Lady Musgrave Island, Southern Great Barrier Reef (Bundaberg Trip)

 

28 September 2020 – 295 454 – Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Experiences were our hosts today, for a trip to the only navigable lagoon and the second most southerly island of the Great Barrier Reef. https://ladymusgraveexperience.com.au/ We were allocated to the clownfish group, this meant our itinerary was snorkel, lunch, island walk, glass bottom boat and snorkel.

There were many many fish of many varieties and several turtles.  Drew took some cracking underwater photos – this is only our second trip with this camera and we are impressed.

Lady Musgrave Island is inhabited by an incredible number of birds. At this time of year White Capped Noddy Terns are there in numbers. These have a very interrelated life with the Pisonia trees on the island – neither would survive without the other.  There are also lots of burrows for the Wedge Tailed Shearwaters which nest below the surface. 

On the glass bottom boat tour we saw Green Turtles and the endangered Hawksbill Turtles.

On the way back to the mainland we talked to a family who were on their way back from six days camping on the island.  I think the noise of the birds and the constant rain of droppings would be too much for me!  For those with kayaks it would be great to explore the lagoon. 

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/capricornia-cays/camping/lady-musgrave-island

A fantastic but tiring day!

 

14 October - Wild Wildlife Day; Ningaloo Marine Park

14 October 2016 – 191 563

Wild Wildlife Day; Ningaloo Marine Park

We had a beautifully cool, if a little windy, night – the most comfortable overnight temperature we have had in a long time.  This morning we went to Mangrove Bay Birdhide and watched the birds come and go.
https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/mangrove-bay

Next up, was a Ningaloo Reef glass bottom boat tour – we saw a variety of coral types, as well as many different types of fish.
http://www.glassbottomboat.com.au/

When we finished this we were able to watch many, many turtles swimming near the boat ramp – I have never seen this many before.  Our next stop was the Jurabi Sanctuary Zone and turtle information centre; the turtles are mating at this time of year.
https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/jurabi-turtle-centre
http://www.ningalooturtles.org.au/jurabi.html

We also saw whales breaching off the shore.  Vlamingh Head gave us a great view over the Ningaloo Reef and we saw lots of whales playing – fantastic! https://www.australiascoralcoast.com/destination/exmouth/vlamingh-head-lighthouse

After lunch, we snorkelled in the drift zone at Turquoise Bay. https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/turquoise-bay https://www.australiascoralcoast.com/destination/exmouth/turquoise-bay I thought I saw a lot of fish yesterday, today I saw even more, particularly of the larger fish.  We saw convict surgeon fish, threadfin butterflyfish, blue-barred parrotfish, racoon butterflyfish, green-finned parrotfish, saddled butterflyfish, ring tailed surgeonfish, bluespot butterflyfish, humbug, green chromis, neon damsels, humbug dascyllis, brown lined puffer, white-barred triggerfish, green moon wrasse, scissorial sergent; as well as sea cucumbers, giant clam and lots of different types of coral. Yesterday we saw a turtle under a rock, today one swam within a metre of us – awesome!
https://www.australiascoralcoast.com/destination/ningaloo-reef/marine-park https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/ningaloo

Next we went back to the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse and had a picnic dinner while watching the sunset and the whales play.  Wow, what a day!
https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/cape-range