Heron Island (★4.3)
Heron Island is a coral cay located near the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern Great Barrier Reef, 80 kilometres north-east of Gladstone Park, Queensland, Australia, and 460 km north-north-west of the state capital Brisbane
Explore Heron Island
Located on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Heron Island is a coral cay reached by a short flight from Gladstone in Queensland, Australia. Heron Island was declared an Australian National Park in 1943 and now has multiple layers of long-term protection within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The guardianship means that Heron Reef is home to around 60% of the 1,500 species of fish and around 72% of the coral species found on the Great Barrier Reef.
Scuba diving in Heron Island is only possible from the 109-room dive resort, where quiet dive sites and abundant marine life are guaranteed. Heron Island Resort has a bar, restaurant, and a dive centre which offers dive courses from Discover Scuba to the Advanced Open Water.
Dive Activity
Diving in Heron Island
Heron Island diving happens at Heron Reef, a fringing platform reef, and the adjacent Wistari Reef. There are 30 dive sites to be explored that are all within a 15-minute boat ride from the island’s wooden jetty. The myriad of dive sites includes coral bommies, like at North Bommie, grottos, canyons, such as Coral Canyons, and extensive coral gardens. With depths ranging from 10-25 metres, divers can complete up to three dives per day with plenty of bottom time. This means Heron Island is an ideal location for first-time divers to earn certifications in dive courses.
Dive Sites
The best Months to dive in Heron Island
Heron Island has a sub-tropical climate so diving is possible all-year-round. In winter, around July and August, the water is its coldest at 18℃ but the visibility is at it’s best. The visibility is at its worse in November due to coral spawning. In January and February, divers can watch in awe as female turtles lay their eggs on the beach and hatchlings take their first dip into the sea. July and August see the most frequent humpback whale sightings.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Heron Island
Descending beneath the surface, macro-enthusiasts will discover invertebrates like nudibranchs, giant clams, flatworms, and sea stars. Glide past schooling jacks, banded pipefish, anemonefish, and moray eel while encountering incredible marine megafauna like manta rays, shovelnose rays, reef sharks, and wobbegong sharks. As Heron Island is a notable turtle nesting site, the most commonly seen resident of the Heron Reef is the green sea turtle. Nearby, in the Wistari Channel, humpback whales are often seen migrating along the coast of Queensland - so ensure to keep a lookout during your surface interval!
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
Shutterstock-Shane Myers Photography
Green Turtle
289 Sightings
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30
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20
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22
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9
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24
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33
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46
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31
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20
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18
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16
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20
iStock-crisod
Reef Manta Ray
66 Sightings
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10
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3
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7
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4
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1
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8
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9
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6
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8
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2
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1
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7
iStock-ShaneGross
Loggerhead Turtle
65 Sightings
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7
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0
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6
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11
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8
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1
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11
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2
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1
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3
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6
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9
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 25
iStock/Juliosanjuan
Eagle Ray
59 Sightings
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16
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1
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5
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5
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7
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4
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5
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1
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1
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1
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5
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8
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 200
Alamy-WaterFrame
Moray Eel
42 Sightings
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3
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1
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3
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1
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6
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8
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6
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5
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2
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2
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0
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5
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
39 Sightings
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2
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1
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4
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17
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2
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6
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2
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2
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3
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species approx.: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
Octopus
31 Sightings
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4
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6
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5
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4
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1
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3
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3
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2
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3
Alamy-National Geographic Creative
Leatherback Turtle
25 Sightings
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5
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0
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0
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2
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10
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0
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0
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2
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2
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4
Shutterstock-Andrey Armyagov
Hawksbill Turtle
22 Sightings
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2
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1
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0
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0
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3
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1
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6
A
5
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0
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0
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4
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0
iStock/Divepic
Giant Oceanic Manta Ray
21 Sightings
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2
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0
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0
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0
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7
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6
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4
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0
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2
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0
Alamy/National Geographic Image Collection
Oceanic Whitetip Shark
9 Sightings
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0
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0
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1
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6
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1
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0
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1
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0
