Set on the southern rim of the Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave Island is a 14-hectare vegetated coral cay populated with nesting sea turtles and an impressive number of sea birds. The surrounding 1192 hectares of reef is considered to have some of the best snorkelling in the southern Great Barrier Reef. All of this makes the vomit-inducing boat ride worthwhile.
I manage to keep my breakfast down, despite the sound of retching reverberating around the boat and, thankfully, we are soon in the shelter and tranquility of the reef that is bizarrely in the middle of the ocean. I board a glass bottom boat to see more of the turquoise-blue coral lagoon as we motor across to the secluded and uninhabited Lady Musgrave Island.
After a short hike along the sugary white coral sands, I return to the main boat to quickly snaffle some lunch and don my snorkelling gear. I spend the next few hours exploring the coral gardens, bommies and abundant marine life, including my first swim with sea turtles.
The ride back is, thankfully, more sedate and I then drive a few kilometres out of the Town of 1770 to the large eucalypt-forest retreat of Southern Cross for a chilled evening.
Distance: 243.6km
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