Lady Musgrave Island Family Friendly

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Katrina

Lady Musgrave Island is perfect for all ages

Located right in our backyard, The Great Barrier Reef is perfect for both Australian and International families as it is surrounded by a Coral Wall to protect the Lagoon for stunning, safe snorkeling.

Untouched paradise
Lady Musgrave Island which is sometimes overlooked has some of the easiest reef viewing experiences for families. It is not crowded and fuss free, with minimal commercial reef enterprises; unlike other reefs. For easiest access to the departure point of Seventeen Seventy you can either fly into Gladstone or Bundaberg – or a short 5 hour drive from QLD’s capital city Brisbane.

Cost friendly for the extended family experience
There is no island resort on Lady Musgrave Island, and mainland (Seventeen Seventy and Agnes Water) accommodation is generally a cheaper option than island resort accommodation in other locations, resulting in a more cost effective experience for larger families. But because you aren’t ‘staying’ on an island doesn’t mean you won’t get that easy access to the true reef with 1770reef’s boat departing daily for full day tours to Lady Musgrave Island. 1770reef also have family packages and can offer great saving for additional children for the larger family. Want to bring the Grandparents along too? No worries, there is also a discounted rate for seniors.

Fun in the water for all ages
Lady Musgrave Island is fully surrounded by a wall of coral – creating a lagoon in which all of 1770reef’s tour activities are held. This lagoon resembles a large natural swimming pool; calm and safe full of colourful corals and marine life ready for your family to explore. Snorkel without fear of marine stingers year round, with the safety of provided life vest and floating noodles for added security. 1770reef have snorkels, masks, fins, wetsuits and flotation devices to fit all ages and sizes.

Personalised Experience
Children and adults alike love the glass bottom boat tours, viewing the underwater wonders of the lagoon without getting wet – with added commentary with our knowledgeable and experience guide Barrie, who has lived and breathed the reef his entire life.

Sandy Toes
If your family also wants to get their feet sandy our lovely and passionate Island Guide will take you on a fun guided tour of the island itself. Spotting where turtles have nested and bird watching, there is great island history to be told also.

Fussy eaters….No worries
What is better when travelling with kids for a full day than a fully catered tour; your family will be provided with freshly made scones in the morning, seasonal tropical fruits throughout the day, healthy and fresh filled wraps and turkish bread rolls for lunch, and delicious cheese and antipasto platter as you sail home. Special dietary requirements or picky eaters are easily catered for; all our food is made fresh the morning before travel.

Finding Nemo at Lady Musgrave Island

Posted on April 3, 2018April 3, 2018 by Katrina

We all love “Nemo” at Lady Musgrave Island

The Great 8! Number #3 on the list of Great 8 are our beautiful Clown Fish and notably well known around the world “Nemo”.

Boy or Girl?

All Clown Fish are born. These very social fish live together with a dominant female. If she dies, the most dominant male will change sex to female and become the leader.

Home Safe!

Clown Fish have a very special relationship with the Anemone (related to coral and jellyfish and some experts say half plant and half animal). The Clown Fish eat the anemone leftovers (fish pieces for example) and live among https://www.1770reef.com.au/book-now/ the protection of the venomous tentacles. The anemone uses the Clown Fish for removal of dead tentacles and to improve water circulation around itself.

What Colour Am I?

Clown Fish come in a variety of wonderful colours. They have white stripes that are combined with orange, red, yellow, blue, or black basic body colour. Of course, we all think of the orange type due to the popularity of the movie “Finding Nemo”.

Come and Get Me!

By gaining the protection of the toxic tentacles of the anemone, Clown Fish can be known to be quite aggressive in nature if predators do come close. Recently, on a 1770reef Day Trip to Lady Musgrave, we have experienced, first hand, a Hawksbill Turtle trying to eat coral near an anemone with resident Clown Fish and out they charged towards the turtle, – twice. Always ready to protect their homes.

Clown Fish – One. Turtle – Nil.

They will also fiercely protect their homes from other Clown Fish. However, if with the best protection, Clown Fish is often preyed on by large fish, sharks and eels.

Let 1770reef help you tick the famous CLOWN FISH # 3 on the Great Barrier Reef Great 8 off your bucket list!!!

+617 4972 7222 tours@1770reef.com.au www.1770reef.com.au

Meet the Majestic Manta Ray’s at Lady Musgrave Island

Posted on March 26, 2018March 26, 2018 by Katrina

Manta Ray’s at Lady Musgrave Island with 1770reef

The gracefulness of the Manta Ray is truly a thing of beauty. They are a giant of the ocean and can reach a disc size of up to 7metres, averaging around 4.5 metres.

Coming in at Number #2 on the Great 8 of our Great Barrier Reef’s living icons is the Manta Ray and you may have to chance to get up close and personal while snorkelling the pristine waters of Lady Musgrave Lagoon.

Did you know?

The Manta Ray has the largest brain to body size ration of any living fish which makes them quite inquisitive around snorkellers and divers, coming up to “inspect” what you are up to.

How fast can they go?

The flapping in Mantas can generate incredible amount of propulsion. A 4.5 metre Manta can travel at around 14 kilometres per hour with bursts of up to 35 kilometres per hour.

You can name one as well.

If you get a chance to swim with the Manta take a photo of its underbelly. No two Mantas have the same markings. If it is identified as a “new” sighting, you can name it yourself!

The Love Train

During breeding times up to 30 males may follow only one (1) female as she leads them in a merry dance resembling something like the old Conga Line dance. She will then choose one of the males as a partner. Once she falls pregnant, the male departs and has no part in any parenting.

What a big mouth you have?

The Manta has a very large, forward facing mouth. This allows them to migrate across the open seas and filter feed large quantities of plankton which they swallow with their open mouths as they swim along.

Let 1770reef help you tick the famous MANTA RAY # 2 on the Great Barrier Reef Great 8 off your bucket list!!!

+617 4972 7222 tours@1770reef.com.au www.1770reef.com.au

Giant Clam

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Katrina

Giant Clams at Lady Musgrave Island Lagoon

It’s The Great 8!

The Giant Clam is found at our very own Lady Musgrave Island Lagoon part of the Southern Great Barrier Reef, with the Giant Clam earing its spot at number 5, alongside the likes of Whales, Manta Rays, Clown Fish, Sharks, Potato Cod, Maori Wrasse and Turtles.

Lady Musgrave Island is one of the only locations along the Great Barrier Reef where all 8 can be found, including of course the amazing Giant Clam.

Did you know?

It’s said that, like a human fingerprint, no two Giant Clams have the same colouration or mantle pattern. These wild technicolour effects actually come from algae living within the clam’s tissue.

These extraordinary mollusks, which can grow to 1.5 meters in length and weigh up to 200 kilograms, feature a pretty ordinary exterior but a stunning mantle – the fleshy part protruding from the shell.

One of these Clams is not like the other….

Adult giant clams cannot close their shells completely. This makes them the only species of clams unable to do so.

Male or Female?

By nature, Giant Clams are hermaphrodites. They possess the reproductive organs of both the sexes.

Despite this, they cannot reproduce on their own. On the contrary, they release sperms and eggs into the water.

A single giant clam can release over 500 million eggs at one time.

What’s for dinner?

The algae that grow within the Giant Clam’s mantle tissue are their main source of food. The giant clams absorb sugars and proteins, which these algae produce as they photosynthesize. The nutrition that they get from these algae enables them to acquire such enormous sizes.

Owing to their immense size and their sessility, giant clams are also preyed upon by a number of predators which are, more often than not, much smaller than them.

Let 1770reef help you tick the famous GIANT CLAM # 5 on the Great Barrier Reef Great 8 off your bucket list!!! Bookings 0749727222https://www.1770reef.com.au/book-now/

Baby Turtles Hatching

Posted on March 8, 2018March 8, 2018 by Katrina

Turtles Hatching

Marine turtles have nested on parts of the Queensland coast for thousands of years. To watch a marine turtle nest is to experience one of nature’s truly wonderful rituals. A marine turtle can be between 30 to 50 years of age before it begins to breed and may only breed every few years.

When do they Hatch

The hatchlings join the world from about January to April, emerging in a flurry from their nests, generally during the night, after a period of 7 to 10 weeks in the nest. They have an extremely low chance of survival, with only about one (1) in one thousand (1000) reaching maturity.

In the nest, hatchlings break their egg shell wall within hours of each other and then it can take up to 24 hours to emerge totally from the eggshell. En masse, they climb upwards towards the surface, breathing the air in between the grains of sand. It can take them up to 2 days to actually reach the surface.

From the nest, the hatchlings will race down to the ocean as they respond to the environmental indicators around to help them on their way to the water. This can take several minutes to achieve and at all stages they may be vulnerable to predators both on shore and in the water.

Which turtles are you likely see at Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island is fortunate enough to have many Green Turtles, with sightings of Loggerheads and occasionally the endangered Hawksbill the Hawksbill are very special when you see them they actually look like they have a hawks bill. Green and Loggerheads are the most common hatchlings beginning their lives in the beautiful waters of Lady Musgrave Lagoon.