Compare Heron To Lady Elliot Island Scuba Diving
Which Island On Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Best For Scuba Dive?
May 7, 2009
Lady Elliot Island and Heron Island offer excellent coral reef scuba diving, with divers travelling around the world for a scuba holiday at both spots.
These islands are two of only three true coral cays on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef that have resorts. The other is Green Island off Cairns in North Queensland.
Both islands come within the protection of the Great Barrier Reef Marine National Park.
Price is the first notable difference. Heron is more expensive, but offers more.
Heron is a prettier island with its lush vegetation and pristine white sandy beaches.
Compare Coral Reef Scuba Diving On Lady Elliot Island and Heron Island
Heron uses a fleet of wide, spacious dive boats to get to sites around the Heron Reef and nearby Wistari Reef. The majority of diving at Lady Elliot is done off the shore as the reef drop-off is much closer. Some of the better sites require a boat trip.
Lady Elliot lacks has some fascinating sites that have been carved by nature. The Blowhole is a large hole extending down through the coral shelf and exiting in about 30 metres. Hero's Cave is a large cavern in the reef shelf. Heron Island doesn't have these spectacular coral formations.
Both islands have the usual fish life found around coral cays. Manta rays, though seen at Heron, are more prolific at Lady Elliot; in fact the resort uses them as their marketing symbol. On both islands visitors can experience the wonder of turtles nesting at night during the summer months.
Both islands have competent dive guides and offer the full range of equipment hire, including underwater cameras. The usual courses are available: open water certification and resort courses.
History Of Lady Elliot Island and Heron Island
The first lighthouse was built on Lady Elliot in 1872. Guano miners devastated much of the island's vegetation searching for lucrative bird droppings. Since the 1960s the island has slowly been revegetated. Three houses were erected for the lighthouse keepers families and it is rumoured that a ghost of a woman who died on the island in 1907 inhabits one of them.
Heron started as a turtle cannery in the early 1900's. A Captain Poulson started bringing tourists to the island around 1932. Gradually the turtle soup activities were replaced with tourists.
Other Facilities On Lady Elliot Island and Heron Island
Heron resort can be put in the international class, catering for every whim of the visitor. It has a large dining room with a la carte service, hairdressing salon, and an extensive infrastructure of buildings, bars, lounges. Accommodation varies from lodges with shared facilities to private units with views over the reef.
What Lady Elliot lacks in this high class offering it makes up in its 'homely' atmosphere. The meals are good and wholesome, and the facilities well appointed. The accommodation ranges from powered tents with wooden floor and frame, comfortable beds to units with ensuites. There are fewer people on Lady Elliot. Heron has the larger resort and also the University of Queensland's Marine Research station.
Lady Elliot has an airstrip for the short trip from Bundaberg. Transfers to Heron from Gladstone are via an expensive helicopter or fast catamaran.
Both islands cater for the non-divers. They have guided reef and island walks, fishing trips and excellent evening entertainment.
It is difficult to compare Heron Island and Lady Elliot for a scuba holiday. It really comes down to the individual requirements and the conditions at the time. Both offer some of the best coral reef scuba diving in the world.
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