Lady Musgrave Island – Nature’s Aquarium

When you are in Australia you have to go to the Great Barrier Reef, therefore we headed toward the southern tip of the reef to a small town called 1770 (the landing place of Captain James Cook when he discovered Australia) to cruise out to Lady Musgrave Island to snorkel for the day.

We left the bay at 8:00 am for a 64 km cruise out to the Island where Jarrett and I sat at the very front of the boat for the entire 2 hour trip, hoping to see more wildlife along the way. About an hour into the cruise there was some commotion on the other side of the boat and as we looked over there was a dolphin jumping through the water in front of the boat!!! After loving dolphins for my entire life, this was an exciting moment – so exciting I nearly cried. As the dolphin leaped so gracefully I just didn’t want it to end. This was a great way to start the day!

Jackie looking for dolphins...

THE WATER

As we approached the Island the first thing you notice is the stunning colors of the water which changed from beautiful to stunning the closer you got to the reef, changing from a deep, vibrant blue to a bright aqua. Once the boat stopped near the Island, we looked down into 20 feet of water where you could see the bottom crystal clear and all the fish swimming about.

Lady Musgrave Island

THE SNORKELLING

Before getting ready to jump in the water, Jarrett was beaming with excitement and ready to see some sea turtle while I was a bit more reserved, I wasn’t sure how it was all going to work out for me (snorkelling has not worked out for me in the past). After getting geared up we leaped off the platform into a school of bright blue fish and after this hours past with our heads down and constantly pointing out hundreds of different fish, coral, stingrays, sharks (little guys), sea cucumbers, starfish, and of course SEA TURTLES! The coolest thing was that it look similar to my Dad’s old fish tank and I was able to point out all the fish that we had or looked at when I was a kid: yellow tangs, powder tangs, angel fish, clown fish, damsels, and the list goes on.

Fish in the aqua water

TURTLE TIME

After seeing colourful types of fish and coral all over the place, we headed for a specific piece of coral that is known as the cleaning station. Over hundreds of years sea turtles have come to a specific spot on the reef where they get their shells cleaned by little fish and the years of different visitors has worn a deep groove into the coral. As we approached the area we saw two big sea turtles hanging out and it was incredible! When they swim they do it with such peaceful grace, it is hard not to want to follow them for hours on end! By the end of the day we saw seven different turtles, all in different areas of the reef.

EXPERIENCE ON THE SPIRIT OF 1770

Overall our Great Barrier Reef experience was everything we wanted it to be! The company we travelled it, “Spirit of 1770″, made the day what everyone wanted. They provided transportation to the reef, gear to snorkel, tours of the island, glass boat tours, along with morning and afternoon tea, and lunch. Once you were at the reef you were free to take in any of the activated above at your own leisure which is something not a lot of tour companies do and was definitely something we liked about the company. In addition to snorkelling you also had the option to dive ($80) or fish on the reef ($20). With this, you really got to make the day what YOU wanted it to be!  Also, the people who worked there were awesome and super informative about the reef and surrounding area.

WHERE TO SEE THE GREAT BARRIER REEF?

When we were deliberating where we wanted to see the reef we were originally considering Cairns – the main place for most people to see the reef, but cost and time made it impossible for us to do it properly. After seeking local advice we were told of a great spot on the southern tip of the reef called 1770 which is not on most tourists radar. Closer to Brisbane, less crowded and described by people who have been to both locations as superior we figured it was a win-win situation for us: we got to see the reef and it didn’t break the bank.