Heron Island, a World Heritage Sight on Great Barrier Reef, is a “shitty” island. Literally. There must be zillion of birds on this tiny island, all copulating, nesting, shrieking and moaning, and of course, shitting. While we appreciate closeness to nature and all that, living in a bird’s nest is a little outside of our comfort zone.
BUT, despite all the excrements, it is an unbelievable place:
- diving and snorkeling, main reasons to come, is superb. It is everything we expected from Great Barrier Reef and more, because most of the coral is still healthy and colorful, yet within an arm’s reach.
- Sea turtles are nesting here, so every evening we enjoyed a National Geographic show live, when hundreds of just hatched baby turtles are trying to make it to the water (before being eaten by our dear friends birds). And we were even lucky enough to see a turtle to lay eggs! We woke up at 1am, moved sleeping Baby to a carrier, and went hunting for these big and old mothers to be. Torches are forbidden and we had to rely on moonlight. We found one that just picked her spot, and waited, and waited, and waited (turtles ARE slow). After some digging, and nesting, and digging some more, we let her be to lay the eggs. After two hours of waiting around, she bore us to sleep again.
- Beaches are unspoiled, no day-trippers are allowed to the island. The waters are shallow, perfect for little kids. And there are no big dangers like the box jellyfish. Only occasional sharks and manta rays, but they say these are the harmless kinds. Still, Baby was always safely in our arms when we saw a fin approaching.
Indeed, Heron Island is a Natural Wonderland as they claim. And it is a wonder that Baby did not get shit on during the 5 days. Daddy and Mummy, on the other hand, will be very lucky in the days to come.
