Sustainability At Heart

At Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, sustainability is at the heart of all we do.

As a world-leading, award-winning ecologically sustainable tourism operator, protecting and enhancing our surrounding natural environment is our living, breathing ethos – underpinning every aspect of our vision and operations. To say we are passionate about preservation is a major understatement!

Our Mission is to be custodians of this pristine environment - to enable it to exist and be preserved as nature intended, while giving visitors the opportunity to experience it in an economically and ecologically viable way, without interfering with or having any adverse impact upon the long-term sustainability of the island’s unique ecosystem.

A visit to Lady Elliot Island delivers a rare opportunity to experience a pristine natural environment with minimal human impact, and with your help, we want to ensure it stays that way.

Lady Elliot Island is a Commonwealth Island located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The resort is a family run and operated eco-tourism business. Peter Gash, family and several partners have held the lease to operate the resort since 2005, with the Gash family bring involved with the resort since 1996, providing the air charter service for previous lease holders. Since 2005, we have taken huge strides to advance ecological practices through our Sustainability Program. Being a remote, off-grid island, these steps certainly presented some hurdles, but with passion and determination our team rose to the challenge. We have taken significant action to reduce carbon emissions, water use and waste production, protect and improve the Island’s biodiversity and inspire our guests and surrounding community to do likewise. Our goal is to be powered by 100% renewable energy.

In recognition of our sustainability programs and low impact resort operations, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort has achieved Advanced Ecotourism Certification, Climate Action Leader Certification and Green Travel Leader status from Ecotourism Australia. The Resort has also been the recipient of many eco-tourism and sustainability awards.

Guest Sustainability Pledge

Lady Elliot Island is located within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area and is a ‘No Take/Green Zone’ of the Marine National Park. As a visitor, we hope that you will join us by making a pledge to preserve and protect the fragile ecosystem of our beautiful and unique coral cay, by adhering to the following actions.

Follow the Marine Park rules. I will respect the Marine Park rules and leave nature as I find it. I will not fish, take, touch or interfere with anything naturally occurring including shells, coral, sea stars and sea cucumbers.

Protect wildlife and marine life. I will act kindly and protect wildlife. I will not chase, touch, hold on to, stand on, or interfere with the natural behaviour of marine and wildlife. I will not feed fish or birds as this can make them sick and aggressive towards humans.

Take care during activities. I will tread lightly and explore the island and reef with care. I will be extra cautious with my snorkel, fins and dive equipment to not kick, break or damage the living and fragile coral and will stand only on sand. Even rocks and dead looking coral are alive.

Reduce energy use. I will reduce my energy consumption and carbon footprint by turning off lights, fans and other equipment when not in use and when I leave my room. This will help the Resort achieve their goal of running on 100% renewable energy.

Limit water use. I will limit my use of water, especially when taking a shower. This will help reduce energy consumption as water on the island is made by a desalination plant. I will also save water by re-using and sun drying my towels.

No litter/reduce waste. I ensure my rubbish (including cigarette butts) are placed in the bin, recycling waste where possible. I will pick up and dispose of any waste I come across to ensure no wildlife is harmed.

Give back. I will give back to the environment by contributing to on-island conservation such as the Revegetation Program and donating to the Carbon Offset program and/or the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Take action at home. I will be an advocate for the conservation of the Great Barrier Reef and our planet in my hometown. I will take action to reduce my energy and water use, minimise my use of single-use plastic items, choose eco or green products and participate in environmental programs. I will educate my family, friends and community about actions they can take to help protect our environment.

Thank you for doing your part to help us protect and preserve this precious ecosystem for future generations.

Island History and Fun Facts

Lady Elliot Island was not always the picture of ecological health that it is today. In fact, before it became home to a global-leading eco resort, this now lush coral cay was a barren, lonesome landscape decimated by human activity.

Lady Elliot Island lies within the Great Barrier Reef Sea Country of the Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang, Byellee and Taribelang Bunda Traditional Owner groups. We respectfully acknowledge the continuing sea country management and custodianship of the Great Barrier Reef by Traditional Owners.

The island was not officially named until 1816, when Captain Thomas Stuart ‘discovered’ it aboard the vessel the ‘Lady Elliot’. From 1863 to 1873, Lady Elliot Island was mined for its rich guano (or accumulated bird poo) - considered a valuable fertiliser and gunpowder ingredient. Roughly 20,000 tonnes (or 2 metres of topsoil) of guano was removed during this period, devastating the island’s natural vegetation.

In 1873, a permanent light station was established to assist in the safe navigation of ships. This red and white heritage-listed lighthouse and a collection of keeper’s cottages are nestled on the western side of the island, along the Heritage Trail. The heritage-listed lighthouse celebrated its 150th birthday in 2023. Despite the presence of the lighthouse, Lady Elliot was once known as Shipwreck Island, on account of the many ships claimed by the surrounding reefs. At one time, a herd of goats was kept on the Island to ensure food for shipwrecked sailors! Life on the lightstation at that time for the lighthouse keepers and their families was hard work, but it was also romantic, idyllic and filled with a connection to nature and a sense of freedom.

In 1969, Mr Don Adams commenced tourism and conservation on the island, and his revegetation program began to turn the tide on the island’s sorry state. By the late 1980s, his efforts had been so successful that trees began to obstruct visibility of the historic lighthouse beam. In 1995, a new solar-powered light tower took over the task of aiding the safe passage of passing ships and the heritage-listed red and white lighthouse was decommissioned.

The island’s low-key resort was further developed by previous lease holders and today, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort is recognised as one of the leading ecologically sustainable tourism operators on the Great Barrier Reef.

The Great Barrier Reef

Lady Elliot Island is perched on the southern tip of the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef – the largest living structure on the planet, and one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World!

Stretching 2300 kilometres from the northern tip of Queensland to just north of Bundaberg, it is without doubt one of the most complex and incredible ecosystems in the world. Its 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and about 150 inshore mangrove islands cover over 344,000 square kilometres, providing a home for an amazing array of aquatic animals, from microscopic plankton to majestic whales weighing more than 100 tonnes.

In recognition of its outstanding and unique natural values, the Great Barrier Reef was declared a Marine Park in 1975, and in 1981, became the largest World Heritage Area on earth! It’s protection and preservation are managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and the Environmental Management Charge you pay when visiting Lady Elliot Island goes directly towards the ongoing management and conservation of this precious natural wonder.

The spectacular reef surrounding Lady Elliot Island forms part of the Green Marine National Park Zone, where you’ll discover some of the most diverse, colourful and intriguing marine animals and reef life. Did you know that a loud reef is a healthy reef? When you dip your head beneath the surface of the ocean off Lady Elliot Island, you’ll encounter an underwater wonderland full of life – and sound! All around you, the water echoes with the click, clacking, popping sound of the reef’s residents – from snapping shrimp to parrot fish chomping on coral, to the low, haunting songs of passing humpback whales. What an incredible symphony of sound!

Keep listening to learn more about the astounding variety of species who find refuge amidst this precious and pristine aquatic environment.

Majestic Marine Life and Nature’s Calendar

The island’s pristine and easily accessed lagoons and reefs are home to over 1,200 different species of marine life, including turtles, dolphins, manta rays, sharks, humpback whales in season, and a plethora of fish. Small marine life are also abundant and much of it is easily discovered while reef walking or snorkelling.

Lady Elliot Island is known as the ‘Home of the Manta Ray,’ and research group Project Manta has identified over one thousand individual rays in the surrounding waters. That makes for pretty good odds of encountering one of these gentle, curious creatures while you are exploring the island’s crystal-clear waters.

These giant kites of the sea feed around the island throughout the year, but aggregate in larger numbers during the cooler winter months, and especially in May to August, when water visibility is exceptional. The manta rays found on Lady Eliot Island have a wingspan of up to five meters! Encounters can occur whilst snorkelling, scuba diving or from our glass bottom boats.

We are very fortunate to have three species of sea turtles frequent Lady Elliot Island – Hawksbill, Green and Loggerhead turtles. Green and Loggerhead turtles normally nest here between November and March, after dark, and usually in association with the high tide. Under the careful guidance of our Turtle Rangers, guests of all ages can experience this amazing natural phenomenon.

At the end of the nesting season, thousands of baby turtles push through their sand nest on their way to the sea. This wonder of nature occurs only metres from the resort’s beachfront balconies and can be observed at close quarters by our guests. Turtle hatching season normally runs from January to April.

From June to October graceful humpback whales migrate past Lady Elliot Island. Regular sightings occur on the scenic flights and around the island. Almost daily during the season, whale songs can be heard under the water while swimming, snorkelling and diving, creating an unforgettable underwater orchestra.

Other Flora and Fauna

Lady Elliot Island is a nature-lovers sanctuary. Along with its exquisite assortment of majestic marine life, this pristine island paradise also boasts a wide variety of colourful corals, lush vegetation and nesting seabirds.

The island’s highly protected ‘Green Zone’ status and remote location contribute to its remarkable biodiversity. Also, the continental shelf is only approximately eight kilometres to the east, bringing the benefits of the East Australian Current.

The diverse corals on the reef surrounding Lady Elliot Island are in excellent condition, and divers can enjoy a wonderful mix of hard and soft corals, including magnificent fan corals, while exploring the Island’s many bommies, wall dives and on the wreck of a schooner. Plenty of bright sunshine, relatively warm water temperatures and excellent visibility further enhance the experience. As mentioned earlier, a healthy reef is also a noisy reef, and hydrophones can hear these reefs at an amazing distance of over a kilometre from the Island.

The island’s vegetation is a mix of iconic coral cay species, such as octopus bushes, Casuarina and Pisonia; and various herb, shrub, and ornamental species that in part owe their presence on the Island to the generations of lighthouse keepers and previous lease holders. While the island’s natural vegetation was largely decimated by guano mining, eight original Pisonia trees still stand by the pool area. Take a walk underneath these massive trees to grasp an appreciation of their sheer size – some with trunks the size of a small car!

A Pisonia forest in the south-west part of the Island is associated with a large noddy bird rookery, and a pair of sea eagles also frequent this part of the Island. Frigate birds soar overhead, boobies are common, mutton birds descend in the evenings, and the Island is even home to several breeding pairs of the rare red-tailed tropic birds. Lady Elliot Island is now one of the most important seabird nesting sites in the entire Great Barrier Reef and is a magnet for bird watchers, especially during the summer months.