Reef retreat
Sleep under the stars at a new pontoon right on the southern Great Barrier Reef
The island looms on the horizon surrounded by a ring of turquoise. Yachts are dotted around, their owners having cottoned on to one of Queensland’s best kept secrets – Lady Musgrave Island.
New in September this year, the Lady Musgrave HQ pontoon is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the snorkelling and diving on offer, and is a short boat trip from the island itself.
And at the end of the day, you don’t have to leave. Lady Musgrave Experience offers overnight accommodation for 20 people in reef-view canopy beds on the upper deck, and 20 people in a dorm setting in the underwater observatory.
It’s the brainchild of luxury charter cruise veteran Brett Lakey, who had a dream to share the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef with the world.
The end result is an exclusive experience to get up close to fascinating marine life and sleep under the stars, without compromising on luxury.
Looking out from the upper deck you can see turtles, manta rays and more as you sip on a glass of champagne and nosh on gourmet catering, sourced from local producers. The dorm-style beds in the underwater observatory are perfect for groups and a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The pristine water clarity and an abundance of marine life make Lady Musgrave HQ a prime spot for snorkelling.
Snorkellers are encouraged to venture into the “aquarium” – a naturally occurring shallow lagoon surrounded by coral.
As I bring my head above water, I hear the sounds of my fellow travellers also coming up for air, proudly exclaiming to have seen a turtle or “Nemo” himself. It is a truly unforgettable experience.
The island, off Bundaberg, a four-hour drive north of Brisbane, is the region’s only coral island – and measures less than 20ha. Camping is the only way to stay there but Lady Musgrave Experience does short trips from the pontoon in its glass-bottom boat. You can take a guided tour of the island, which is home to abundant bird life and is a nesting ground for green sea turtles. Night walks are also offered if you opt to stay on Lady Musgrave HQ, showcasing the turtle highway in nesting and hatching season.
A day trip or overnight stay with Lady Musgrave Experience can also be paired with one of Queensland’s most enduring tourism experiences – turtle nesting at Mon Repos, about 15 minutes east of Bundaberg.
From November to January, Queensland Parks and Wildlife rangers take groups on to the beach on turtle encounter tours to see endangered loggerhead turtles lay their eggs, before they hatch between January and March.
The new Gidji cafe at the Mon Repos Turtle Centre offers bush tucker-inspired cuisine using local ingredients, with crocodile burgers, Kangaroo meatballs and barramundi on the menu. The cafe, which serves as a training facility for young Indigenous workers, also offers salad wraps and delicious scones and brownies, which you can sample before watching the turtles
lumber up the beach to lay their eggs. It’s a majestic sight – especially if you’re lucky enough to see more than one. Groups of tourists huddle around in the dark in awe as the rangers educate them and protect the animals from anyone curious enough to get too close. On this night, we are blessed with half a dozen or so on the beach at the same time. It’s a wonderful way to spend a warm, summer night.