Great Barrier Reef - Lizard Island

Remember at the beginning of my story when Captain James Cook ran his ship aground on what he thought was rock but was, in fact, the Barrier Reef? After weeks of repairing his ship, Cook searched for safe passage north. He sailed to Lizard Island, anchored off in one of the bays, and hiked up to the highest point, now called Cook's Look, on the northeast of the island to find a way out of the reefs.

Cook was responsible for naming Lizard Island. As you may have guessed, the only land animals he saw were lizards. There are 11 species of reptiles on the island. The most common one is the yellow-spotted monitor, seen wandering around the resort area but found all over.

Lizard Island is the northernmost and last resort island in the Barrier Reef. It is wonderfully pristine with crystal clear waters and an impressive 24 white beaches to frolic on. At the southern end is the deep Blue Lagoon encircled by fringing reefs and three smaller islands.

While Lizard Island is a fantastic haven to escape, it also holds some sad environmental events. Over the last six years, the island has been impacted by coral bleaching four times. Coral bleaching is a result of zooxanthellae being turfed out by polyps when they are under stress. When water temperatures rise, the zooxanthellae produce too much oxygen which the polyps cannot handle. When the zooxanthellae have left, taking the colour pigment with them, the polyps turn white, hence the term bleaching. Polyps can live without zooxanthellae for a short time, but without their food source, they eventually starve and die.

Halfway between Seabird Islet and South Island is a spot illustrating the effects of coral bleaching. Mounds of staghorn coral are devoid of colour, unlike the giant clam right next to it. Some of the Acropora gemmifera, a type of stony coral near the clam, are almost fluorescent purple. It looks stunning and is easily considered healthy, but the colour is a protein released by the coral acting like sunscreen against rising water temperatures. It’s like its final stand.

Some of the coral at Lizard Island have an opportunity to recover and repopulate, provided the weather conditions remain within a reasonable range. Only time will tell.



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