A few options to try if you have three days to explore the Southern Great Barrier Reef:

DAY 1
Depart Gladstone for Heron Island and Wilson Island. Heron Island is surrounded by 24 square kilometres of reef and boasts some of the best diving and snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. Stay here for 3 nights, or venture further for a true ‘Robinson Crusoe’ experience at Wilson Island. Become shipwrecked in style and enjoy the rare experience of feeling like you are a million miles from the ‘real’ world.

DAY 2
Fly from Bundaberg to Lady Elliot Island, a true coral cay located at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. The island is regarded as one of the best diving and snorkelling locations on the Great Barrier Reef and is famous for its unspoilt coral reef and amazing array of spectacular marine life.

DAY 3
Head to Seventeen Seventy and depart on a day cruise of the Southern Great Barrier Reef and Lady Musgrave Island with Lady Musgrave Cruises.

DAY 4
Head to the Capricorn Coast, 30 minutes from Rockhampton, and take a day trip around the Keppel Islands, charter or skipper a sailing boat or spend time on Great Keppel or Pumpkin Islands.

 

DAY 1 & 2 – Lady Elliot Island
Fly from Bundaberg to Lady Elliot Island and spend two nights here enjoying the pristine waters and marine life of the Southern Great Barrier Reef. The coral gardens surrounding the island are a breeding and feeding area for the giant “kites of the reef’, manta rays.

DAY 3 – Bargara , Mon Repos
Transfer back to Bundaberg, hire a car and head to Bargara to relax along the picturesque foreshore. In the evening journey to nearby Mon Repos Beach to experience the largest Loggerhead Turtle Rookery in the South Pacific.Witness one of the true wonders of the natural world as hundreds of turtles return to the beach every year to nest. See the hatchlings then make their perilous journey back to sea.

DAY 4 – Bargara , Bundaberg
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at a nearby café along the Bargara foreshore, then head back to Bundaberg and spend the day exploring the attractions. Experience a tour of the Bundaberg Rum Bondstore, check out Bundaberg Brewed Drinks – home of Bundaberg Ginger beer – or the Hinkler Hall of Aviation, a museum dedicated to aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler.

 

DAY 1 – Capricorn Coast
Arrive in Rockhampton and head to the Capricorn Coast. From Rosslyn Bay Marina depart on for a day trip to Great Keppel Island or a day cruise around the Keppel Group of Islands. Spend the day relaxing on one of the many pristine beaches on Great Keppel Island, take a glass bottom boat tour and try some snorkelling.

DAY 2 & 3 – Heron Island
Head south to Gladstone and transfer either by launch or helicopter to Heron Island, a true coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Spend the next few days exploring the island. Why not take a dive or snorkelling trip in the crystal clear aquamarine waters surround the island, an afternoon reef walk viewing the coral and marine life or relax on the beach, far from the crowds.

DAY 4/5 – Agnes Water/Seventeen Seventy
Transfer back to Gladstone, pick up a hire car and travel south on the Bruce Highway to the picturesque townships of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy. Hop on a Scooter-roo tour or explore the waterways on a 1770 Liquid Adventures kayaking tour. Board the pink amphibious vehicle called the LARC, which will take you over land and sea to explore Eurimbula National Park, Middle Island and the historic Bustard Head Light station.

 

DAY 1 – Rockhampton
Arrive in Rockhampton and head to the Capricorn Caves, just 20 minutes out of Rockhampton. Tour the tropical limestone caves and chambers, experience a wild caving adventure and history of the area on a tour to the prehistoric dig site. Stay overnight in a cabin nestled amongst the surrounding bush and enjoy the native flora and fauna.

DAY 2 – Mt Hay , Blackwater, Rubyvale
Head inland through Rockhampton and on to Mt Hay. Stop in at the Mt Hay Gemstone Tourist Park where you can dig for thunder eggs, geological sphere’s formed through lava flows, which reveal beautiful patterns when cut in half. Continue on to Rubyvale, the heart of Queensland’s Sapphire Gemfields. Journey underground and discover how sapphires have formed and try your luck fossicking to take home a special memento. Finish the day with a cold beer at the local pub with a few ‘true blue’ locals.

DAY 3 - 5 – Rubyvale, Carnarvon Gorge
Depart Rubyvale for Carnarvon Gorge. Over the next few days experience spectacular scenery of Carnarvon Gorge National Park including towering white sandstone cliffs, lush side gorges and an abundance of Australian wildlife. Carnarvon Gorge also has a strong Aboriginal history with a spectacular array of rock-art paintings