A humble island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef that's renowned for its lack of development has undergone one of its biggest makeovers.
The pristine wonder of Lady Musgrave Island is accessible to day visitors and a limited number of campers from either Bundaberg or the Town of 1770.
The recent $765,000 upgrade to the island's campground amenities has made it wheelchair accessible and also added a new advanced compositing toilet system.
Campground host Sarah Salmon said the toilets "look beautiful" and "blend into the surroundings".
"It's a nice easy space for us as hosts to maintain," she said.
"They [Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service] also redo the campgrounds after turtle nesting season, and re-mark out all the sites, and all the bollards and roping for that got replaced as well.
"It was lovely to be the first hosts on the island after all of that upgrade."
Ms Salmon said it was great to enable wheelchair access to the "absolutely stunning" island for more people.
"Lady Musgrave Island gets hundreds of daily visitors from tourism operators to the island," she said.
"So it allows that access to such a beautiful and remote part of the marine park."
Conservation is key
Ms Salmon said while the wildlife had free-reign to wander the island, human visitors were limited to designated parts.
"There's always roping around the campsites to stop people going further into the island," she said.
"We're very privileged to be able to visit these spots, which have extreme natural values including being really important seabird breeding sites."
Lady Musgrave Island and the surrounding reef is known to host turtles, humpback whales, manta rays, sharks and fish.
Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said conservation was a key element in the upgrades.
"The design and construction uses low-maintenance materials and installation methods that reduces the long-term impact on the sensitive environment," she said.
"The zero-discharge treatment system safely manages visitor waste, protecting the fragile coral cay ecosystems."
'Unique' attraction
Bundaberg Tourism marketing manager Ellie Tonkin welcomed the upgrades.
"It's a really popular place for people who are keen to rough it, to take everything out themselves to an island, and to just live in harmony with this incredible part of the reef," she said.
"Having the upgraded facilities is definitely going to make it easier for people as they're going out."
Ms Tonkin said it was wonderful to see many people experiencing the "special" and "unique" elements of the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
"Right across summer, obviously a lot of people [are] going out and experiencing the camping out there via private boat.
"Reef operators are so ecstatic by this return of visitors.
"As the sun goes down, and the birds are chirping and you've got the turtles coming up over summer, and you just feel like you're in somewhere that's so special and so important, and you can't help but need to protect it."
