Capricornia Cays QLD Aus

The Capricorn Group and Bunker Group are two groups of islands and reefs extending parallel to Queensland’s coast some 80 kilometers northeast of Gladstone. These two groups are protected as the Capricornia Cays National Park.

At the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, the beauty of the Capricorn-Bunker group of islands was one of the reasons the Great Barrier Reef was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Area in 1981. The natural integrity of the heavily vegetated cays contrasting with the blue reef waters and white coral sands is visually impressive, but these cays and islands are also important for seabirds and turtles.

The park contains the most important offshore loggerhead turtle rookery on Australia’s east coast and research stations on Heron Island and One Tree monitor the conditions on land and in the sea. About 80% of Australia’s Pisonia grandis trees grow in the park and almost 75% of the Great Barrier Reef’s seabird biomass occurs in the Capricornia Cays National Park, with large groups of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters and Black Noddies prominent.