If you're over about 40 or so, you probably know where we went next by the title of this post - yes, Great Keppel Island! The old days of singles debauchery are long gone - the old party resort now sits empty on the side of a hill. There is, however, a whole lot more to Great Keppel than the 80's party scene!
Even getting to Keppel was an adventure. We left our car in a car park and ferried half an hour to the island. We were met on the beach by a ute which took us and our bags to our accommodation nearby. A tractor took the bags for the people staying at the resort. Cool!
There are only two main places to stay on Keppel - the resort, which we couldn't get into, and Geoff's place, the camping place next door that has a few glamping tents and two cabins. We had one of the cabins. It was a bit rough around the edges - it had glass louvres missing, the smoke alarm was long gone and there was no fan but we grew to love it. It had plenty of space and was pretty comfortable. People that we met on the boat on the way over were staying at the resort and they got a donga!
Keppel was stunningly beautiful. Its 17 beaches were spectacular viewed from above, on the sand or in the sea. It's one of the most beautiful islands I've ever seen.
We had some amazing walks with spectacular views. That turquoise water is stunning!
One downside was the rubbish that collected in unused areas. The resort seemed to store all its broken junk behind the accommodation areas.
The only place to eat was the resort. I use the term 'resort' loosely - there was no fancy attire or airs and graces here. Bare feet were the go at any time of day and everyone was so laid back. Best of all, happy hour happened every evening around sunset time and we had some fun nights here.
Part of the attraction of Great Keppel was the underwater life. The water was surprisingly cold though! Our wetsuits were useless - we had to hire thicker ones. We did a couple of snorkel trips which were great. We saw a few turtles as well as rays, a large variety of fish and reasonable corals. All the underwater photos in this post were taken by the dive master on the boat we were on. His camera was way better than mine!
The exciting bit was John's dive though. He swam with a dugong and its calf! Even the dive master had never dived with them. The dugongs swam around the group of divers and hung around for a minute or two before swimming off. What an experience!
On the same dive, a sea snake took a big interest in the divers. Apparently they're very curious animals. It took a particular interest in John and John had trouble getting it away from it!
We saw interesting wildlife on land too - a few echidnas up close, nesting ospreys and more bloody curlews!
We had so much fun here - John practiced karate on the beach, I read a book for the first time on the trip, we met people from all walks of life, we watched a movie projected onto a sheet in the open area near our cabin and we had lots of cocktails! On our last night, there was music, dancing, singing and new friendships formed. It was great to take a break from travelling and have a bit of real holiday here.
We really loved Great Keppel. We'll be back!
We then moved on to 1770, the town named after the year Captain Cook landed here. This is Helen and John's (John's sister and brother-in-law's) favourite destination so we were keen to see it for ourselves. It was a lovely place. Again, very laid back and, because it's on a west-facing peninsula, has amazing sunsets.
I picked up what was probably a mild ear infection from snorkelling at Great Keppel and decided I needed to se a doctor. There are only two doctors here and both had a 9-day waiting list! Luckily the chemist could help out.
Due to my ear, I didn't do a lot here but we had a lovely house so it was nice to hang out there anyway. John had some bike rides and we loved exploring the area. We also had a TV for the first time in a while and were able to catch up on the Olympics!
On our last morning we got up early and went to the eastern side of the peninsula to watch the sun rise. The early morning light was lovely.
So that was our little holiday break. It was all so beautiful!
Heather and John
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