Your April Lady Elliot Island E-Newsletter No Images? Click here CYCLONE DEBBIE | NEWBOOK | CARBON OFFSET PROGRAM | VALUING AN ICON CYCLONE DEBBIELady Elliot Island was very fortunate to be minimally affected by Tropical Cyclone Debbie which left a path of destruction all along the Queensland Coast. We would like to thank the staff and guests on the Island at the time and those that were travelling to/from Lady Elliot for their patience and understanding. Our thoughts go out to everyone who was affected by Tropical Cyclone Debbie. Lady Elliot Island has been operating as per normal but if you have any concerns regarding your upcoming booking please contact our Reservations Team on 1800 072 200 or +61 5536 3644. NEWBOOKLady Elliot Island has recently changed over to a new Reservations System known as NewBook. As with anything new it does take time to fully grasp the system. We would like to thank you for your patience with our Reservations Team whilst booking or enquiring for Lady Elliot Island. If you have an enquiry for the next month please phone on 1800 072 200 or +61 5536 3644 as availability is very limited during this time. ANZAC DAY 2017Lady Elliot Island will be holding its own ANZAC Dawn Service to commemorate our service men and women of Gallipoli. If you will be staying on Lady Elliot Island over the 25th April, the dawn service will be held on the Lagoon Side of the Restaurant, please visit Island Reception on the 24th to confirm time and location. Photo by @Jodimeister via Instagram #50BESTRESTAURANTSIt was a pleasure hosting one of the 50 Best Restaurants with special guests Rashmi Uday Singh and James Litston. They were treated to a beachside dinner hosted by Owner and Chef, Mitch from Indulge Cafe, Bundaberg. Photo: @indulge_80 via Instagram CARBON OFFSET PROGRAMLady Elliot Island Eco Resort is proud to announce that we have now released our Carbon Offset Program! LEIER and Greenfleet have partnered to offset the carbon emissions from flights to and from Lady Elliot Island by planting native forests at the Barolin Nature Reserve, adjacent to the Mon Repos turtle rookery in Bundaberg. LEIER are kindly requesting guests to donate AU $2.00 per person to help reduce the environmental impact of their holiday. The Carbon Offset program is voluntary but we do encourage guests to donate to reduce the environmental impact of their holiday flight. The Barolin Nature Reserve was chosen due to its significant role in the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem and lifecycle of turtles. Mon Repos is a key global nesting area for the vulnerable Green and endangered Loggerhead turtles (the most significant loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific region). Lady Elliot Island itself, only hosts a small number of nesting turtles each year as it is not the ideal nesting beach. Therefore, if we want to see turtles in the future we need to help ensure they reproduce successfully and the Mon Repos rookery is a critical part of this. LEIER have partnered with Greenfleet on this project due to Greenfleet’s mission to plant ecosystems (not just carbon sequestering trees) in Australia and New Zealand; their work with many companies including Disney and the Finding Dory ‘Remember the Reef’ campaign, Europcar, Airbnb and SeaLife Australia; and their work on the critical catchment and coastal areas of the Great Barrier reef which is part of the Lady Elliot Island greater ecosystem. VALUING AN ICON SURVEYWe all agree the Great Barrier Reef is valuable – to the economy, to employment, to the environment, to education, to fishing, just to name a few. But how much is our Reef ‘worth’, not only to Australians, but to all global citizens? If we were to place a dollar amount on that value – how much would it be? Given the significance of the global bleaching event affecting coral reefs world-wide, and a heightened public dialogue about whether enough is being done to protect our Reef, it’s more imperative than ever that we have the right information to help inform and frame these discussions. The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is partnering with National Australia Bank and Deloitte Access Economics to answer these questions through a new study that will report on the total economic value of the Great Barrier Reef, and they need your help. Please take a short break to answer these important questions – the survey should take no more than 10-15 minutes. TIMING - the completed Report will be launched in June 2017. MORE INFORMATION - a summary of the project is available online. If you would like further information about this study or have any questions, please contact the Foundation at i[email protected] Thank you for supporting our efforts to protect our global treasure. MANTA RAYS RETURNThe Manta Rays have returned in force! Lady Elliot Island has proven to be a major hotspot for manta rays in eastern Australia. Manta rays can be found all year round here, with numbers peaking during the winter season (min-May to mid-August). At Lady Elliot Island, these gentle giants are commonly encountered while diving popular ‘cleaning stations’ around the reef, but also offer amazing memories for snorkellers who happen to be in the water during ‘feeding frenzies’ – it is very common to see large groups of manta rays feed at the surface around the island when the conditions are favourable and plankton abundant. GET EXCITED FOR THE MIGRATING HUMPBACK WHALES!As one of the biggest (in size) of marine mammals quickly approaches our tiny Island we couldn’t be more excited! From June to October Humpback Whales make their annual migration past Lady Elliot Island north to the warmer waters. Sightings are becoming more regular spotted during the scenic flight north along the Coastline, from the glass bottom boat, whilst snorkelling or diving and from the Island’s beaches. Almost daily during the season, whale songs can be heard under the water while swimming, snorkelling and diving around the Island. With the water visibility during these months averaging 30+ meters and combined with the beautiful Manta Rays this is a time of year not too be missed! Photo by: Skye Newman LADY ELLIOT ISLAND TO WELCOME 'CUTTING DEPRESSION ADRIFT' PARTICIPANTS! Later this year Lady Elliot Island will welcome two friends, Pascal Geraghty and Eamon Hanna, as they sail kayaks from Hervey Bay to Townsville in support of sufferers of mental illness. Their adventure is called “Cutting Depression Adrift” and they are raising funds for the Black Dog Institute. Their journey of 1,500km will see them at sea for over a month. They will be alone, unassisted, vulnerable to the weather and travelling a long distance from the mainland and emergency help. Lady Elliot Island has invited them to come ashore on their way past for a meal, a hot shower and to top up their drinking water supplies. We are expecting them to land sometime in the first week of August. To learn more about their fundraising expedition check out their website, and don’t miss the video of their recent test trip which saw them get up close and personal with sharks! If their cause strikes a chord and you’d like to support the boys tax-deductible donations can be made directly to the Black Dog Institute on the ‘Donate’ page. You can also follow their adventure via their Facebook page. |