Lizard Island

Lizard Island lies about two hundred and forty kilometres north of Cairns, close to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, a granite island of a thousand hectares with twenty-four beaches and a fringing lagoon. James Cook climbed its highest point in 1770, now called Cooks Look, to find a way out through the reef after the Endeavour ran aground. The Australian Museum's Lizard Island Research Station has operated here since 1973 and has produced a large body of reef science. Offshore, the Cod Hole is one of the best-known dive sites in Australia, where large potato cod approach divers. Access is by air only, to a luxury resort, the research station or a small campground.

History

People were living on the island 6,500 to 5,800 years ago, making it the earliest offshore island known to have been occupied on the northern Great Barrier Reef, and pottery made here from local materials is more than 1,800 years old. Its traditional owners, the Dingaal people, call it Jiigurru; in their Dreamtime the island group is a stingray, Lizard Island its body and the smaller islands its tail, and it was long a sacred place for ceremony and trade. James Cook passed on 12 August 1770, named it for the lizards that seemed to be its only land animals, and climbed the summit - now Cook's Look - to find a way out through the reefs. By the 1840s trepang fishermen were working its waters for the Asian market (Wikipedia, Lizard Island).

The landscape

• Cooks Look - the summit Cook climbed to find a passage through the reef.
• The Cod Hole - the dive site where potato cod approach divers.
• The lagoon and beaches - twenty-four beaches with reef close inshore.
• The research station - one of the longest-running reef science bases.

When to go

April to November for the best weather and water clarity; the wet season brings cyclone risk, and the island was heavily damaged in 2014 and 2015 storms. Diving is best from August to November. Access depends entirely on flights.

What to expect

There is no ferry and no cheap way in; flights are expensive and the resort is one of the priciest in Australia. Camping permits are very limited and campers must be entirely self-sufficient. Coral in the area has suffered significant bleaching in recent years.

Nearby

Cooktown lies southwest on the mainland; the outer reef is close offshore.

Key facts