Overview
The cay is about four hectares of sand and pisonia trees with the white lighthouse at its centre, and it is the only part visitors land on. Woody Island, the mangrove island across the lagoon, is closed and left to the birds. The reef between them is shallow and sheltered, which is the practical point: you can snorkel straight off the beach rather than from a boat in open water. A research station operated here from the 1920s and the reef has one of the longest observation records anywhere on the Great Barrier Reef.
Highlights
Snorkel the lagoon edge at high tide, when the water over the coral is deep enough to swim comfortably and green turtles come in to feed. Guided walks on the cay cover the lighthouse and the nesting seabirds; the pisonia trees are worth a look for their sticky seeds. Day boats leave Port Douglas each morning and the crossing takes under an hour, and the shallow water makes it a reasonable reef trip with children.