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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Travel
Dwayne Grant

Seeds of destruction: amid Lady Musgrave Island’s wonders lies a brutal killing field

A black noddy tern in a pisonia tree on Lady Musgrave Island
A black noddy tern in a pisonia tree on Lady Musgrave Island. The trees’ seed pods can be a death trap for the birds. Photograph: Paul Beutel/Paul Beutel. Lady Musgrave Experience

None of us expected Angela to become a killer. Much too nice. Much too sweet. Much too likely to follow the rules and not take matters into her own hands. Then again, none of us expected to end up on an island where the spectre of death can drive the nicest, sweetest woman to do just that.

The island was Lady Musgrave, an uninhabited coral cay almost 100km north-east of Bundaberg and our home for the best part of a week. Five nights, six days, eight adults, 11 children, one tropical paradise. They call it one of the most magical places in the world and they’re not telling a lie. It’s a tiny strip of land nestled in a World Heritage-listed marine park that even David Attenborough’s high-definition cameras and highly distinctive voice would struggle to do justice.

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