Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort

16/10/2026

It takes more than good intentions to restore an island. It takes data, and lots of it! 🐠🪸

Through the Reef Islands Initiative, more than 70 researchers, citizen scientists and students have come together to better understand the biodiversity of the island.

Their work, through the Leaf to Reef: Biodiversity of Lady Elliot Island research program, has given us a full ecological snapshot of Lady Elliot Island - confirming it as a vital sanctuary for both terrestrial and marine species! 💚

Understanding an island is the first step to protecting it.

🎥 See the restoration story of Lady Elliot Island. Watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

12/10/2026

Islands are lifelines for the species that depend on the Great Barrier Reef 🐠

Across the Reef's more than 1,000 islands, seabirds find places to stop, nest and feed, and turtles return to the same shores to nest and hatch, generation after generation.

As climate change puts growing pressure on the Reef and everything that calls it home, healthy island habitats matter more now than ever 🪸

Through the Reef Islands Initiative, together we’ve spent the last eight years restoring and protecting Lady Elliot Island for generations to come.

🎥 See how we're bringing Lady Elliot Island back to life - watch the full story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

10/10/2026

Give your Christmas party a little more shell-ebration! 🎉

Swap the office Christmas party for a day on the reef, where your team can snorkel alongside Lady Elliot Island’s resident turtles, explore the Southern Great Barrier Reef and enjoy a festive beachfront lunch 😍

Your Day Tour Includes:
📸 Return Scenic Flights
🍴 Buffet lunch with fresh prawns & beverages
🐋 Glass Bottom Boat & Guided Snorkel Tour
& much more!

It’s a Christmas celebration with a little more ocean, a lot more nature and memories that will last well beyond the festive season.

Find prices, read more and enquire today: https://ladyelliot.com.au/corporate-day-tours/

🤳 07 5536 3644

08/10/2026

Lady Elliot Island is becoming a climate refuge 🪸

As the impacts of climate change intensify on the Great Barrier Reef, species are expected to migrate south in search of cooler conditions.

Thanks to the Leaf to Reef: Biodiversity of Lady Elliot Island research as part of the Reef Islands Initiative, modelling is showing what that could mean for Lady Elliot Island, and the findings are striking. Rather than declining, biodiversity here is projected to hold steady, or even increase.

That makes the health of this island more critical than ever 💚

🎥 Learn how we're restoring Lady Elliot Island - watch the full story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for the next mini update

Produced by BenandDi

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

06/10/2026

There's nothing quite like hearing whale song underwater 🐋

Guest reviews like this one are exactly why we do what we do. Jennifer, who visited us in August, shared: "Great to see so many whales passing by, hearing the whale song under water, and if you're lucky as we were, they may even swim past you while you're under water."

Moments like these remind us why we aim to protect this island, reef and its ocean giants, so they're here for generations of guests to come 🌊

Ready to create your own reef story?

Book your visit here: https://ladyelliot.com.au/

We look forward to welcoming you to the Great Barrier Reef 🐢

02/10/2026

🪸 'Life in the Great Barrier Reef' is a breathtaking 360-degree virtual reality (VR) journey through the UNESCO World Heritage listed marine park, taking viewers beneath the surface alongside turtles, manta rays, sharks and whales.

🎬 The film is a White Spark Pictures production, featuring some world-first footage captured around Lady Elliot Island in late 2025.

Experience the film for yourself in VR at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra or at the Western Australian Museum in Perth.

🤞Hopefully it will be on screens in Queensland soon - watch this space for updates!

🎥 You can watch the official trailer here: https://youtu.be/edJ74dXWLAA?si=FJh_y5XjUwhWPdan

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

30/09/2026

How do you regenerate a remote coral cay with almost no soil and no fresh water? 💦

It’s been one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced in our revegetation journey!

Back in 2015, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort began composting food waste to create much-needed soil and nutrients for growing native plants. From there collectively, we’ve continued to find new and innovative ways to help plants survive in one of the most challenging environments on the Great Barrier Reef, including targeted drip irrigation systems that make every drop of water count 🍃

The Reef Islands Initiative has been pivotal in navigating these challenges and identifying what’s possible when science, innovation and people come together.

Today, Lady Elliot Island is home to the first coral cay plant nursery of its kind on the Great Barrier Reef, with more than 6,000 native plants grown to help restore the island 💚

Watch the full story here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

& stay tuned for the next mini-episode!

Video produced by BenandDi

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

29/09/2026

Journey to the Southern Great Barrier Reef during turtle season and witness nesting and hatching turtles up close ✨

🌴 TODAY is your LAST day to lock in this offer

👉 Visit: https://ladyelliot.com.au/packages/turtle-trek-3-night-package/

26/09/2026

Do you love turtles? Well, we do too! 🐢

In an exciting update, we’re pleased to share that over the past eight years, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation Reef Islands Initiative has increased turtle nesting habitat on Lady Elliot Island by 125%!

But why is vegetation so important for turtles? 🍃

Our native plants help stabilise the sand, provide shelter and create suitable areas for turtles to come ashore and lay their eggs. Just as importantly, regenerating the island’s vegetation helps maintain clear, unobstructed pathways between nesting areas and the ocean for tiny hatchlings making their way to the water.

So, when we plant and protect native vegetation, we’re not just restoring the island, we’re creating better habitat for turtles 💚

Watch the full story on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEf4G4MXimQ

Follow along for our next mini-update!

Video produced by ‪BenandDi

The Reef Islands Initiative at Lady Elliot Island is a Great Barrier Reef Foundation program, supported by funding from Lendlease, the Australian Government’s Reef Trust, the Queensland Government and the Fitzgerald Family Foundation. It is delivered in partnership with Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, the Reef Authority and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

25/09/2026

Tourism Leaders Unplugged is live and Custodian Amy Gash was honoured to be the first guest 🙌

A little while ago, Abbey Filko invited Amy to sit down and talk about her journey in tourism, her connection to Lady Elliot Island and the Great Barrier Reef, and some of her experiences that have shaped the way she thinks about tourism, sustainability and custodianship.

That conversation is now the first episode of Tourism Leaders Unplugged, a new video podcast series produced by The University of Queensland in partnership with Queensland Tourism Industry Council - QTIC

The series brings together candid conversations with people shaping Queensland tourism - exploring their careers, the ideas and challenges influencing the industry, what they’ve learned along the way and where they believe tourism is heading next.

In Amys episode, they talk about growing up around Lady Elliot Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef, what it takes to operate an island resort 80 kilometres offshore, careers in ecotourism, conservation and sustainability - and even the story behind Ellie’s Reef Adventures.

🎧 Listen to the first episode here: https://tourismleadersunplugged.buzzsprout.com/

If you work in tourism, are interested in the future of the industry, or simply love the Great Barrier Reef, have a listen and share it with your networks.