We took off from the tarmac of Gladstone airport, as opposed to the water like I had imagined. ‘Have you ever flown a plane?’ Vance asked me from the pilots seat as I stared between the double steering wheel and pedals, intimidated by the amount of buttons that crowded the dash. ‘Would you like too?’. My hands were on the wheel as Vance directed me on how to fly. By slowly pulling the wheel back, the plane climbed up before levelling back out as I slowly pushed the wheel forward. A slight pull to the right put us back in line, en-route to Heron Island.
It’s not every day that you get to fly in a seaplane – we looked at this expensive option as a once in a life time opportunity, because how often does travel by seaplane actually come up? And honestly, there is no better way to arrive at the Great Barrier Reef.
The colour of the water changed drastically as we left the views of Gladstone’s coastline coloured in red by the aluminium refineries and dark coloured ocean laced with what appeared to be oil slicks, to the most clear turquoise coloured water as we grew closer to this island paradise on the Great Barrier Reef.
The outline of the beautiful coral as we passed Masthead Reef and Wistari Reef soon made you realise why the Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s top destinations, if not the worlds. Heron Island is a natural coral cay located 89 km off the coast of Queensland, in the southern Great Barrier Reef. The resort is on the Great Barrier Reef itself meaning you can snorkel straight from the beach, unlike the Whitsundays coast (like Hamilton Island) where you need to catch a boat out to explore the biggest living reef in the world. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and is a living reef so enormous, it can be seen from space.
Our pilot pointed out turtles, sharks and rays swimming along the reef as we came closer to landing on the blue lagoon-like water that surrounded Heron Island. The landing was surprisingly smooth, and as the seaplanes engine chugged slowly into shore, an Eagle Ray flew across the waters surface, which can be a rare sight to see. Heron island staff greeted us on the beach where our luggage was traded in for arrival drinks. It wasn’t long before our swimmers were on and we dived into the insanely beautiful water that lapped the islands shore.
Heron Island is an animal lovers paradise! There is an abundance of beautiful sea life including turtles, reef sharks and rays. The island is also home to a massive variety of birds, who have made Heron Island their nesting & breeding sanctuary. I don’t think anything can prepare you for the birds on the island – their chirps and song sing in an uncoordinated rhythm that runs throughout the day and night, which I thought was some-what soothing. I would suggest, however, to pack a large hat or umbrella with you – the birds nest above the footpath, resulting in the footpath and most tourist being covered in white bird poo – nature at its finest!
The turtles bought us here!
Our trip was booked on a whim, 8 days out of our departure flight from Sydney and there was one main reason for this impulse trip – hatching baby turtles!!! We had also never been to the Great Barrier Reef and thought it was a perfect opportunity to enjoy both at once.
Turtle time varies each season. Female turtles generally nest between November to March and baby turtles hatch from January to early May. There are two types of turtles found on Heron Island; the Green Sea & Loggerhead turtles.
You can read more about the turtles on my blog here.
Heron Island Activities
* Prices as of Feb 2016
Great Barrier Reef Snorkel Boat Trip ($50 pp) Our snorkelling adventure started at the Blue Pool with a turtle greeting us at the surface. We drifted with the current, exploring the beautiful coral whilst swimming amongst fish, sharks and turtles. The coral was beautiful! Visibility wasn’t the best as we noticed the water was quite cloudy when you were underneath, even though it was so clear and blue from above!
Great Barrier Reef Dive Tours ($75 pp) The dive tours head out on the same boat as the snorkel trip.
Snorkelling straight from the beach (Free!) Preferred snorkelling spots do change each day depending on the tide but our favourite spot during our stay was in front of Baillies Bar, around the wooden post that sits in the water. Another spot is under the jetty, on your way out to the wreck where majority of the rays, fish and sharks seemed to love hanging out. The best time to snorkel is 4 hours around the high-tide, 2 hours before and 2 hours after. Dive and snorkel equipment is available to hire on the island.
Semi-submarine ($50 pp – 1 hour)
Junior Rangers Program ($20 per child aged between 7 – 12 years old)
Sunset Wine & Cheese Cruise ($60 pp – 1 hour)
Kayak and SUP hire ($50 per hour)
Guided Fishing Trip ($115 pp – 3 hours) Whatever you catch is taken back to the restaurants kitchen for them to cook up fresh for your dinner, with chips and salad on the side all included in the price.
Complimentary activities including turtle watching & turtle talks (in turtle season), interpretative reef walks and reef creature talks, education slide shows, snorkelling lessons & some night activities. The island also has a pool, spa & research station.
Places to eat
Shearwater Restaurant for breakfast buffet, lunch and dinner menu.
Baillie’s Bar for pizza and drinks
Resort shop for light snacks and souvenirs
How to get there
Australia by Seaplane is hands down the best mode of transport to the island. If you can only afford the seaplane in one direction, make it on your way there – there’ll be no better entrance and introduction to the Great Barrier Reef !
The seaplane takes off from Gladstone and cost $338 pp one way. The flight takes roughly 20 minutes and is very scenic! I really recommend this option!
The Ferry is the other mode of transport. The price is $60 pp one way and the trip takes 2 hours. It’s not the most scenic trip, and I do recommend packing sea sick tablets if you suffer from motion or sea sickness as it can be a really rough ride! We were told the ferry is best going from Heron Island back to Gladstone as you are running with the current if you do chose to do the seaplane one way.
Where to stay
There is only one resort on the island but they offer a wide range of accommodation options that will obviously suit everyone differently.
We had been to tropical islands before and knew to expect the basics – yes there was no TV and no Internet but I was looking forward to that. A chance to disconnect and completely unwind, relax and enjoy what nature has to offer.
With this, we chose to go with the cheapest room option; the turtle room. Our room was great! A nice little cabin and a comfy bed, large ensuite and interrupted water views from the window. We were one row back from the beach. I managed to find a great deal; 25% off each night room rate which bought it to $240 per night including an all-you-can-eat breakfast for both of us!
Does the island take cash only?
This is one thing I was a little unsure on. We booked directly through the Heron Island website who is now owned and operated by an American company called Dellaware North. They don’t take any payments for your holiday until the end, including the seaplane. You can take both cash and card with you however there is no ATM and most transactions will be added to your room bill and settled at the end so you can chose to go cashless! Perfect!
It was the turtles that bought us to Heron Island. It is such an amazing experience that every animal lover should experience in their life!
ONLY HAPPY WHEN I TRAVEL 