Islands & Sand Cays

What Animals live on the Islands

A large array of seabirds use the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef as nesting zones. Transient migratory seabirds visit the islands at certain breeding times throughout the year.

Goannas (Giant Lizards) live at some of the Islands like Frankland Islands and Green Islands. Small geckos and skinks live on the islands feeding on small insects and prey. 

Some of the Islands are turtle nesting grounds. Scientists have found sea turtles return to the same beach as where they are born to also lay their eggs. Fitzroy Island from Cairns has a turtle rehabilitation center that you can visit for a small entrance fee. This turtle hospital saves and cares for injured and sick sea turtles.

Try Snorkeling or Scuba Diving

Snorkeling and scuba diving from the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef is easy. Most Islands have shallow fringing reefs located very close to the beach. Usually a short swim from the beach you can find large coral gardens with many different species of soft and hard corals.

Islands are generally not the best place for scuba diving usually because of the shallow sandy water. If you are serious about scuba diving you should look at the Cairns Snorkel & Dive tour section of this website.

What are the Best Tide Times to Visit the Great Barrier Reef Islands?

Generally, all tide times are ok to visit the Islands. Low tide tends to expose the shallow reefs, this makes it easy to walk around on the beach and discover the small animals that live in the shallow rock pools.

Mid to high tide will allow you to snorkel above the corals. The tide changes every 6 hours so if it low tide in the morning you will experience a high tide by afternoon. This will allow you to see the reef both exposed out of the water and underwater.

If you are a little confused by all the snorkeling and diving tours. Read our article on how to choose the Best Snorkeling tour in Cairns and what to look out for.

What's the Best time of the Year to Visit the Great Barrier Reef?

The Winter months are generally the best time of the year to visit Cairns. Also known as the Cairns tourism season, Why? These are the main school holiday periods in Australia, North America, Europe and the UK. Also if you prefer warm, tropical waters, Cairns is always sunny with blue skies and great ocean conditions, especially during the Winter months.

Summer also provides ideal conditions for visiting the reef but, it also is known as the rainy season, so visiting Cairns in the Summer months means you could have rainy days. There is an advantage of visiting the reef in Summer and that is Coral Spawning. Around November and December every year the Great Barrier Reef goes into a sexual reproductive cycle called Coral Spawning. It is at this time of the year Corals will release billions of eggs and sperm to create the next generation of life on the reef.

Summer can also off spectacular diving conditions, the visibility is not always great but the Ocean conditions offer magical days of 0 to 5 knots of wind and what the locals call glass out conditions.

Unfortunately, at this same time of the year, there is the presence of marine stingers. But do not worry to much, it can be said that generally marine stingers are not out on the outer reefs, they are found on the coastal beaches & estuary systems near the mainland.