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Capricornia Cays National Park

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Overview

Capricornia Cays National Park is a national park that comprises a couple of islands in the Great Barrier Reef. As it is a part of the GBR, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Wikivoyage guide · 8 sections

▸Introduction175 chars

Capricornia Cays National Park is a national park that comprises a couple of islands in the Great Barrier Reef. As it is a part of the GBR, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

▸Visitor information centre126 chars

1 Heron Island Information Centre. The main visitor centre of this island located near Heron Island Resort. (updated Jan 2022)

▸Get in328 chars

The only way to get in the national park is via charter boat or by plane, with one of these following operators. Most boats depart from Gladstone, Bundaberg, or 1770.

Heron Island has regular ferries from Gladstone that departs at 9:30AM every morning except on Tuesdays and Thursdays which returns back to Gladstone at 12:30PM.

▸See109 chars

A trip to these islands is never complete without turtle watching. See the Queensland Parks website for more.

▸Do413 chars

Snorkel at one of the many reefs nearby, on whichever island you're on.

There are two walking tracks, North West Island track, a 1.7 km (1.1 mi) (one way) taking 20 minutes and the Lady Musgrave Island track a 1.1 km (0.68 mi) track taking 20 minutes to do.

Boating and fishing are quite popular things to do in these islands but in order to protect the area, you will need to follow these guidelines by the QPWS.

▸Eat126 chars

1 Shearwater Restaurant, see #Sleep. The only restaurant of any kind in Heron Island managed by the resort. (updated Jan 2022)

▸Lodging191 chars

1 Heron Island Resort, toll-free: 1800 875 343. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: 10AM. An upper mid-range style of resort located on Heron Island near a range of reef activities. (updated Jan 2022)

▸Camping625 chars

There are three campgrounds in the park, and all campgrounds need a booking and bookings for camping can be made here.

2 North West Campground. In North West Island, open all year for day use, but camping is only permitted from Easter to Australia Day (updated Jan 2022)

3 Lady Musgrave Campground. You pretty much have the islands and the reefs to your group and is open all year for day use, but camping is only permitted from Easter to Australia Day (updated Jan 2022)

4 Mast Head Island. A campground where you pretty much have a near-whole island to yourself, but only open from Easter to October 14. (updated Jan 2022)

Facts

Rank

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Coordinates

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Source

WBP almanac

External sources

Wikivoyage Wikipedia

Media

From Wikipedia451 words

Introduction

National park in Australia Capricornia Cays National ParkIUCN category II (national park)The Capricornia Cays support a breeding population of over half a million breeding pairs of wedge-tailed shearwatersCapricornia Cays National ParkLocationQueenslandCoordinates23°14′54″S 151°46′41″E / 23.24833°S 151.77806°E / -23.24833; 151.77806Area1.78 km2 (0.69 sq mi)Established1994Governing bodyQueensland Parks and Wildlife ServiceWebsitehttps://parks.qld.gov.au/parks/capricornia-cays Capricornia Cays is both a national park and a scientific national park in Queensland (Australia), located 486 km and 472 km north of the state capital Brisbane respectively. Collectively they comprise 241 ha of coral cays. Popular recreational activities in the park includes bird, whale and turtle watching as well as camping, walking, swimming, boating, snorkelling and diving. Capricornia Cays National Park is noted for its biological diversity, beauty and for provided habitat for a number of endangered plants and animals. In particular the cays are recognised as having the largest breeding population of endangered loggerhead turtles in the South Pacific. Access to the islands via boat is available from Gladstone, Bundaberg and 1770.

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The cays

[edit] Capricornia Cays National Park protects eight vegetated coral cays in the Capricorn and Bunker group of islands of the southern Great Barrier Reef: Erskine Island Heron Island (eastern half) Lady Musgrave Island – Open for visiting, capable of 40 campers. Masthead Island – Open for visiting, capable of 60 campers; however, this is limited to 30 from October to March each year to allow a less disrupted egg-laying ground for turtles. North West Island – Open for visiting, capable of 150 campers. Tryon Island – Currently closed to public access due to a tree infection, the island has the capacity for 30 campers. Wilson Island The cays are completely built by corals. The area is also of significance as a fishery, particularly for king prawns These eight islands are part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area and all surrounded by reefs. Vegetation on the cays is dominated by the flowering tree species, Pisonia grandis. A further six cays form Capricornia Cays National Park (Scientific): One Tree Island Wreck Island Fairfax Islands, (East Fairfax & West Fairfax) Hoskyn Islands (East and West Hoskyn islands) There is no public access to these cays.