Southern Great Barrier Reef, QLD
Lady Elliot Island is a 45-hectare coral cay accessible only by light aircraft from Hervey Bay or Bundaberg, with a single eco-resort operator. The fringing reef is exceptional: a shallow lagoon for snorkelling and Open Water training opens onto a deeper outer slope with bommies, swim-throughs and manta cleaning stations. Mantas are present year-round and peak in numbers from May through August when the population concentrates around the island's cleaning stations. Green and loggerhead turtles nest on the beach November through March and are present in the water in large numbers all year. The cay is a Marine Park sanctuary zone and one of the easiest GBR coral-cay dive destinations in Queensland.