My trip to the Southern Great Barrier Reef (SGBR) was so good I feel compelled to tell everyone what an amazing place this area is. But now as I sit down and start, I don’t know where to begin. I am worried I will not do it justice…but here goes!
When Capricorn Enterprise invited me to visit the Southern Great Barrier Reef (SGBR) I was super excited.
I have spent some time on Lady Elliot Island within the SGBR and was blown away and because of that my trip began with certain expectations of Yeppoon and Great Keppel Island. Was I wrong, the area completely exceeded my expectations!
Travelling from Cairns to Rockhampton was pretty straight forward. A quick flight to Brisbane and a very easy connection to Rockhampton, all in all – easy and straight forward. Arriving in Rockhampton the airport was larger than I expected, but what did surprise me when I walked into the airport from the plane there was a large sign “Welcome to the Beef Capital of Australia” – strange because from what I had heard of Rockhampton that did not fit, plus it is the airport to the Southern Great Barrier Reef.
I was met at the airport by Mary Carroll from Capricorn Enterprise and Sam Appleton from Keppel Dive and Snorkel.
The weather had turned for the worse, so I was not able to go straight to Great Keppel Island (GKI) as planned. This turned out to be great for me, as Mary gave me a private tour of the area and I loved it.
As a Master Reef Guide myself I truly understand what goes into guiding and Mary was amazing. She was able to share such beautiful stories of the area and by the time I did get over to the island, I felt part of the community.
The standout stories for me was the history of the Mayor Rex Pilbeam, and how he had planned free water for every resident of ‘Rocky’ (that’s what us locals call it 😉 !). There is far more to the story – go yourself and learn the stories. He was so respected they named the drive to Mount Archer after him (Pilbeam Drive). The Archer Brothers who discovered Rockhampton is another fascinating story…
There are views all round from different vantage points and the council is continuing to update the boardwalks and whole area. It is the perfect place to take a picnic and have a walk through native Aussie bush and let the kids play, plus did I mention the views? On a clear day you can see all the way to the coast.
Other standouts were the botanical gardens, plus the zoo which have baby chimps – I didn’t get the chance to see them, but I’ll be back.
Also, every Friday night there is live bull riding at the Great Western Hotel.
Rocky is the only town in Australia that has a working train track running the full length of the main street of town. I must admit I felt like a kid when I saw this massive train trundling through the town. All roads closed and locals just patiently sitting in their car – normal!
Yeppoon is a short 30min drive eastward from Rocky and it is a very pretty drive. The roads are lined with fabulous views. When arriving in Yeppoon I could feel Mary become even more proud. There is a tangible change to the atmosphere of Yeppoon. The community has done a lot of upgrading after the cyclone in 2015 and the council has given it a lot of thought. The Yeppoon waterfront caters for everyone.
Again, having Mary’s local knowledge really made me feel part of the town. Mary showed me the views from the multiple lookouts throughout town and they are breathtaking. My favourite part of Yeppoon was the art. There is a local artist tour right around the town, I can’t recommend it enough.
It is time to head to the Island. Already I feel I have not done the area justice but I need to move on. Mary drops me off at the Keppel Bay Marina and I board one of Keppel Konnections ferry’s to Great Keppel Island.
There are a few ferry options (Freedom Fast Cats) and they are incredibly reasonably priced. The trip was only 30 minutes. This is a unique experience as most trips out to the GBR are 1.5 hours so I can’t believe in 30 minutes that I am on a subtropical continental island. If you think about it, from landing in Rocky you could be on the island in well under 1.5 hours from the plane landing.
While on the ferry the locals are so friendly, they chat to you and you feel part of the community. Arriving on the island was so fun. I am used to docking at wharfs and walking off the boat high and dry. On GKI, the skipper, with great skill, slides the boats bow (nose) up onto the sand and they lower a gangway (ramp) for you to walk straight off onto the sand – and to be honest probably a bit into the water, so take your shoes off before disembarking.
A short walk over the sand to Great Keppel Island Hideaway, I am met again with happy people. The accommodation is very comfortable. It is not a 5-star hotel but that is not what you expect or should want on a subtropical island, it has everything you need.
The day just got better.
After breakfast I was met by Sam from Keppel Dive and Snorkel. Sam and his wife, Lyndsay, are very experienced operators. They have close to 10 000 dives between them.
Sam was the youngest skipper ever of a liveaboard vessel – Spirit of Freedom – a boat that every veteran skipper dreams of getting a command on. Sam then went onto being the operations manager of that entire company.
Needless to say GKI Watersports and Activities & Keppel Dive has world class experience. I suppose what I am trying to get at is this humble coastal community is world class products with very knowledgeable and experienced people and so well worth the visit. Watching how Sam and Lyndsay run their operation was awesome, their focus is customer service and aim to accommodate everyone they practically can.
We set off on the well equipped 6.8m rubber duck – with a great shade canopy – for our two dives of the morning (brand new dive equipment too!).
On the way Sam dropped some guests off on their own private beach to snorkel and relax – we did pick them up again!
I was very excited for the dives but I was not expecting what I saw. We secured the vessel near Wreck Beach only 100m from the shore. We descended – not too deep, around 7m onto a sandy bottom. The visibility was around 8m and with a couple of gentle kicks we were hovering over a coral garden of spectacular proportion. There was 100% live coral, I honestly have not seen anything like that for a long time. We dive for 40 minutes and the coral just kept on going. The fish life was spectacular too, stingrays, angelfish, damselfish, I saw one of the largest painted crayfish ever – if only I was not allergic to sea food!!
Dive two is only a short ride away. We head away from the main island and arrive at “Bald Rock”.
Again, I was blown away on this dive, we saw five turtles in addition to all the coral as far as the eye could see. The fine detail of the GBR was on display too. I found Christmas tree worms that were the largest I have ever seen, well over 5cm – they are normally 3cm or less.
After heading back, I rested for a bit taking in the beauty of the island. People were swimming, walking, sun tanning, SUPing, watching the yachts in the bay. It was great. I decide to take a kayak out and see the island for myself (with my snorkelling gear of course). After kayaking along the shore for a bit I tied the kayak to myself and did a slow snorkel drift back to my starting point. Again, amazing coral and fish life. But I got caught watching a stingray in about 1m of water depth. I just floated over her for about 20mins. The ray is not new to me, but I was completely alone in the water, it was so peaceful, and the ray didn’t even acknowledge that I was there.
This was the perfect end to a great day.
That night I had a great meal with live music at the Hideaway. I slept the best I have in ages. The next day the weather was perfect. Being a Sunday there were locals visiting the island in their own boats. A real community feel while on holiday is probably the best way to describe it.
Sam organised a morning snorkelling session which was hypnotising again. The water is warm and clear.
A quick 30 minute boat ride back to the mainland and a 30 minute car ride back to Rocky I was on the plane and heading home. Walking past the Airport sign “Welcome to the Beef Capital of Australia” I couldn’t help but think it should say something about the Southern Great Barrier Reef – this hidden gem for tourists.
If I can offer any advice to travellers reading this whether driving north or flying south “turn off the highway” and go visit the Keppel Island group and the Southern Great Barrier Reef – you will not be disappointed.
I will be back.
Gareth Phillips
Gareth has recently been appointed as the official spokesperson for the Great Barrier Reef in Europe for Tourism and Events Queensland’s ‘Queensland on Tour’. Gareth is the owner and marine biologist of Reef Teach in Cairns – an independent GBR research and education organisation. Gareth has seen a lot of the GBR over the past 11 years – in fact, he has spent more time (over 2200 days) on the GBR than on land!
