Lady Musgrave Island

What a fantastic day. The indigenous name for Lady Musgrave Island is Wallaginji , meaning beautiful reef, and it certainly is.

Our day started with a chilly two hour boat trip from the Town of 1770.

On the way we saw humpback whales. Not great photos I know, but lots of fun to watch them.

The Lagoon

Our boat anchored in the lagoon for the day where lunch and morning & afternoon tea were served. The lagoon is enormous, approx 10 nautical miles in circumference (18 kilometres) and 7 – 10 metres in depth making it accessible by boat regardless of the tide.

It is uncertain if the channel through the reef into the lagoon is natural or man made. One story is that it was made during WW1 to give safe anchorage for the Australian and U.S. navies.

Snorkelling

Wow, so many fish and turtles and lots of coral. The water was beautifully blue and clear, and although the day was cool, the water temperature was a lot warmer than the air temp. The numerous coral bommies (bommies are columns of coral) make it a fantastic place to snorkel. We swam from one bommie to the next and along the edge of the reef for quite a distance.

The tour company was 1770Reef and had a look out from the top deck keeping count of all the snorkelers. They also had a rubber dingy available to get anyone that signalled for assistance, making our time in the water very relaxed and enjoyable.

Island Tour

We went on an island tour. There are no amenities on the island. A small number of camp sites are available but you have to bring in all your supplies including drinking water. There is no power or internet available. However there is one drop toilet. Lady Musgrave Island is one of 10 coral cays making up The Capricornia Cays National Park along the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Cays have no soil and are made up of broken coral and bird droppings. Birds that nest on the island include black noddies and wedge-tailed shearwaters , also known as Mutton Birds, and brown boobies . Apparently in summer the noise can be quite deafening, probably not the best time to go camping.

The beach looks like sand from a distance but is broken coral. Difficult to walk on and sharp.

The glass bottom boat took us to and from the island.

Glass Bottom Boat

We saw more turtles than I have ever seen at one time. In one area there were three together; it was amazing. Sadly our photos of them didn’t turn out.