Tracking the Turtles All the Way to Australia

Nature lovers who really want to get away from it all might consider Heron Island, a tiny coral cay and national park on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef off central Queensland. The big draw now through April is green sea turtles, which migrate en masse to the island to lay their eggs on the beaches. Visitors arrive nightly to see hatchlings scrambling from their sandy nests.

In a classic understatement, the island’s resort operator suggests that “the island is not for those just wishing to spend the day.” To get there, you must first make your way to Gladstone, which is six hours by road or an hour by air from Brisbane. Then you travel two hours by sea or half an hour by helicopter to reach the cay.

Once there, you will find one and only one place to stay: the Pandanus Lodge, with 117 cabins and suites, and rates from about $110 to $178 per person per night, including all meals.

Each turtle is said to lay about 450 eggs in three clutches each season. Heron Island also is a center for humpback-whale-watching in the summer and bird-watching (herons, plovers and others) throughout the year. Scuba-diving and snorkeling in the reef and nature walks also are available. For reservations, call P&O; Australian Resorts: telephone (800) 225-9849.