Lady Musgrave Island

Lady Musgrave Island is one of the most popular island getaways in the Gladstone region. Home to an abundance of unspoilt beaches, pristine coral cays and marine life, the island is best accessed from the coastal towns of Agnes Waters and Seventeen Seventy on a Great Barrier Reef tour and is approximately two hours by boat from the Bundaberg mainland.

The island’s main drawcard is its uniqueness. It is the only Great Barrier Reef location that provides big vessel access to both the island itself and entrance to the lagoon. The Lady Musgrave Island National Park sits upon 3,000 acres of living outer reef and a safe deepwater coral lagoon.

Wildlife watch

The southernmost island of the Bunker Group of islands, it is also part of the Capricorn Bunker Group which contains around 75 per cent of all seabird biomass of the Great Barrier Reef. 

The island provides habitat for thousands of nesting seabirds including white-capped noddy terns, bridled terns, black-naped terns and silver gulls. Between September and March, migratory shorebirds such as the Pacific golden plover also like to flock here.

It is also a nesting place for green and loggerhead turtles, and harmless small whitetip reef sharks and leopard sharks have been spotted hunting around the shallows.

Snorkelling and diving Lady Musgrave

The perfect year-round conditions cater for all types of swimming levels, snorkellers, and scuba divers. Certified divers have access to many dive sites on the fringe of Lady Musgrave Lagoon, ranging from coral dives to wall dives. For the less experienced, there is a PADI Discover Program available.

Top things to do:

A number of tour operators take daily trips to this island on high-speed catamarans with pontoons. Enjoy a range of unique reef activities, marine encounters and island discoveries:

• Snorkel or dive the reef and encounter some of the Great Barrier Reef's most iconic marine creatures, such as manta rays, moray eels, giant rainbow coloured fish or coral trout.
• Hop on board a semi-submarine or glass bottom boat for a unique coral viewing experience – without getting wet.
• Discover the beauty and learn about the history of Lady Musgrave on a guided island walk.
• Experience up close and personal encounters with hundreds of species of tropical fish and other marine animals during a fish feeding activity.
• See migrating humpback whales at play during the months of July through to November. 

Adventurous travellers will love the fact they can stay in a National Park wilderness campsite (permit required) on this 14ha island and indulge in a true Robinson Crusoe style experience. For the non-camping enthusiasts, Agnes Waters and Seventeen Seventy offer a range of accommodation options spanning from backpacker hostels, motels, hotels, caravan parks and resorts.