Great Keppel Island

Great Keppel lies about fifteen kilometres off the Capricorn Coast, a continental island rather than a coral cay, with seventeen beaches of coarse white sand and fringing coral reefs close enough to snorkel from shore at several of them. A large resort operated here from the 1960s and closed in 2008, and the island has been quiet since, with redevelopment repeatedly proposed and stalled; what remains is a scattering of small accommodation, a beach bar and a lot of empty sand. Walking tracks cross the island to quieter bays and a lighthouse, and the coral, while affected by bleaching events, still supports turtles, rays and reef fish in the sheltered bays.

What you actually see

• The white beaches - seventeen bays, most of them empty on any given day.
• The fringing coral - snorkelling directly from shore at several beaches.
• The walking tracks - routes across the island to remote bays and the lighthouse.
• The closed resort - the abandoned buildings of the old holiday complex.

When to go

April to October for the dry season and calm water; summer brings heat, humidity and marine stingers. Whales pass in winter. Ferries run daily but are weather-dependent, and services thin outside holiday periods.

Honest expectations

Facilities are limited since the resort closed, with few places to eat and no supermarket; day trippers should bring water and food. The abandoned resort buildings are unsightly. Coral condition varies and has declined in places.

Nearby

Yeppoon and Rosslyn Bay are on the mainland; Rockhampton lies inland.