Heron is a 2 hour boat trip from Gladstone, and has no phone reception. It also has no television and no keys for the rooms. The slightly disingenuous reasoning for the latter was that there are no day trippers - so there are only guests, staff, and researchers on the island. Therefore there are no thieves. Hmmm.
We were very pleased with our room, which was several times the size of our van, but there was no denying the bathroom was decidedly shabby, with a badly cracked basin. It was a pleasant and comfortable room, which we enjoyed.
The island is surrounded by coral reef and we enjoyed snorkeling off the beach at high tide. It was a bit chilly so we were pleased we had bought Ben a wetsuit, and we hired wetsuits for ourselves.
One day we braved strong winds and currents to snorkel out to the wreck near the jetty to see the sharks and rays. It was a bit daunting seeing reef sharks as long as you are, even knowing they are harmless. We had lovely views of a turtle, and a huge variety of fish.
At low tide we investigated other activities, such as the excellent tour of the research facility and of course, walking around the island. We also had plenty of time to read our books.
Everyone gathers at Bailey's Bar to watch the sunrise each evening and enjoy a cocktail or mocktail.
The absolute highlight of our trip to Heron was a snorkel trip to the edge of the reef. The area we went to was called coral canyons and was absolutely magical. The coral was beautifully coloured and there were so many amazing fish. We drifted along admiring the view and the boat picked us up at the other end.
Heron really is a tropical paradise, and we were very sad to leave.
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