November, 2005

Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Fantastic and very easy diving. All dive sites were about a 5 to 10 minute boat ride from the dock. Very plentiful sea life. Morning, afternoon and the occasional night dive were available. A sign-up board is posted outside the dive office and I strongly recommend that you reserve dives at least 2 days in advanced, particularly night dives as the available spaces fill up quickly. I only brought my regulator and dive computer and rented everything else there. I should have brought my mask as it took 2 days to find one that didn't leak. The accommodations are nice cabins. The food was very good. There are many activities while not diving including bird watching, observing the turtles laying their eggs or seeing them hatch (depending of the time of year - October is laying season), observing tide pools, nature walks, and relaxing on the beach. The island has a research station staffed by very knowledgeable people.