No images? Click here US AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA CAROLINE KENNEDY Last week we were privileged to host US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy on her first trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We were absolutely thrilled to be able to showcase this beautiful part of the world! “Incredible to visit Lady Elliot Island… and learn from the Lady Elliot and Great Barrier Reef Foundation teams about the work being done to protect these marine habitats from the impacts of climate change. Thank you to Great Barrier Reef Foundation Chief Scientist Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and Managing Director Anna Marsden, and Peter and Amy Gash of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort for sharing your knowledge, passion, and vital work with us.” – US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy Photo credit: US Embassy Australia AUSTRALIAN TOURISM AWARDS Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort has taken home bronze in the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards for Ecotourism! The Gash family attended the awards ceremony in Sydney on the 14th of March with the Tasmanian Walking company placing silver and Live Ningaloo placing gold. We are excited to be continually recognised for our contribution to ecotourism in Australia and strive to offer one of the best eco-friendly and sustainable experiences on the market. TURTLE SEASON WRAP UP Image Credit: Jacinta Shackleton and Naoko Okui (Naz) The Turtle Season for 2022-2023 has almost wrapped up! It was a fairly regular season in terms of the number of nesting turtles and hatchlings with all up 180 confirmed nests, 150 + unconfirmed nests (this is when eggs were not physically sighted in the laying process) and 1300 tracks in total! Our last nesting turtle was recorded on the 19th March meaning the last hatchlings are likely to run in mid-May! 1. A turtle laying eggs near the Fish Pool on 7/3/23 2. A nest of Loggerhead hatchlings running down the beach in the full moonlight. No light was used in this image - it is a long exposure taken on an iPhone utilising the bright light from the moon! 3. A late nester! A female green laying eggs on the 19/3/23 GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAM The Guest Speaker Program dates for 2023 have just been released on our website. Speakers cover a range of topics including Humpback Whales, Astronomy, Geomorphology, Shark research and more! Presentations are held in the Education Centre beside the restaurant at around 7pm each night but be sure to check the activities board for exact times! Photo Feature: Jonti Horner, Astronomy THAT'S THE SPIRIT! We are soon to welcome our newest vessel to the fleet, a purpose built 18m, jet propelled glass bottom boat. Our online competition attracted over 400 comments and over 600 names so it was a hard decision! The four combined winners each took home a Lady Elliot Island gift pack with their suggestions incorporated into the final name - "Spirit of Lady Elliot" SOUTHERN GREAT BARRIER REEF TRADE In late March, our Sales & Marketing Manager, Vicki, joined other Southern Great Barrier Reef operators for a trade famil in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The event showcased the destination and trade-ready visitor experiences to targeted domestic retail and wholesale agents, along with inbound tour operators designing Australian itineraries for international consumers. Image Credit: Southern Great Barrier Reef and Tourism Bundaberg MASTER REEF GUIDES In March, four of our Master Reef Guides travelled to Fitzroy Island for a week long intensive masterclass to stay up to date with everything #GreatBarrierReef. The Masterclass included coral identification, surveying techniques, turtle stranding responses, an update from the chief scientist of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Dr. Jessica Stella and so much more! Look out for our Master Reef Guides when visiting the island and feel free to ask them all of your pressing reef questions! Master Reef Guides Naz, Jacinta, Kirsty and Jessica Say hi to Pieter! Pieter has been with the activities and watersports team for the last year. We asked him what brought him to the island and what his most incredible encounter has been: "It is all my youngest son's fault that I am working at Lady Elliot Island! After returning from a school trip to the island in 2017, he shared tales and photos of all sorts of wildlife including whales, mantas, turtles, sharks and .... the buffet. I was so jealous that I booked a family holiday a few months later, fell in love with the island and started work here in early 2022. My "work" in the watersports and activities team is a perfect fit for me - diving, wildlife, research and education as well as sharing my passion with my colleagues and guests. I enjoy it so much that I can often be found snorkelling or free-diving before and after work! My most memorable experience on the island was taking out two young brothers on their first scuba dive. In crystal clear water we witnessed two bottlenose dolphins hot on the tail of a large mackerel. Within a minute they were joined by three big grey reef sharks and a fight ensued between them - initially one of the dolphins caught the hapless fish right in front of us but was intimidated by the sharks and it escaped. One of the sharks caught it a minute later and swallowed it whole but not before the dolphins rammed into the shark - taking a large chunk out of its pectoral fin! It took us all a while to catch our breath and carry on the dive. Five minutes later we watched two mantas circling over us on a cleaning station. I think it is safe to say it will be hard for those boys to top their first dive!" This month we have two very exciting blogs! Firstly, our highly anticipated blog spilling secrets on the lesser-known snorkelling hot spots around the island. Secondly, our revegetation blog which has been in the works for months! A huge part of our custodianship of Lady Elliot Island is the revegetation work that has ramped up significantly over the last few years, so we are eager to share the incredible progress! Keep an eye on our website, blogs are released first week of every month. Image two: Kristian Laine Our basic but comfortable 44 room eco-resort will offer you an opportunity to immerse yourself in nature and explore the pristine Southern Great Barrier Reef. The resort is heavily booked over the next twelve months with very limited availability and high demand. To secure your stay at Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort we highly recommend you check our online availability calendar on our website first. If your intended travel dates are available on the calendar and you are ready to make a booking, we recommend to contact our reservations team via phone on 1800 072 200 to confirm the dates are still available as availability can change rapidly at this time. Alternatively, once you have checked the availability calendar and you would like to arrange a booking or would like a quote, please email our friendly reservations team on [email protected] The Day Tour departing from the Gold Coast (Coolangatta) and Brisbane (Redcliffe) is on special with a saving of up to $236 per adult! This offer is only available for travel until the 30th June 2023 Experience the pristine beauty of the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef. Enjoy low level flying up the east coast of Australia taking in aerial views of the Gold Coast skyline, Moreton Bay, Sunshine Coast, Fraser Island (K’gari) and landing on the only coral cay Island with an airstrip! Spending 5 hours exploring the natural environment of Lady Elliot Island, you’ll snorkel with friendly turtles and an array of amazing marine life. Sit back and enjoy a hot and cold buffet lunch with a complimentary sparkling wine or beer whilst overlooking the Great Barrier Reef. Feel free to join in on one of the many educational activities available and learn how the fully self-sufficient resort operates on renewable energy technologies! Outback Tours have kicked off for 2023! Travelling in a Seair Touring Cessna Caravan Aircraft, your group will be flown to some of the most iconic places in Queensland and Australia. Guided by your knowledgable pilot, expert commentary and local knowledge will bring Outback Australia and its rich history to life. Click below for more information or contact the Seair Touring reservations team via email [email protected] or call +61 7 5599 4509 to reserve your seat now! To read more about our tours and Seair Pacific, click below: Experience some of the most remote and iconic parts of Australia in 2023 on Seair Touring’s 3-day Outback Adventure! 2023 DEPARTURE DATES 15 May 2023 - 1 seat 05 June 2023 - 1 seat 13 July 2023 - 6 seats 04 August 2023 - 3 seats 19 August 2023 - 9 seats 15 September 2023 - 5 seats Experience the World Heritage Listed Great Barrier Reef and the iconic outback on Seair Touring’s 3-day Outback to Reef Adventure! 2023 DEPARTURE DATES 25 September 2023 - 10 seats 6 October 2023 - 10 seats Explore the highlights of Outback Queensland in 2023 on Seair Touring’s 4-day Ultimate QLD Experience! 2023 DEPARTURE DATES 23 June 2023 - 10 seats 21 July 2023 - SOLD OUT |