From the city straight to snorkelling on the reef: is this Queensland’s best day trip?
Leave your luxury accommodation in Brisbane and be snorkelling at Lady Elliot Islandon the Great Barrier Reef a couple of hours later in this ultimate package.
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A five-star snorkelling experience plus a city hotel stay that pulls out all the bells and whistles have ruined all future holidays for my daughter. It will be hard to top the experience of coming within metres of peaceful turtles going about their day in the southern Great Barrier Reef just off Lady Elliot Island, and a visit to the Emporium Hotel South Bank in the heart of Brisbane.
The hotel’s new two-night Reef & Retreat package starts with a friendly greeting in the lobby of the city hotel and a joyful squeal from the seven-year-old as she sees a floor-to-ceiling animation of a shark swimming in the elevator as we make our way up to our room. That squeal is closely followed by my intake of breath when sage curtains roll back on the wall of glass in our kingsize room on the 17th floor to reveal a view of South Bank parklands, the Brisbane River and city buildings.
My reverie is interrupted by a “Mum, check this out” as Miss Seven finds the control panel for the magic glass in the bathroom, changing the wall separating the deep spa bath and the room from transparent to opaque with a swipe of the control.
I clock the two different shower heads in the huge cubicle along with an invigorating Tom Dixon London ginger, vetiver and cardamom wash and balm.
The Piccolo pod coffee machine comes in handy and the French teas taste even better out of the fine bone china tea cup designed for the hotel. A wine fridge set at 17C holds a selection of international drops and a stacked mini bar has late-night snacks covered.
The room tour is over, though, when my seven-year-old hears of what is on the rooftop. We make our way to the top floor where the view of the city becomes even more expansive from the heated infinity pool. My daughter and I wallow there before getting ready for our dinner on the first floor of the hotel.
Run, do not walk to Firma Italian for a special occasion, or any occasion. I choose the chef’s selection: a four-course option with dessert at the end.
Miss Seven decides on the gnocchi carbonara, devouring it before turning her attention to my dishes, including the Sicilian olives filled with veal and pork, and the agnolotti alla cacciatore, which is a delightful braised chicken, capsicum, chicken consomme and olive tapenade.
She also expresses a new-found love for the perfectly cooked duck with beetroot.
The next day is an early start as a driver picks us up at 6.15am to take us to the Redcliffe Aerodrome, where our plane departs for a Great Barrier Reef one-day adventure to Lady Elliot Island.
We fly over Lake Cootharaba and the famous coloured cliffs of Rainbow Beach. We soar over K’gari, the biggest sand island in the world, and see the Great Sandy Strait off Hervey Bay with wisps of sandbars making delicate patterns in the azure blue. Lady Elliot Island is a coral cay about 80km northeast of Bundaberg, and its topsoil and vegetation were decimated from 1863 by guano mining for fertiliser.
In the late 1960s a revegetation effort of the island began and, as a condition of custodian Peter Gash’s lease, continued revegetation of the island is a must.
The Gash family, who will mark their 20th anniversary as the island’s custodians later this year, have taken ecological responsibilities to the next level with desalination and solar power and have won several eco-tourism and sustainability awards.
Lady Elliot is popular year-round and, with limited accommodation on the cay, a day trip to the southern Great Barrier Reef and what Lonely Planet last year crowned the best snorkelling destination in the world is a wonderful second option.
Welcome drink in hand, we are quickly oriented with the facilities for day guests, including lockers, full use of snorkel equipment including wetsuits, life jackets if needed, masks and flippers, showers, and the restaurant and bar area. The tidal lagoon proves a perfect practice spot for my daughter to test her snorkel mask as we marvel at the brown and green corals along with sea cucumbers and starfish.
Then it is onto a glass-bottom boat for a short trip to the bommies, where sea creatures congregate.
The corals below us are incredible, with a stunning drop-off displaying brain, fan and branching corals and more.
There is no sign of last year’s worldwide bleaching, with island experts telling me of the coral’s current good health.
We spot several loggerhead and green turtles, my daughter power-paddling from one to another in her life jacket and wetsuit, and a huge-shelled male breaches the water’s surface to take a breath before diving down below us again.
Green-scaled parrot fish abound, as do a groper, bass and more. Manta rays can be seen feeding throughout the year, with peak sightings from June until mid-September, but the stunning creatures elude us as time in the water passes fast.
The boat’s skipper keeps a watch over the swimmers of all abilities.
Back on the island, we tuck into a delightful buffet lunch with hot and cold meal options and some delicious prawns. Dietary requirements are catered for, including gluten-free options.
The beauty of Lady Elliot is that not much time is spent in a boat being taken to snorkelling spots, which leaves time to explore the small cay.
We marvel at a rare red-tailed tropicbird nesting only metres from some two-bedroom units and look at the lighthouse, built in 1873.
Exhausted and content, we board the plane again for our return to the city.
As we leave, a cloud forms a shadow that looks like a huge manta ray in the blue-green water surrounding the island.
An invitation, perhaps, to come back again.
Back in the city after an overland plane trip that gives yet a different perspective of the towns and cities of the southeast, and back to the luxurious room, we order room service of a delicious Wagyu beef burger and a margherita pizza before sleep envelops us.
Reef and Retreat two-night package:
Adults from $1557, children from $1272
emporiumhotels.com.au/reef-retreat
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