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Destinations / Australia / Queensland / GBR / Southern Region

Heron Island Resort Heron Island Resort This region includes the Whitsundays and the Capricorn & Bunker Groups and is the largest region of the Great Barrier Reef. Water is more temperate, distance from land is further and diving options are fewer.

Heron Island is most famous for excellent dive sites and fantastic coral gardens and pinnacles. It is populated with reef fish, turtles, mantas, reef sharks and countless varieties of invertebrates can be found on the reefs as well. Diving is relatively shallow, the average depth is around 15-25 metres only. Snorkellers will enjoy the shallow reefs that come up to within 2 or 3 metres of the surface in places.

The beginner diver will be just as happy as the advanced diver in this area. We recommend those two islands for divers, who don't like to be on live aboard vessels. Diving is good all year round.

As a holiday destination, the Whitsunday Islands are an excellent place to go sailing or lie on the beach. We wouldn't recommend this as a diving destination.

The reefs are rich in marine/fish life, however, the health of reefs and visibility can be consistently disappointing for the experienced diver - especially for those people who travel long distances to get to Australia, we think that you should not compromise on the dive region.

Location

Capricorn & Bunker Group: The Capricorn Marine Park is the southernmost part of the Great Barrier Reef. It begins northeast of Bundaberg with Lady Elliot Island, and stretches about 140 kilometres north to include Heron Island and Lady Musgrave Island. There are over 300 coral cays in this region. Calm lagoons formed by the coral reefs that encircle them surround most of these cays.

Whitsunday Islands: The Whitsunday Islands are continental islands lying off the Queensland coast, east of Proserpine, between Mackay and Bowen. The region consists of 74 islands - only eight of which are inhabited - and most of them can only be explored by those prepared to sail these waters.

Logistics For Dive Excursions

Heron Island: Access to Heron Island is organised and convenient. Heron Island is accessed from Gladstone by Helicopter or fast catamaran (2 hours one way). Due to the distances involved in travelling ( and flying after diving restrictions ), we recommend spending at least 2 days and nights minimum, on either of the islands.

Lady Elliot Island: Lady Elliot Island is one of only three resorts on the Great Barrier Reef with direct flight access to the island airstrip. Seair offers exclusive flights from Hervey Bay and Bundaberg to Lady Elliot three times daily. The flight time is approximate 30-40 minutes. 4 and 7-night fly/dive packages are available.

Whitsunday Islands: Day trips around the Whitsunday Islands depart daily from Airlie Beach and its deep-water port, Shute Harbour. We do not take bookings for diving in this area, as diving opportunities are better and more consistent elsewhere.

What To See

Manta rays are regulars around Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island, along with resident loggerhead turtles, and visiting green turtles. You might see leopard sharks, moray eels and guitar sharks. Also nudibranchs and clown triggerfish make these areas enjoyable.

Types Of Diving

Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island offer the options of boat diving or shore diving. Shore Diving is from the beach across the reef flat, whilst boat diving is from purpose-built aluminium dive tenders. The diving on both islands is rather shallow with average depths of around 15-25 metres. Maximum depth on only a few dive sites would be around 28 meters. Both islands offer easy, relaxed diving.

Dive Sites

  • Blue Pools: On Heron Island, this site will surprise the diver with a great selection of fish in depths from 5m to 20m. Imperial angelfish are common and very friendly. Other resident fish include gropers, coral trout, batfish, lionfish, wrasse, parrotfish, surgeonfish and a variety of butterfly fish. Invertebrate life around the corals is impressive and a number of nudibranch and flatworm species are common. Here the reef forms a bowl shape, like a protected swimming pool, and offers an easy, relaxing dive.
  • Gropers Grovel: Gropers Grovel is off the northern end of Lady Elliot Island. Here numerous caves and ledges are found along the reef wall. Coral growth is extremely prolific - sea whips, gorgonians, sponges, ascidians, soft corals and tubastrea corals cover the reef. Pelagic fish are everywhere - barracuda, trevally, rainbow runners and fusilliers. A giant Queensland groper is occasionally seen in the area. Regulars are reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles and silvertip sharks that zoom in to check out divers and disappear just as quickly.

  • Marion Reef: Marion Reef is beyond the Continental shelf in the deep blue Coral Sea off the Whitsundays. It is a large circular atoll formation that is comprised of three small sandy cays located on the Eastern side: Marion, Long and Wansfell; and a number of smaller reefs on the west. With crystal clear water and visibility often exceeding 50m, you often feel you are suspended in air while diving against a wall dropping off into thousands of meters of water. Walls laced with massive gorgonian fans, bright soft corals, anemones, invertebrates and unusual tropical fish. This is a truly untouched underwater oasis.

Seasonal Events

  • Humpback Whales: They frequent the area from June to October (keep an ear tuned in for their 'whalesong' whilst you are diving).
  • Manta Rays: Seen regularly, particularly during the plankton blooms in summer months (Dec-Feb)
  • Turtles: Very common from late October to late February, as they arrive to lay their eggs and the rare sight of diving of diving with hundreds of newly hatched baby turtles can sometimes be experienced mid-January to April.

Dive Operators

Accommodation and Tours

Accommodation and tour options, and general destination information, are also available for the adjacent mainland region from the Whitsundays south to Brisbane.

 
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