Great Keppel Island - Day Trip - Snorkelling

Ringed by clear blue water, 17 white sandy beaches and numerous fringing reefs, Great Keppel is by ferry, just 30 minutes from the mainland.  Even better, Central Queensland is not often included in visitor itineraries and so Great Keppel is much less crowded than the Whitsundays and further north.  Walk around a couple of headlands and you might have the beach to yourself – or close to it.

As locals, our routine for Great Keppel is normally based around bushwalking, or snorkelling.  It’s possible to do both in one day if you are a bit organised.  For the less energetic, sitting around the bar and having a splash in the sea might be a great option.

Upon landing

Each of the ferries servicing Keppel have ramps that allow you to walk straight off the ferry and onto the beach – you mightn’t even get your feet wet.  Once off the boat, it might be time for a coffee at Tropical Vibes, which is a smaller and more relaxed alterative to the island’s main bar and bistro, The Hideaway.  Refreshed

Weather

In my blog, Great Keppel Island – getting there, I suggested planning for your day out by first having a look at the BOM weather forecast.  The weather forecast, and wind conditions in particular, is not only important for the ferry, but for getting the most out of your day.  Basically it’s like this:

• Light winds from any direction up to about 10 knots, you can do as you please.  Over 10 knots and you really need to know the direction of the wind

• Wind from the north and northeast – Fisherman’s (the main beach), Long, Shelving, Monkey beach and even Clam Bay will be sheltered and are good options

• Wind from the east and southeast – Southern corner of Fisherman’s, Shelving, Monkey, Putney, Leeke’s, and Svendsen’s will be the best options

• Wind from the south – Southern Corner of Fisherman’s, Putney, Leeke’s and Svendsen’s

• Strong westerly winds will likely limit snorkelling opportunities, unless you arrange a beach drop-off to remote Wreck or Little Wreck Beach.·         Light winds from any direction up to about 10 knots, you can do as you please.  Over 10 knots and you really need to know the direction of the wind

• Wind from the north and northeast – Fisherman’s (the main beach), Long, Shelving, Monkey beach and even Clam Bay will be sheltered and are good options

• Wind from the east and southeast – Southern corner of Fisherman’s, Shelving, Monkey, Putney, Leeke’s, and Svendsen’s will be the best options

• Wind from the south – Southern Corner of Fisherman’s, Putney, Leeke’s and Svendsen’s

• Strong westerly winds will likely limit snorkelling opportunities, unless you arrange a beach drop-off to remote Wreck or Little Wreck Beach.

Snorkelling

Unless you are organising a beach drop-off, there are really three practical options for snorkelling – Monkey Beach, Shelving Beach and Putney Point.  Snorkelling equipment and stinger suits are available for hire at Keppel Dive and Watersports (open every day) and at Tropical Vibes (equipment hire available weekends and school holidays).  At the time of writing (February 2015) beach drop-offs are available from available from Keppel Dive and Watersports, although we hear that the Tropical Vibes based outfit is also planning an offering.  Both suppliers of hire equipment also offer kayaks and paddle-boards; a great option, especially if you want to visit a couple of snorkelling spots in a limited timeframe.  Snorkelling around these closer beaches is best at mid-tide – too low and you’ll be scraping on coral, too high and the depth will stop you from seeing much. Of course it varies on the height of the tide on that particular day – sometimes it does not matter much.

If you have access to a boat, or decide on a beach drop-off, other options include Clam Bay and a large patch of reef between Bald Rock and Great Keppel itself.  The latter is perhaps the best piece of fringing reef on the island.

People are always asking us “are there marine stingers” on Great Keppel.  The answer is that the deadly Chironex flekeri box jellyfish are much more likely to be found closer to the mainland, and especially after rain that flushes creeks, rivers and estuaries.   People have however very occasionally been stung by the smaller Irukandji, which is less likely to cause death, but is not a pleasant experience, nevertheless.  I normally wear board-shorts and a long-sleeved swim-shirt when snorkelling but hiring a stinger-suit or wearing panty-hose will provide an extra level of protection.  If you are stung, the area needs to be liberally and quickly treated with vinegar, and the tentacles removed by someone wearing gloves.  A bottle of vinegar and a pack of gloves do not take up much room and could save a life.  There is phone service at the beaches mentioned in this section and the number of emergency assistance in Australia’s 000.

Organised and prepared, here are some ideas for snorkelling on a day trip:

Monkey Beach

The track to Monkey starts in the southern corner of Fisherman’s beach, the same one passengers disembark the ferry.  Sturdy shoes are recommended for this moderately strenuous walk, on a well-defined but weathered track.  Reaching the white, sandy beach you’ll be able to see the reef.  It’s closest in the middle of Monkey Beach and on the far western point (you can walk or kayak to a small beach amongst the rocks, near the tip).  Expect to see turtles, stingrays, hard and soft corals, large clams with bright mantles, multitudes of smaller, brightly coloured fish and larger fish like coral trout, spotted cod and slatey bream.  Don’t touch any sea creatures and avoid touching the coral, the hard version of which can give you a nasty cut that rapidly becomes infected.

We often snorkel the outer perimeter of the reef first, working our way back over the shallower parts.  The bigger fish are usually on the drop-off zone, where the water quickly becomes deep, but everywhere there is something interesting to see.  When snorkelling the drop-off zone be careful of currents – their strength varies depending on the wind and the tide, and they can be surprisingly strong, even on a nice day.

Once you have had enough snorkelling, you can take a look at beautiful Long Beach – great for swimming and for photos.  To get there use the boardwalk that starts close to the southern corner of Monkey Beach, about 100 metres from where the sand finishes.  The track passes an aboriginal midden; piles of shell remanent of indigenous settlement.

Shelving beach

Located between Fisherman’s and Monkey, the track to Shelving Beach veers right from the money beach track.  There are two reef patches here, both smaller than Monkey, but closer to shore.  It is possible to walk between Monkey and Shelving and onto Fisherman’s if the tide is low enough, but hiring a kayak is a better way to do both if you have gear.  Trying to do both by the headland track is strenuous and it takes a lot of time.

Putney Point

While you can walk around the rocks, at the northern end of Putney Beach, Putney Point is best accessed by a track that departs from right in the corner where the sand finishes.  While there is some elevation, it is quite a pleasant walk that brings you out via a small drop, onto Leeks’s Beach.  Turn left on the beach and walk on a sandy patch between the rocks to find a place to enter the water.  The reef here is quite small, but it’s deeper and rarely visited.

Have fun!