It must be almost exactly 6 years and one month since I was on LEI for my 13th Birthday. We spent 3 days there on that occasion and if I remember correctly, my sister and I were pooed on by nesting seabirds 9 times between us. But this time I came prepared; my hat (purchased at Woodford Festival and much loved by all who meet it) would act as a perfect shield from the launched missiles. All was going well until I nipped to the toilet cabin, thinking I would be outside for the briefest of moments and surely I could manage wuthout the hat for that long? But oh, no. The very second I stepped out from under my porch I was splatted. They suggest you look up before you walk anywhere, the only problem with this being that you stand a fairly good chance of getting a direct hit in the face. (In fact the hat wasn't all that helpful against attacks; I got hit on the shoulder too.)
It's beautiful though - over the coral cay the water is so turquoise and peaceful - lapping against the white coral shores and further out dropping off into deeper darker waters. The bottom temperature of the water was 28 degrees and the water was so clear, which made the dive pretty spectacular; just like being in the middle of Finding Nemo. I even saw a Dory :)
Also to be found were leopard sharks, white and black tipped reef sharks, manta rays, a HUGE Moray eel and of course plenty of turtles coming up to be scratched and play.
The Glass-Bottomed Boat wasn't so much glass-bottomed as metal-bottomed with a couple of glass panels. Nevertheless, the view was impecable - clear waters for 15m with sharks lounging on the bottom, schools of giant fish drifting by, giant schools of little fish drifting by - there is so much down there that you never even think about. I spent some time observing a Manta Ray who was enjoying a clean from some little blue fish. There's a reason why it's said that Lady Elliot Island has some of the best snorkelling in the world.
The aeroplane which transports you to the island is brilliant. It's diddy - like a toy plane, and has a little propeller fuelled by a little engine on each side. It's a wonder they can get it to stay up in the air! The runway on LEI is the diameter of the island and you can walk it in about 5-10 minutes. This is good for getting around the island (you can walk around the entire circumference in about 40 mins) but as you're landing, it's always a bit of an uncertainty as to whether you'll actually stop before you fall off the edge of the island into the sea...
And now I'm back from both Lady Elliot and from Hervey Bay, sad though it is. It really was beginning to feel comfortable - if not homely. Not to mention I made two friends during my time there that I'll never forget. So for now I'm back to the planning game - preparing for the really independent part of my trip. On the 4th February I'll be flying to New Zealand to spend a month on the Kiwi Experience Zephyr tour which I'm looking forward to immesely. From there I'll be flying our to Adelaide then to Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and back up to the Sunshine Coast. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!
It's beautiful though - over the coral cay the water is so turquoise and peaceful - lapping against the white coral shores and further out dropping off into deeper darker waters. The bottom temperature of the water was 28 degrees and the water was so clear, which made the dive pretty spectacular; just like being in the middle of Finding Nemo. I even saw a Dory :)
Also to be found were leopard sharks, white and black tipped reef sharks, manta rays, a HUGE Moray eel and of course plenty of turtles coming up to be scratched and play.
The Glass-Bottomed Boat wasn't so much glass-bottomed as metal-bottomed with a couple of glass panels. Nevertheless, the view was impecable - clear waters for 15m with sharks lounging on the bottom, schools of giant fish drifting by, giant schools of little fish drifting by - there is so much down there that you never even think about. I spent some time observing a Manta Ray who was enjoying a clean from some little blue fish. There's a reason why it's said that Lady Elliot Island has some of the best snorkelling in the world.
The aeroplane which transports you to the island is brilliant. It's diddy - like a toy plane, and has a little propeller fuelled by a little engine on each side. It's a wonder they can get it to stay up in the air! The runway on LEI is the diameter of the island and you can walk it in about 5-10 minutes. This is good for getting around the island (you can walk around the entire circumference in about 40 mins) but as you're landing, it's always a bit of an uncertainty as to whether you'll actually stop before you fall off the edge of the island into the sea...
And now I'm back from both Lady Elliot and from Hervey Bay, sad though it is. It really was beginning to feel comfortable - if not homely. Not to mention I made two friends during my time there that I'll never forget. So for now I'm back to the planning game - preparing for the really independent part of my trip. On the 4th February I'll be flying to New Zealand to spend a month on the Kiwi Experience Zephyr tour which I'm looking forward to immesely. From there I'll be flying our to Adelaide then to Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane and back up to the Sunshine Coast. I'm exhausted just thinking about it!
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