neil k.

An earlier email indicated that the reef at the island was dead--few if any fish spotted when snorkeling. Does anyone have any further info?

Louise

As no one else seems to be answering you, I will tell you what I know from being at Heron Island three years ago. It was very upsetting at low tide to see the resort employees taking people out in groups of up to 20 walking all over the reef. It was suffering badly. There is snorkeling but you must go beyond the reef to the open water and I believe the only way to do this was to pay for a boat. There is a sandy beach with snorkeling off of it on one of the ends of the island but we saw very little because of the clarity of the water when there is wave action.

Louise

As no one else seems to be answering you I will tell you what I know from being at Heron Island three years ago. It was very upsetting at low tide to see the resort employees taking people out in groups of up to 20 walking all over the reef. It was suffering badly. There is snorkeling but you must go beyond the reef to the open water and I believe the only way to do this was to pay for a boat. At one end of the island there is a sandy beach to snorkel off of but the visability was dependent on the wave action.

Tiana

Hi Neil <BR> <BR>I am afraid I have to disagree with the responses below. I have been to Heron Island twice (most recent Feb 99) and saw plenty of fish and coral. It is right that the snokelling off the island is not as good as out at the outer reef (by boat as mentioned), but there are plenty of fish to see (not to mention moray eels, turtles, rays etc, etc). Sounds like these people went snorkelling at Shark Bay which is prone to poor visibility if it is windy on that side of the island. There are lots of other places to snorkel off the island which are much better. The boat to go to the outer reef is only $AUS14 and excellent value. The reef walks are taken on areas of the reef which are already dead. These areas are exposed at low tide anyway so coral will not flourish here. I have been snorkelling in Fiji, Vanuatu, Lord Howe Island and Great Keppell and still think Heron is truly stunning. If you want any further info, please feel free to drop me a line.

Louise

It has been four years since we were to Heron Island and perhaps the reef has further disintigrated since then but if it is dead why would reef walks still be conducted. What would there to be seen? The reefs of the world have enough problems. When we were there I was so busy trying not to step on things I could only be disgusted. Yes, some of the coral is exposed at low tide but it did grow there originally for some reason. We did snorkel everywhere we could on the island (including by boat) and enjoyed it but not as much as from Cairns north to Thursday Island where we have been four times and other areas of the Pacific. I guess everyone has there own opinion as to what they like but then that is what forums are for.

Lori

Hi...we were on Heron for a week last May and thought it was great. We saw lots of fish and several reef sharks, tons of turtles and many rays including a HUGE manta ray. The best snorkeling was farther out -especially via the group boat. The island does offer "reef walks" where a guide takes groups out to walk AROUND the coral to see the reef sealife. Also, we took the submarine tour which showed us a wonderful variety of fish and aquatic life - then we were able to go back later to see stuff on our own.....