This was what I'd been waiting for - the chance to paddle in the emerald waters straight off the beach at Lady Elliot Island. No mucking about with boats: I flop into the gentle, lapping ocean and discover the underwater marvels of the Bundaberg region's Great Barrier Reef corals andthe magical creatures that make it their home.
"Ooops, sorry." Nearly bumped into something - yep, that's a manta ray. With the reef virtually surrounding Lady Elliot Island, the rays seem to hang around, swimming and feeding, much to the delight of island guests.
The gentle giants, sometimes measuring up to 4m wide, appear to welcome the chance to swim with guests and get pretty up close and personal - and I'm not arguing with it. Lady Elliot Island has a well-earned reputation as one of the most popular dive sites along the reef, with 12 sites available for exploration. This coral cay is part of the reef's makeup and one of the few places where you can walk off the beach, paddle out about 5m, and come into contact with the reef.
Dive sites around Lady Elliot Island include Severance Wreck, Coral Gardens, Blow Hole and Spiders Ledge.
One of the most celebrated is Anchor Bommies. Two ancient Admiralty anchors lie 21m down, offering stunning displays of sealife - from manta rays, purple leafy scorpion fish and cleaner shrimp through to a large shovel-nosed ray.
Lady Elliot's Eco rResort is geared towards those who want to spend most of their time in the water but a smart refurbish a couple of years back has given it plenty of appeal to those who would rather keep their feet dry. And there's lots to do above the surface. There's a glass-bottom boat for those who'd rather see the reef from the top down and the island is also home to 57 species of birdlife. Twitchers will go ballistic in summer, when more than 50,000 birds nest here - so if you've watched a certain Alfred Hitchcock movie, be warned.
And of course, the island is a favourite for turtle nestings from November (also coral spawning month) to January and hatchlings from February to March. Bird season stretches from October to March; migrating whales put on a display between June and September. The resort is eco rated and staff are passionate about the protection of the reef. Be prepared for an ear-bashing on reef education and responsible tourism - it won't hurt you and you should be carrying the message to anyone who'll listen.
