Heron Island

Heron Island is a coral cay of about seventeen hectares sitting on the edge of a large reef platform in the Capricornia Cays, and its main quality is proximity: the reef begins at the beach, so snorkelling straight off the sand reaches coral bommies, turtles, reef sharks and rays without a boat. The island holds a resort and the University of Queensland's research station, which has worked here since 1951 and made this one of the most studied reef sites in the world. Green and loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches from November, hatching from January, and tens of thousands of black noddies and shearwaters breed in the pisonia forest, which is noisy day and night.

History

There is no evidence of Aboriginal presence on the island, more than 65 kilometres from the mainland, and it was found on 12 January 1843 by a Royal Navy survey of HMS Fly and the cutter Bramble under Captain Francis Blackwood, whose lieutenant Charles Bampfield Yule named it. It was first lived on early in the 20th century, when a turtle cannery tried and failed to profit from the green turtles, and in 1932 Captain Christian Poulsen, who brought fishing parties to the reef, saw its promise for tourism and bought the lease in 1936 for £290; the whole island was declared a national park on 11 September 1943 (Wikipedia, Heron Island - Queensland).

What you'll find

• The shore reef - coral, turtles and rays snorkelled directly from the beach.
• The nesting turtles - green and loggerhead turtles laying and hatching in summer.
• The seabird colonies - noddies and shearwaters filling the pisonia forest.
• The research station - one of the longest-running reef research sites in the world.

When to go

Year-round for diving, with the clearest water from August to November; turtles nest from November to March, and whales pass from June to October. Summer brings heat, humidity and the loudest seabird colonies.

Before you go

There are no day trips; visitors stay at the resort or research station, both expensive. The ferry crossing is two hours and can be rough. Shearwaters call through the night in summer and the noise keeps some people awake. Coral bleaching has affected reefs in the region in recent years.

Nearby

Gladstone is the departure port; Wilson and Masthead Islands lie nearby in the same group.

Key facts