Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef

Wilson Island is located ~100km off the coast of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia. Its a tiny island (a couple of hundred metres across), with accommodation to support up to 12 guests at any time.

I first visited Wilson Island 35 years ago when i was 7 (children are no longer permitted on the island). Even as a child it had a big impact on me. I remember the beach dropping off relatively quickly into a deep reef. I remember the huge coral bommie (~6m across) located off the beach (visible in the image below), which I understand is the largest single-colony coral bommie in the southern hemisphere.

Coral bommie off Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef.

The island supports a mass of sea birds, including thousands of noddy turns, shearwaters, boobies, frigate birds and sea eagles. Being pooped on is a daily experience, but a small price to pay for being on this island.

The bommie acts as a cleaning station for the many green sea turtles that congrate for mating and then egg laying in October and November. Turtles would often queue up at the top of the bommie, waiting their turn.

In the morning, adult female green sea turtles can be found on the beach, seeking some respite from the randy males that prowl the shallows. The females are also practicing from when they need to climb up the beach in a few weeks time to lay their eggs.

Female green sea turtle, Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef.

Other wildlife in abundance on Wilson Island are black tip reef sharks, white tip reef sharks and eagles ray.

While photographing eagle rays just off the beach, I was lucky enough to have a great hammerhead shark come in to take a look at me. The shark was likely hunting eagles rays at the time. This was a rare and special encounter, given how shy great hammerhead sharks are and how infrequently they are seen on the great barrier reef.

Great hammerhead shark off Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef.