Treasure Island - The Southern Great Barrier Reef's Lady Elliot Island

The Great Barrier Reef, at 2300 kms (1400 miles) is almost twice the length of Italy. It's pristine southern end, just four hours drive, or a short flight from Brisbane, however remains a bit of a secret yet is no less spectacular than the tourist hot-spots off Cairns. For this episode of ExtraVirgin, we travel to one of the southern islands, where we hear from Amy Gash, whose family caretake a spectactular coral cay where you can step into the coral gardens from the beach and swim with turtles, manta rays the size of small cars, reef sharks and a rainbow of fish. Amy and Natascha talk about the health of the reef, what it's like to grow up with an island as your playground and the measures her family are taking to ensure the island continues to be a leader in sustainable tourism.