LADY ELLIOT ISLAND | Wilderness and Adventure

Mantas, Turtles, Sharks & rays

13th to 18th July 2026

Lady Elliot Island | Queensland

Welcome to the Great Barrier Reef

Lady Elliot Island offers a diverse diving experience. Snorkelling on the reef surrounding this island is easily accessible straight off the beaches. Scuba diving can be arranged twice a day if you fancy adding some deeper sites.

We will be exploring the two main spots for pelagic sightings during the day. Lighthouse and Coral Gardens are frequently visited by mantas, eagle rays, sharks and turtles, and we will keep an eye out for whales too.

There are countless turtles in the Lagoon that come in with the high tide; those moody and beautiful shots are one click away. Finish the day with drinks at sunset and looking at the Milky Way on this remote island.

Lady Elliot Island is one of the most significant seabird breeding sites in the Great Barrier Reef, with up to 100,000 birds nesting during summer. If you’re a bird enthusiast, this is your place.

Whether you’re a photographer or non photographer, join us for an unrivalled wildlife experience under and above water.

** All water images displayed were taken by Vanessa Torres Macho during their last visit in July 2025.

Green turtles at the Lagoon

Tiger Shark at Lighthouse Manta Bommie

Reef manta at Lighthouse

Sunrise mantas at Lighthouse

The elusive black manta

Schooling Eagle rays

Lady Elliot Island

Snorkelling and diving is a great way to get up close and personal with the amazing marine life and explore the wonders of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Voted by Lonely Planet as number 2 of the ‘7 best beaches for snorkelling around the world’ in 2020.

From $2350 per person, includes:

Flight to/from Hervey Bay - Lady Elliot
Full buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner
Snorkel Equipment & lesson if required
Combined glass bottom/ guided snorkel tour
Guided Reef walk (on low tide)
Guided Bird Tour (in season)
Island Tours
Expedition t-shirt
4 full days & 2 half days of snorkelling/freediving

Lighthouse and Coral Gardens sites

Morning and afternoon sessions in the Lagoon

Accommodation - 5 nights

5 Nights - twin share Eco Cabin & shared facilities

Underwater Photography Workshop

All Aquatic Imaging Australia expeditions include a pre-trip workshop to get the best out of your setup, as well as photo workshops/reviews throughout the expedition

Exclusions: Flight to/from Hervey Bay, scuba diving, dive equipment, environmental management charge $24

Booking conditions and requirements: To secure your place on this trip, please contact us via email (just click on the ‘Enquire’ button) or call us on 0403042846. A $500 non refundable deposit is required. Spots are very limited!

Book Now

Vanessa at Lighthouse- image taken by Al from @wetpixal

Your Expedition Leader

Vanessa is a passionate award winning underwater photographer, technical diver, scuba instructor and freediver who had the pleasure of visiting Lady Elliot in 2024 and 2025. She called this trip one of the most satisfactory underwater photography trips of her life.

Her 22 years of diving are marked by growth as a diver and working hard to perfect her craft. This enables her to bring you the best tips to create your best images regardless of the environment and feel comfortable in the water at the same time.

Freediver with turtle, green turtle, turtle, Lady Elliot Island, Expedition, Dive trip, Swimming with turtles

Freediving in Lady Elliot Island, expedition, Lady Elliot Island, Freediving, expedition

Two of our July 2025 guests enjoying Coral Gardens at Lady Elliot Island

Who is this trip for?

In a nutshell, this expedition is for ocean, nature and wildlife lovers. Whether you’re starting in your underwater photography journey, are a more experienced shooter or just love diving and want to enjoy the incredible wildlife encounters, this will not disappoint.

This trip is ran as a snorkelling and freediving adventure and as such, you will need to be a comfortable swimmer to be able to access Lighthouse and Coral Gardens reef.

The Lagoon is a fantastic location for stunning and easy to capture shots of turtles, octopus and reef sharks. Our schedule of 3 water sessions per day will allow you to get the best of your images and time.

Reef manta, Lady Elliot Island, drone, drone photography

Underwater Photography Workshop

Learn the art of capturing remarkable images during six days of snorkelling and freediving. This expedition will allow you to progress and finesse your creativity and technique. For those jumping on the photography train, this expedition will begin with a phone or face to face consultation with Vanessa; a quick health check on your gear and comfort shooting underwater.

For those in Sydney, we include a half day dry workshop which will provide you with practical techniques. Our schedule of 3 water sessions per day is a perfect opportunity to learn how to make your current setup work for you and get those desired images. Stop, think and shoot followed by review and applying feedback.

Throughout the expedition there will be opportunities to review images and plan ahead to get the most out of every dive. We know the struggle, we promise, we have been there before.