Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MODERATE
Hook Island Wilderness Resort
This humble collection of cabins and
campsites on a white sandy beach is one of the few really affordable island resorts
on the Great Barrier Reef. That makes it popular with backpackers and anybody
who just wants to dive, rent canoes, play beach volleyball, visit the underwater
observatory, hike, fish in the four-person flat-bottom boat, laze in the pool and
Jacuzzi, and chill out. Good snorkeling is footsteps from shore, and the resort's
dive center conducts first-time and regular dives off the beach. Hook is a national
park and the second-largest Whitsunday island. The cabins are very basic, with
beds or bunks sleeping six or eight. All come with fresh bed linen, but bring your
own bath towels. A store sells essentials, but try to bring everything you need.
Hook Island (40km/25 miles NE of Shute Harbour), Whitsunday Islands. (Postal address: P.M.B. 23, Mackay, QLD
4741.)
&
07/4946 9380.
Fax 07/4946 9470. www.hookislandresort.com.au. 20 tent sites; 2 10-bed dormi-
tories; 10 cabins, 4 with bathroom (shower only). A$79 (US$51) cabin without bathroom double; extra adult
A$24 (US$16), extra child 4-14 A$18 (US$12). A$119 (US$77) cabin with bathroom double; extra adult A$29
(US$19), extra child A$22 (US$14). Dorm bed A$24 (US$16) adult, A$18 (US$12) child 4-14. Tent site A$15
(US$9.75) adult, A$7.50 (US$4.90) child 4-14. Ask about packages. MC, V. Transfers from the mainland cost
A$36 (US$23) per person, round-trip. Boat leaves Shute Harbour at 9am and leaves Hook Island for the return
trip at 3pm (trip time: 1 hr). Book through the resort.
Amenities:
Cafe and bar; outdoor pool; Jacuzzi; water-
sports equipment (snorkel gear, canoes, and sea kayaks); tour desk. In room: A/C, minifridge, coffeemaker.
6 The Capricorn Coast & the Southern Reef Islands
South of the Whitsundays, the Bruce Highway travels through rural country
until it hits the beaches of the Sunshine Coast just north of Brisbane. It may not
be the tourism heartland of the state, but there's still plenty to discover. The
most spectacular of the Great Barrier Reef islands, Heron Island, is off the coast
from Gladstone. Heron's reefs are a source of enchantment for divers and
snorkelers, its waters boasting 21 fabulous dive sites. In summer giant turtles
nest on its beaches, and in winter humpback whales cruise by.
North of Gladstone is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast, named after
the Tropic of Capricorn that runs through it. Rockhampton is also a stepping-
stone to the resort island, Great Keppel. To the south, off the small town of
Bundaberg, lies another tiny coral cay, Lady Elliot Island, which is a nesting site
for tens of thousands of sea birds, and has a first-rate fringing reef. Two little-
known attractions in Bundaberg are its good shore scuba diving and a logger-
head turtle rookery that operates in summer on the beach. Farther south lies the
world's largest sand island, the World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, which can
be negotiated only on foot or by four-wheel-drive (see section 7 in this chapter).
ROCKHAMPTON: THE BEEF CAPITAL
1,055km (654 miles) S of Cairns; 638km (3 miles) N of Brisbane
You may hear Queenslanders talk dryly about “Rockvegas.” Don't be fooled.
“Rocky” is the unofficial capital of the sprawling beef-cattle country inland, and
the gateway to Great Keppel Island, which boasts some of the few inexpensive
island retreats in Queensland, but bears no resemblance to Las Vegas. Heritage
buildings line the Fitzroy River, where barramundi await keen fishermen. Every
Friday night at the Great Western Hotel, bull-riding cowboys take to the rodeo
ring to test their skills against local Brahman bulls.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE
Rockhampton is on the Bruce Highway, a 3
1
⁄
2
-hour drive
south of Mackay, and almost 2 hours north of Gladstone.
