Imagine secluded white sandy beaches, stunning blue water and raw natural beauty that’s only a few hours drive from Brisbane… sounds too good to be true, right? That’s what we thought when we visited Lady Musgrave Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
“I would like to welcome you to your own David Attenborough documentary. This place is wild. It’s natural and it’s probably unlike anything else that you’ve ever seen before. There’s no construction and no inhabitants. It’s just nature at its absolute best.” That’s what our guide told us, as we stepped onto the sandy, coral-encrusted shores of the Island.
With no structures, it’s a wild paradise and its native inhabitants are so friendly, that you can get face to face with them – the Noddy Turns are the islands bird population, with 30,000 calling this place home.
“They nod at each other. So rather than the wink they go for the head nothing, it seems to work. The beauty of this being a protected area is that they know that we’re not a threat to them. We can get up really close.”
On return to the mothership, we’re guided over the stunning coral reef that is bursting with colour and wildlife – hard plate corals, fish, a shy blacktip reef shark and the occasional turtle making an appearance. All makes you appreciate what we’ve got in our own backyard… Not bad, for a couple of hours from Brisbane.
The Lady Musgrave Island Experience departs from Bundaberg daily, tickets are available from their website. If you are looking for somewhere to stay, check out Zen Beach Retreat in Bargara.
