Great Keppel Island
Have you ever been naked on a white sand beach? Have you ever offset your carbon footprint? Can doing both be sexy?
By Paul Oscar Hamilton, Senior Editor
Just North of the Tropic of Capricorn, Great Keppel Island attracts visitors year round to its clean beaches, hiking trails through native bush and snorkeling along the fringing Great Barrier Reef .
The island‘s sub-tropical climate is characterized by year round sun, mild winters and nary a tropical monsoon.
Off the Central Queensland coast, 15 kilometres across Keppel Bay from the town of Yeppoon and 55 kilometres from Rockhampton, the island attracts local families and globe trotting wayfarers alike. Many of whom are trying to figure out ways to best oblige the demands of environmentally balanced travel.
Before you come to Great Keppel Island , you can examine some of the Internet's carbon offset sites and best judge your footprint.
Or, just travel here by sailboat like Captain Cook, who sighted the island in 1770; much later sheep grazed it’s hilly acres for more than 20 years. While the old homestead and shearing sheds still stand, the island has been a unique travel destination since the ‘60’s. Also known as Wappaburra, or “resting place”, Great Keppel Island is ringed with plenty of quiet and private beaches, so Our Manly found the name to be quite fitting. Some of the best beaches on the island include Fisherman’s Beach, Long Beach and Putney Beach, all on the eastern side of the island. Keep yourself entertained with fishing, snorkeling, parasailing, water skiing or hiking. Or snogging. All alone. On your own emerald bay.
With boat and equipment rentals there’s no need to lug your gear. Just rent it right on the beach. There are dive courses for beginners. With outlying coral reefs at every turn, any jaunt around the island will reveal an abundance of underwater life. A top attraction is Monkey Beach, about 30 minutes south of the resort. If you’re more of a land lover, Bald Rock Point Walk and Mt. Windham Walk reward a strenuous effort with beautiful views.
Great Keppel Island offers a gamut of accommodations, the eponymously named resort at the high end, with home stays, cabins, hostels and campsites strung out along the beach. We pitched our tent at Geoff and Diane Mercer’s low-key, exceptionally friendly Great Keppel Island Holiday Village. Our motorized canoe trip was a highlight, with numerous spottings of sea turtles and an expert introduction to the beautiful, and threatened, Great Barrier Reef.
Restaurants abound, from the tres chic to take-away. And when the sun has set live music entertains the energetic crowd at the Wreck Bar. And if you party just a little too hard and find yourself a “wreck” in the morning, take a refreshing swim in the clean sparkling blue waters around you, or sneak off to a private stretch for a little recuperating nap. Great Keppel Island is surrounded by 18 other islands.
Middle Island has a great barnacle encrusted underwater observatory surrounded by schools of tame fish used to onlookers. If you’re lucky you might even catch sight of some giant groupers.
You can camp nearby with a permit. Contact the EPA in Rockhampton Ph: (07) 4936 0511 or the QPWS at Rosslyn Bay Harbour Ph: (07) 4933 6595.
Great Keppel Island has an airstrip but the efficient Freedom Fast Cats service works well. The Our Manly team parked in the big lot at the Rosslyn Bay Harbour for the weekend and found the car safe upon return, but more secure car parking is available. Chartered flights leave from nearby Rockhampton and can be booked through the Great Keppel Island Resort. Water taxis leave from Keppel Bay Marina to outlying islands. 
With the help of an enthusiastic guide from GKI Holiday Village , Our Manly's travelsmiths spotted a nesting Osprey. White-breasted Sea Eagles, Brahminy Kites, Pied Oystercatchers and Beach Curlews can be found as well, though you’ll probably notice the raucous Kookaburras and Rainbow Lorikeets first.
Climate doctors suggest that before, during and after our vacations we consider the arithmetic of carbon travel and attempt to balance the equation by travelling in the most efficient way, leaving nothing behind but farewells and investing in compensatory strategies.
The environmental lessons to be learned on Great Keppel Island beg a visit. So what if you're naked?