Heron Island

Saturday–Tuesday November 5–8, 2005

Heron Island is a national park, two hours by boat off of the coast of Queensland. It is a small island—one can walk from one end to another in ten minutes. The island is home to many birds, one species of which—the Mutton bird, a type of shearwater—live in holes in the ground and makes loud and terrifying sounds at night. The Great Barrier Reef, of which Heron is a part, is a World Heritage site. This photo shows Shark Bay.

We took a walk from the beach our first afternoon there. At low tide, it is possible to walk a long ways out towards the reef and not have water up to the knee.

Taking pictures underwater is not as easy as it may sound. First, the fish are moving, and second, so is the person with the camera (no weight belt) and third, the coral is not moving. The light changes with depth, too. Can you spot the angel fish? 

Here is one other photograph that gives a good idea of the variety of corals on the Heron Island reef. The depth of water here was about seven feet. 

There were many birds at heron island, including herons, shearwaters (aka mutton birds) and these “noddy” terns.

The water color at Heron Island is worth noting. Here is a typical view of the water from the beach, which is itself bright white. Sunglasses are a must have item.

Heron Island is a coral cay about 30 miles off of the Queensland coast, on the Tropic of Capricorn. We flew from Cairns to Brisbane and then Gladstone, where we caught a boat for the Island.

Next—Brisbane and local animals.