Lizard Island - somewhere different

I have never heard of Lizard Island but here we are off the far North Coast of Queensland, 150 km north of Cairns and within the barrier reef. This place is only accessible by light aircraft or by ship /boat. There's a luxury resort on the island but at over $3,000 a night it's not somewhere we are ever likely to stay. It is a beautiful place, sandy white beaches, clear blue sea and tropical vegetation.

It's a wet landing of course, and we have the option of a guided walk to the other side of the island to somewhere called Blue lagoon, passed an airstrip. We have a few hours here so we decide we might as well walk. The path winds through shade with pandanas palms in the center of the island indicating fresh water, they are very large. It's an easy walk but it is hot. We get to the airstrip and begin walking along the side of it, it seems like it's endless and it's hot. There is no shade here and the path is tough walking. About 2/3 of the way along and a good hour into the walk I decide I have had enough. I think I can live without seeing the Blue lagoon. The walk back is much easier. I can hear birds but they are impossible to see. There are many different varieties well hidden in the reasonably dense vegetation although the island is not particularly fertile, it's a small place in the middle of the ocean with a coral reef on one side. I forgot my binoculars and have resolved to buy some from the boutique onboard, very expensive but very good quality.

We thought the snorkeling would be reasonably close to the shore and we have worn our reef shoes but not carried fins. This was a mistake, the reef is quite a way offshore which means we need to swim there, there is a bit of a current but it's not too bad. After the warm waters we had been swimming in over the last two weeks it was very pleasant to slip into the cool water here. The swim to the reef was well worth the effort, we saw giant clam shells and very large fish, varieties we haven't seen before. Different corals, different shapes, colors and sizes I could see quite a way down which meant less chance of a coral cut. A brilliant snorkel, I just regret not bringing the fins it was such an effort to get to the reef. This area has suffered tremendously from coral bleaching and where we snorkelled is probably the main part of the reef that is left and it isn't a very big area. The swim back to shore was very strenuous because of the current, I found myself going sideways rather than straight ahead. I would so like to have spent more time out there.

Another gala dinner which means we will meet new people. There are more English than French speaking passengers on this trip, quite a few are German. There is also a small party of Taiwanese which is nice given one of the naturalists is from TaiwanRead more