Heron Island

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Early morning swim... Into the never-never of the Great Barrier Reef.

Turtles, rays, sharks!

Nov 8-13, 2023

What you need to know...

Package includes -

5 nights accommodation
Return ferry transfers from Gladstone
All meals
Welcome drinks
Early morning reef swims (unescorted by support craft, conditions allowing)
Daily swims along nearby reefs (escorted, conditions allowing)
oceanswimsafaris silicone swim cap + dry bag
Packages from $A2,690 pp (double/twin), and $A3,650 singles (depending on room standard – See rate flyer link below for complete list of rates).

Enquiries & bookings…

Please look over our package attached flyer for rates… Click here

Enquiries… Click here

See what others say about our oceanswimsafaris... Click here

Please check our Terms & Conditions... Click here

To book… Click here

It's rapidly become the most popular location on the oceanswimsafaris calendar. Heron Island is part of a cluster of islands at the bottom of the Great Barrier Reef. It's a national park, which means the area is crawling (and swimming and flying) with sea life and all sorts of other wondrous creatures: at different times of the year, humpback whales (June-November), Manta rays (June-September), turtles laying (October-February), turtles hatching (December-June). There is just so much there! Being right on the Great Barrier Reef, the water generally is absolutely clear and pleasant. And at c. 65kms out from the coast, Heron Island, is well outside the coastal band where the nasty stingers hang about (up to about 40kms from the coast – and no other accessible, suitable island, including on the Great Barrier Reef, can claim that). Swimming on the Great Barrier Reef is unparallelled in Australia – perhaps the world – for its beauty and its excitement.

The Heron Island oceanswimsafaris won’t be in quite the same form as the Great Barrier Reef swims previously that ran until 2017, in that we don’t run formal swim events as part of a four-night package. Instead, we run a five-night package with four days of escorted, informal swims to different parts of reef drop-offs around Heron Island. (We always felt that four nights wasn’t quite enough.)

Reefs

Those of you who are familiar with Heron Island will know how many other reefs and islands there are around the area, quite apart from the enormous reef on which Heron itself sits. Our earlier groups never got to visit most of this reef. We always used to gaze out wistfully, across the reef disappearing into the distance, wondering what pristine reef and sea life we would find out there, if only…

Most of our anticipated swim spots are within short boat rides of Heron Island Resort, and whilst some of these spots have been visited by divers, they have not been visited by ocean swimmers until we organised to take you there.

Swims

Our plan is to conduct an escorted swim daily on each of the four full days on which we are on Heron Island, along different reefs (conditions on the day permitting). Our escorted swims will take place each morning, post-brekker. Excursions will run for 2-3 hours, depending on the course (travel time, time in the water, etc). We’d aim to swim distances of 2-3km each time, although that will vary with conditions and the locations. These swims are not races: we want you to enjoy the locations; to explore and enjoy the reef, the sea life, and the water; to enjoy swimming with friends. If you spot something you want to look at more closely, you can do so. All that we ask is that our groups keep swimming generally in the same direction. We will regroup regularly (we don’t want anyone left behind).

We'll also be doing informal morning, pre-brekker swims, if you like.

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The mob, Heron Island jetty, October, 2022. (Once they've been shown the oceanswimmers' salute, along with a presentation on its provenance, they just want to do it all the time.

Escorts

We will get to these swim spots with the Heron Island boats, which will stay with us throughout our swims. They’re large, covered boats with c. 25 person capacity, although we don't like to fill them to the brim; we prefer to leave a bit of space for comfort. The number of boats depends on how many we have in our group. The boats will have a two-person crew of skipper and lookout. You will be able to climb back into the boat as you like, and dive into the water at any time during the escorted swims.

And then…

Afternoons will be kept free so you can arrange other activities if you like, or just lie on the beach, or by the pool, or go diving, etc.

We have timed our dates with high tides in the morning, so we’ll also swim informally (unescorted) on the island's reef each morning prior to brekker, if you’d like to join us.

Idiomatic water entry in glorious Great Barrier Reef conditions (there is no near rivalry between conditions on the reef and those inside the reef).

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You won't get water like this unless you're swimming right on the Great Barrier Reef.

Package

Our package is ex-Gladstone. It includes accommodation at Heron Island Resort (5 nights), all meals, ferry transfers to Heron Island and back, and the escorted swims. We’ve also included an opening night drinks reception at which we can all say hi and have an introductory chinwag prior to dinner.

We have assembled packages based on different room standards at Heron Island Resort. There is a link (Click here) to the resort’s website so that you can check out those different room standards.

While we have done packages for all room standards offererd by Heron Island Resort, we strongly recommend Reef rooms and upwards, for their location on the island and proximity to the beach. Also, Heron Island Resort has undergone extensive renewal of its infrastructure recently, and some Turtle rooms may still be awaiting their turn.

The reef is different

Anyone who has ever swum on the Great Barrier Reef knows how special and different it is from pretty well anywhere else. Different even from the waters inside the reef, such as around the inshore islands off the Queensland coast, like the Whitsundays. There really is no comparison.

That’s why people who’ve been there talk about it so much. We love hearing the oohs and aahs when new swimmers arrive on the Heron jetty, and catch their first glimpse of the sea life in the lagoon. When they leave, they’re very different people. It’s a life-changing experience.

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The ferry, the Heron Islander, arrives at the entrance to the island's harbour, with another load of punters to discover the joys of swimming with turtles, reef sharks, and rays, etc. (The ferry runs between Gladstone and Heron Island daily except Tuesday and Thursday.)

What's included...

Your oceanswimsafari package includes -

5 nights accommodation
Return ferry transfers from Gladstone
All meals
Welcome drinks
Early morning reef swims (unescorted by support craft, conditions allowing)
Daily swims along nearby reefs (escorted, conditions allowing)
oceanswimsafaris silicone swim cap + dry bag
Packages from $A2,690 pp (double/twin), and $A3,650 singles (depending on room standard – See rate flyer link below for complete list of rates).

Note: Most will need to overnight in Gladstone the night before boarding the ferry to Heron Island, in order to make the ferry departure on time. This is not included in the package above. On departure from Heron Island, overnights will not normally be required, Heron Island Resort advise us, provided your departure flights are scheduled after 4:45pm on departure day. (The ferry service is scheduled to depart Heron Island at 12:45 for a 2-hour journey back to Gladstone.) For more complete information about Heron Island transfers… Click here

Note that the providers with whom we work, especially those in Queensland, are operating under difficult conditions caused by the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on their ability to attract and retain staff. Staff, and providers, do their best to provide the services you need, but this difficulty can affect the quality and timeliness of the services provided. We ask for your understanding on this.

Note also that we will send out a comprehensive brief to all those who book prior to your departure on your Heron Island oceanswimsafari.

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By the jetty.

Our goals

We aim for every swim to be a pleasure, not a chore. We are not about swimming the longest distance in the shortest time. We are not about ticking boxes. We are there to soak up the experience of some very special places and moments and some extraordinary water and swim courses. We want everyone to enjoy their swims, no matter their ability. We are not here to satisfy obsessives who just want longer, faster, farther. We are inclusive, not elitist. If you set new, personal benchmarks along the way, then that's good, but it’s not the aim of the group overall.

This is why we build other activities into our oceanswimsfaris. The places we take you are rich in culture, history, cuisine, and character. We want you to sample as much of that as possible. Swimming is the catalyst for our presence, but there's much more to these places than that.

To join us to swim, you need to be able to swim 1km freestyle without stopping. You will find you can actually swim much farther than that once you're in the peloton situation. You don't need to be fast and you don't need to be a world-beater. You might not be a swimmer yourself; you might be accompanying a swimmer. Some people just come along for the ride. There still will be opportunities for you to swim in some locations. But when we're swimming as a group, we cannot afford to be stretched out or held back. If you get into the water to swim, then you must swim. We cannot afford for anyone to hang back admiring a coral head, fascinated by an anenome fish, mooching around in the one spot. If you see something interesting, by all means stop or slow down for a closer look, but don’t dwell too long. This is in the interests of the safety of the group overall.

We generally swim 1.5km - 3km in a session, depending on conditions and the experience and capacity of our group.

Details, details…