Beaches

Great Keppel Island is THE place to be if you love going to the beach! With 17 beaches, there’s one for every permanent resident on the island, plus some to spare for all of our awesome guests! To give you a bit of an idea of the beaches you might find on Great Keppel Island, we have made a list of some of the better know, and named, beaches around the island.

Don’t forget to have a look at our galleries for more great images of our little island paradise!

 

 

Fishermans Beach & Putney Beach

Fisherman’s Beach and Putney Beach are two of the main beaches on Great Keppel Island. Fisherman’s Beach is also where the ferry arrives. Many of the island’s facilities, including Island Pizza, Watersports Hut and of course Hostelzoo Island Eco Backpackers, are along this beach. Putney Beach meets Fisherman’s Beach at the ‘Spit’ and both beaches are safe and sheltered for swimming, snorkelling and other fun water activities.

 

 

Shelving Beach

Shelving Beach is a short walk just around the corner from Fisherman’s Beach. You can get to it at low tide by walking around the rocks, or at high tide by taking the bush track over the hill and down to the beach. Nestled between rocky outcrops and coral reefs, Shelving Beach is one of the most idyllic and closest beaches for snorkelling – always full of a variety of colourful and exciting marine life.

 

Leeke’s Beach

Walking onto Leeke’s Beach is like arriving on your own deserted island! One of the biggest and most spectacular beaches on the island, Leeke’s Beach is a must visit. There are a few tracks that will get you to Leeke’s Beach. One track is found at the end of Putney Beach by either following the bush track over the hill or walking around the rocks at low tide. Another track follows the road up to the Lookout and then through beautiful bushland out to the beach. If you like to fish you might have luck of Leeke’s Beach with fisherman getting lucky at the headland or near the mouth of Leeke’s Creek.

 

Secret Beach

Secret Beach is really a secret. Access in and out is by boat only due to surrounding terrain. Turtles nest on Secret Beach – and they definitely need their privacy!

 

Monkey Beach

Monkey Beach is an easy walk over the track from the end of Fisherman’s Beach or from the end of Long Beach. Here you will pass through a shell midden left by Aboriginal people from the past. The beach is great for snorkelling and is well protected from the southeasterly winds.

 

Long Beach

As the name suggests, this is a long and straight beach and also one of the easiest to access on the island. To see the full visual beauty, take the track to Mt. Wyndham and then down. To just get to the beach, take the track from the end of Fisherman’s Beach and wander through the gum and grass trees, or you can walk over the headland from Monkey Beach.

 

 

Svendsen’s Beach

The Svendsen family have been on Great Keppel Island for a long time, and still live at this beach. The beach can be reached by taking the track that continues past the Homestead. It is quite a long walk, about 10km, so you need to be prepared with good walking shoes, water and snacks. Along the way, make sure you see the view from the Lookout, check out the original Homestead of the Leeke family and wonder about the life they had living on the island.

 

Second Beach

Second Beach can be reached on the way to Svendsen’s Beach. It  sits between the rocky outcrops of Creek Rocks and Middle Rocks. This beach is a popular harbour for sail boats visiting Great Keppel Island, as it is sheltered from both southerly and easterly winds.

 

 

 

Red Beach

Red Beach is one of the special places on the island. Access is only by boat – and that’s on a calm day. There is usually a rolling surf, so makes landing on the beach is very difficult. If you take the walking track to the lighthouse, you are able to look down to the beach from the ridge, but there is NO walking access as the cliffs are very steep and hazardous.

 

Butterfish Bay

Butterfish Bay is a small cove with rocky outcrops on either side and large sand hills behind it. The water is a beautiful aqua green colour and clear as glass on calm days. There are good viewing spots on the headland on either side of the beach. A beautiful secluded spot.

 

Wyndham Cove

Wyndham Cove is another one of those picturesque spots on the island, but again, only accessible by boat. If you take the bush track to Mt. Wyndham (which is a must if you want to see 360 degree views), you are able to look down into the Cove.

 

Wreck Beach

Wreck Beach is located on the far side of the island. It’s quite a walk from the accommodation side of the island – definitely a full day return trip, so make sure to take water and snacks with you. But it is definitely worth the effort. You may see dolphins, turtles and other marine life around Wreck Beach. When conditions are right, this is where you will find the surf. Being such a remote beach, you’re likely to be the only one there, so enjoy your Cast Away experience!