Dive Review of Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop/Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort in
Australia/Queensland, southern barrier r

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Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop/Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort: "Southern Barrier Reef resort diving", Apr, 2023, by Phil Johnston, Bayswater, AU ( Top Contributor 30 reports with 29 Helpful votes). Report 12410 has 1 Helpful vote.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I dived Lady Elliot Island in 1995 (also in April), & had been impressed by its larger marine life - mantas, leopard sharks, shovel nose rays and some very large turtles. I returned with quite high expectations, some not met (few large animals) & others exceeded: hard corals and small fish / critters were much better than I had remembered, perhaps have improved over the past 28 years? I did see one Manta - a very rare white manta, which passed our group but did not stop, & there were certainly no mantas on any of the cleaning stations. Small blacktip reef sharks were seen on half my 6 dives. Whilst the absence of mantas in any numbers was disappointing, I was pleased by the healthiness of the hard corals - no sign of bleaching or crown of thorns. Favorite sites were Anchor Bommie & Spider's Ledge, lots of thriving staghorn corals & abundant small tropical fish life. Due to large clouds of baitfish and glass fish around bommies such as 3 Pyramids & Lighthouse Bommies, many hunting coral trout, groupers, jacks & spanish mackeral were seen. 2-3 turtles were seen on every dive, Lady Elliot Island is a nesting ground for both green & loggerhead turtles so turtle sightings almost guaranteed. Dive operations are unique in that divers set up tanks at the dive shop next to the resort, load tanks & weight belts on to a flat bed truck & & are then driven in a towed wagon to one of a couple of beach loading areas. Divers kit up from the back of the truck & walk across the beach to a diving punt with a lowered ramp for boarding of the boat. Divers with lower back or knee issues might struggle with walking from the truck to the diving boat, although staff were likely to be helpful for those needing assistance. The dive staff were uniformly helpful & gave advice & assistance to my inexperienced partner. Being a relatively small island, dive sites are only short trips. Most dive sites are on the western side of the island, which is generally the lee side. Whilst it was quite windy our whole stay, dives conditions were relatively benign on the western sites. My partner & I both rated the resort highly. Our cabin (a 'Garden' Unit was smallish but clean & a short walk to reception, dive shop & dining room. Buffet breakfast & dinner were part of the room tariff, my partner & I loved the quality of the food - our 4 night stay was definitely not a slimming experience! Whilst I would have liked to have seen many more mantas, I overall enjoyed my 6 dives & our 4 nights at the resort. My partner & I were sorry to be leaving after our 4 days at Lady Elliot Island.
Websites	Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Rajah Ampat, Lembeh, Manado, Ambon) Cocos Islands, Mexico (Cozumel & Soccorros) Tonga, Galapagos, Tahiti, Maldives, Mozambique, Bahamas, Red Sea, Roatan, Philippines, Hawaii (Kona, Maui)
Closest Airport	Bundaberg	Getting There	I flew from Coolngatta. 2 Hour flight, quite scenic. Flights to Lady Elliott Island also available from Brisbane (Redcliffe airport), Hervey Bay & Bundaberg
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	26-27°C / 79-81°F	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	12-18 M / 39-59 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The usual - follow the dive guide, no decompression diving, 3 minute safety stop etc
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	No rinse tub on the dive boat, but not a real issue due to close proximity of dive sites to dive store. Dive store had dedicated rinse tub for cameras, but little else in the way of facilities for photographers

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop/Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort in Australia/Queensland, southern barrier r

Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop/Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort: "Southern Barrier Reef resort diving", Apr, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Lady Elliott Island Dive Shop/Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort in
Australia/Queensland, southern barrier r