Located in Hardy Reef, Heart Reef is best experienced from the air by helicopter or seaplane, as visitors are unable to snorkel or dive there due it's protected status.

Heart Reef is an iconic Whitsunday tourism destination and part of the international tourism circuit. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a vast, complex and highly dynamic land and seascape that was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981. It was discovered by an Air Whitsunday pilot in 1975. A little-known Dreaming story that explains the creation of the Great Barrier Reef unites traditional owners along the Queensland coast in a new tourism venture. Animals such as dugongs and turtles have long been part of Aboriginal dreaming and are important in many aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture. The cultural significance of the Great Barrier Reef to these communities has largely been documented through paintings, songs and stories that have been passed down through generations. The Aborigines and Torres Straight people used these waters to gather fish and other natural resources required for their sustenance. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef region. Located in Hardy Reef, Heart Reef is best experienced from the air by helicopter or seaplane, as visitors are unable to snorkel or dive there due it's protected status. The Great Barrier Reef is important in the history and culture of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Important cultural sites and values exist on many islands and reefs in the Great Barrier Reef Region. Heritage Significance Assessment . Heart Reef, in the Great Barrier Reef of the Whitsundays, is a stunning composition of coral that has naturally formed into the shape of a heart. It was discovered by an Air Whitsunday pilot in 1975.

For over 60,000 years their traditional connections have been part of the unique living maritime culture, and today their traditional customs and spiritual lore continue to be practiced in their use of sea country and natural resources. The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system (and it's largest living structure), comprising nearly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands off the eastern coast of Australia. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

Heart Reef, in the Great Barrier Reef of the Whitsundays, is a stunning composition of coral that has naturally formed into the shape of a heart.