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| | Lady Elliot Island (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-19) |
 | | In their wake, vegetation is returning, with soft-leaved pisonia trees asserting themselves over a bed of pulverized coral rubble, sand, and – in common with all the southern cays – a thick layer of guano, courtesy of the generations of birds which have roosted here. |
 | | One of the main reasons to come to Lady Elliot is to go diving and snorkelling, and the area certainly has its moments: visibility is always above 20m, and all year round you’ve a good chance of encountering loggerhead turtles and graceful, gigantic manta rays. |
 | | Accommodation at Lady Elliot Island Resort (reservations free tel 1800/072 200, information tel 07/4125 5344; $61 and over) is comfortable, if not opulent, with meals (but not flights) included in the rates; better value are packages that include airfare and stand-by bookings. |
| www.pacificislandtravel.com /australia/queensland/ladyelliotisland.asp (445 words) |
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