the Travel Enthusiast
- 03 Oct
The most amazing islands in the Great Barrier Reef
Our planet has many wonders, some above the ground, some under it, and some other covered under the blue blanket of the ocean. The Great Barrier Reef is one of these wonders that lie at the bottom of the ocean, but as opposed to long forgotten treasures that sunk centuries ago, the Reef is alive, feeding, breathing and growing.The Great Barrier Reef was built by tiny living corals that haven’t only created a magical underwater landscape, but also a entire islands that turned into tropical paradises. If you want to see the Great Barrier Reef for whatever reason (marine biology, scuba diving, sheer curiosity) here are the most amazing islands in the Great Barrier Reef that will be excellent bases for exploration.
Hamilton Island
Hamilton Island, photo Corey Butler on Flickr
Hamilton Island is the most populous island in the Whitsunday Island, and one of the most popular holiday resorts in the Queensland. There are lots of different hotels, resorts, shops and restaurants on the island, which makes it great for lazy travelers, but more active tourists can go treking, catch their own fish for dinner, scuba dive or snorkel.
Hook Island
Hook island is the second largest in the Whitsunday archipelago, but it is much less crowded then the more popular Hamilton. The accommodation options on Hook are rather meager but decently priced, and most of the island can be enjoyed in its natural state, so Hook’s great for hiking, trekking and of course, snorkeling (although the underwater observatory might disappoint a bit).
Lady Elliot Island
Lady Elliot Island, photo by Greg Schechter on Flickr
Lady Elliot is the southernmost inhabited island in the Great Barrier Reef, which was named after a stranded boat, and then almost completely stripped of vegetation due to guano mining.
But since the 50’s, the fortunes of the island turned for the better, and today it is a wildlife and vegetation sanctuary and an amazing ecotourism destination.
Heron Island
Heron Island has only one resort, and an off-limits research station occupies part of the island, but the rest was left in its natural state, which should work to convince anyone who’s interested in incredibly lush vegetation and seeing hundreds of bird species.
Come to the island in November to March to see the loggerhead turtles nest on the beach, and January to April to see the hatchlings scurry down the beach.
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travel search by Travelgrove (get this widget)Green Island
Green Island, photo by Eishin on Flickr
Green Island is one of the oldest coral cays in the Reef, and unique in the world because it has both a reef environment and a rainforest environment.
There’s a glass bottomed boat and and underwater observatory if you want to see the corals, but for even more impressive adventures try snorkeling and scuba diving.
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