallows.

Starfish

Clam at low tide.

Staghorn Coral close up.

A Painted Moray (I think) seen from the beach.

Leopard Sea Cucumber

Sea Urchin

On the Water

We took our complimentary glass bottom boat/snorkeling trip to the western side of the island on a day that was a bit choppier than we would have liked. The water is deeper than the lagoon and there are bommies here that are popular with Manta Rays, turtles and other large reef dwellers as cleaning stations. Here they stop above the bommie while small fish remove parasites and other unwanted growths. A Manta Ray was seen by one of the staff but Christie and I missed it. Some of the coral in this part of the reef had been damaged recently by Cyclone Debbie.

It was only a short snorkel but I was at last able to photograph a turtle in the water. We saw a couple of individuals on this swim. The water wasn't as clear as it would have been on a calm day but we still enjoyed the experience. Mick

It was a bit rough the day we went out on the glass bottom/dive boat. This was taken the next day when it was a bit worse.

There were some different species of those in the lagoon like this Lined Surgeonfish.

This was the highlight of my trip, swimming with a Green Turtle. Note: not a bird, am I cured?!

Green Sea Turtle

On Reflection

Eastern Reef Egrets

Some of the highlights of this trip were:

• seeing the first turtle nesting for the season - we didn't see the turtle laying her eggs, but she was still up on the beach in the morning after nesting in the sand. She finally made her way back to the ocean during the morning.
• snorkelling with hawksbill turtles which are listed as critically endangered, There were two in the lagoom one afternoon, but Mick wasn't able to get a photo as the camera battery chose that moment to die!
• seeing the Wedge-tailed shearwater up close on the night walk. Again, it was impossible to photograph this one, but we did get a good look
• watching the sun set over the ocean on the western side of the island 
• seeing turtles up close in the lagoon
• snorkelling on the western side of the island - although this was more challenging than in the lagoon, it was totally worth doing this as part of the glass bottom boat tour.

Sunrise over the lagoon on our last day.

Prior to our arrival the weather had been rainy but we were lucky to have mostly clear skies each day with just a couple of showers overnight some nights. We had been warned that the water might be too cold to swim but we found the 24-26°C to be just perfect. The days were quite warm (hot at times) but nothing that would stop us from getting involved in island life. Lady Elliot Island (Lady E to locals) is now definitely on our list of favourite places.

The staff were all very friendly and helpful. That they always seemed to be genuinely happy is no surprise given their amazing work place. I've often heard the expression 'teeming with life' but until our visit to LEI had not experienced a place that truly is. Even so, I feel we only scratched the surface. I hope we can return in the future to swim with turtles once again. Mick