Heron Island, Queensland, Australia. 1986

After working a couple of year into my electrical apprenticeship in the some what cold and wet southern state of Victoria in Australia. I had this grand idea to fly up to sunny Queensland and get my scuba diving licence and who knows I might have been able to turn it into a job if I liked it. I remember saving up and getting this all inclusive package. A flight to Gladstone, the a helicopter ride out to the island, all accommodation, meals, scuba diving lessons and pretty much access to everything on the island. Way back then I don't remember it being that expensive but I was single working lots and living at home. It was my first ever helicopter ride and that alone probably made the whole trip worth it.

It was interesting to find a current day photo to see if the island had changed much in the 38 year since I was there. Source Heronisland.com it looks like the ship wreck has now broken in two.

There was only one dinning room for all meals so it was a good chance to meet people from all over the place. I think this American Dad and his daughter though I was a bit weird that I just flew in by myself for scuba diving.

The resort was pretty quite during the day everyone was out and about doing nature stuff. The Island was quite noisy with lots of bird life. I suppose that why it is called Heron island. There was turtle watching at both dusk and dawn. Snorkelling, a glass bottom boat tour. I did it all plus two scuba lesson daily until I got my ticket.

The diving was great, better than Noosa and Fiji, the only other two places I dived. The island is actual part of the Great barrier Reef. They had there own wreck in the harbour. Basically they took us to a different part of the reef each time we dove, my favorite was a drift dive when they dropped us in one spot and the current took us much further than the usual out and back dives. It is a shame I did not have all the cameras of today but it was still a great experience.