I’ve been wanting to snorkel the Lady Elliot reef for a long time. I finally have!
It’s such an exposed island with little shelter and only two public moorings, so it’s really not an overnight stop. Anchoring is difficult due to the depths, but its really about picking a day that’s calm with little swell and if there is wind, that it has an E in it.
Lady Elliot Island is 70 nm from the Bundy River and 50 nm from Rooney Point, the northern tip of K’gari (Fraser) Island. It’s nearest anchorage is the Lady Musgrave lagoon which is 20 nm away.
Our passaging south from Great Keppel Island.
Last year, we dropped by Lady Elliot after leaving Lady Musgrave with our friends on Waterfront. We thought it was a calm enough day, till we stopped by Lady Elliot. It was choppy and the small amount of swell made for very messy seas. We gave up and detoured straight to the Bundy River.
So, with the gentle NE wind forecast, a calm sea and what would be a low tide on arrival, we thought we’d give it another shot. It was to be only a few hours of snorkeling, followed by a sail south past K’gari Island arriving late in the Sandy Straits. A perfect plan!
And it worked!
It was a quick visit and one I can now draw on for future visits. I snorkeled the trail in front of the resort, but I found the water clarity poor, no colour with so much damaged coral and it was quite deep, even at low tide. Once I moved further out, the coral was less damaged but once again, it was quite deep. I did manage to take a few pics which clearly show the rubbled background. Not the colour I found at Lady Musgrave.
I did spend some time with this Green Sea Turtle while the Surgeonfish did their thing. The Surgeonfish are nibbling on the parasites and skin of the turtle, cleaning it. The fish get dinner and the turtle a free clean! The turtle seemed to be in a trance while all this was happening.
I also snorkeling briefly on the southern end of the island, out of what little breeze there was. It was much shallower and clearer.
I even spotted a favourite fish of mine, a Clown Triggerfish. I first saw these in New Caledonia in 2017. I’ve never seen them here on the Queensland coast. Not because they aren’t in Australian waters, simply because they tend to be in deeper water and quite uncommon. They are such a stunning fish. Those big white spots on the black body, along with the intricate patterns on the tail, back and lips, make it a striking fish. These aren’t wonderful photos as the fish was way faster than me and a tad to deep, but nevertheless I was pleased to spot this favourite.
This was just a taste of the snorkeling on offer at Lady Elliot I’m sure and I’m pleased I snuck it in as it will help with any future visits.
It was time to sail south to the Sandy Straits where we will be sitting out a rather strong SE blow that is coming and for several days. I’ll have plenty of photo sorting to do … and … sleep to catch up on. I’ve counted five “stupid o’clock” getups (5 am or earlier) out of the last ten days. Ouch!
Our thoughts have been with our three friends, boats sailing back to Australia from Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Fiji. Bundaberg, Brisbane and Southport were their destinations. Fortunately they all left before Cyclone Lola (earliest recorded cyclone) impacted in the Pacific and before our coastal blow hit. In fact, Waterfront crossed our path on the way to Bundy just south of Lady Elliot as we departed for the Straits.
Well done Waterfront, Nautilus and Roam (with Crazy’s Darren on board).
So here we are in Pelican Bay, the Sandy Straits waiting to cross the Wide Bay Bar. It has been a wild few days of blustering strong winds. We’ve never seen 38 knots on our wind gauge at anchor before (or at sea for that matter). But, we have been comfortable and we even managed to squeeze in a few walks in the mornings with Reeflection. The Wide Bay Bar was looking awfully treacherous!
This is a screen grab of Willy Weather’s reading at our nearby location, Double Island Point. You can see its reading 53 knots (that’s nearly 100 kph) with gusts recorded at 61 knots (112 kph) … it was blowing hard on the Fraser coast! While our highest reading was “only” 38 knots (70 kph) it was a wild few days.
Yes we were sitting out a big blow in Pelican Bay but its always more fun in company. We met up with Reeflection in Gladstone and Lady Musgrave. We then sailed the Straits together and sat out the weather. There’s always a bright side!
Next stop Mooloolaba, then its winding up The Bossa’s season in The Broadwater on the Gold Coast.
Glad you got to snorkel at Lady Elliot. Great mix of photos even with the depth. It is always a bit sad to talk of last snorkels for the season. We hope we can fit in a few more at the Swain Reefs and at Musgrave where we will shelter for the blow!
Wondered where you might come in. Hope find Lady Musgrave as active in the water as we did, after the blow perhaps.
Thanks Amanda! Nice finish to the season.
Yes, I’m always keen for that last snorkel which does finish our season on the up side.