Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef stretches over 2000km along the north east coast of Queensland. It is the largest living system on Earth and is home to an amazing array of biodiversity. We travelled by plane and boat to a small cay, or reef island, called Heron Island. The island is about the size of a large city park and is home to a small resort and a marine research station. The history of this small reef island is interesting. In the 1920s there was a turtle cannery in operation. Who would ever eat turtle meat? The surprising history continued as the island soon hosted tourists who would actually ride and "race" the mother turtles who came to the island to lay their eggs. Thankfully turtle riding was banned in the 60s and Heron Island today is a protected national park and home to turtles, sharks, rays, countless fish, and thousands of sea birds.
One evening as we walked around the island watching for mother turtles and hatchlings, we witnessed the circle of life first hand. As we stood right next to shore at high tide there were several sharks thrashing about in only a few feet of water. The sharks were waiting for the soon to arrive hatchlings as they frantically made their way into the ocean. An Aussie man was wading into the water to scare the sharks away and help the baby turtles increase their already poor odds at survival.
The beauty of the marine life was all within easy swimming distance from the beach. One morning I was snorkeling close to shore and I spotted an adult turtle just relaxing in the water amongst the coral. I was so amazed how natural the turtle seemed in the water compared to the awkward maneuvering we had witnessed on land. At the same time I spotted a six foot reef shark slowing swimming by about 10 yards away and a large ray that had just rose from the sea floor to slowly glide right by me. Being that close to nature was incredible. (spot the shark in the sunset photo below)
Click here to see more pictures from our trip.