The Reef Is No Barrier to Travelers

When heading for the resort islands bordering the Great Barrier Reef, young travelers with tight budgets should keep in mind that many of the tourist businesses will reduce prices at the last minute to fill empty beds. It’s always wise, therefore, to ask whether “standby” rates are available.

For example, on Queensland’s Great Keppel Island, Camping Connections offers accommodations in a preset tent village, including all meals, organized activities and use of non-fuel water sports equipment, for a total of $38 Australian (about $27.50) a day, standby. The regular rate is $60 Australian (about $45) a day.

Great Keppel is the largest of the 27 islands in the Keppel Group. It is fringed with 17 white-sand beaches, most of which are deserted. All of the island’s tourist businesses, which range from an upscale resort to camping and cabins, are grouped in one area, a short walk from Fishermans Beach.

Capt. Cook discovered Great Keppel in 1770; copies of his charts and log book are on display in the resort’s restaurant.

You can reach the island by launch in less than an hour from Rosslyn Bay. Competition to provide service is fierce. The best price at the moment is $7 or $12, with transportation from Rockhampton, on the Dennison Star.

The 40-guest tent village operated by Camping Connections, called Keppel Kamp, is designed for travelers aged 18 to 35. Accommodations are in two-room tents that sleep up to four. Electric lights, mattresses and linens are provided.

Just steps away is a similar tent village operated by Wapparaburra Haven. Mattresses are provided, but you’ll need a sleeping bag. Meals are not included, but there are cooking facilities, plus a snack bar and restaurant. Rates are $12 per person a night, or $15 during peak holiday periods. Laundry and showers also are available. Tent sites are offered for $8 per person a night.

Great Keppel also has a youth hostel whose staff members meet arriving visitors on the beach with a Jeep to transport their luggage. The hostel’s old dormitory rooms, at $9 per person a night, are very rundown and best avoided. Ask for bunks in the new A-frame cottages at $10 per person a night. You should make reservations through the Rockhampton youth hostel before you leave the mainland.

All of the services on Great Keppel island are designed to appeal to travelers between 18 and 35. Although rates at Great Keppel’s main resort are beyond the budget of most young travelers, its beach-front bar is the island’s popular night spot, offering live entertainment. A $5 entrance fee is charged.

One of the most popular day activities is to take a $10 around-the-island cruise on a giant catamaran called the Seafari. Snorkeling and beach stops are part of the fun, but the main highlight is the opportunity to try boom-netting. Passengers scramble to hang onto a large net, and occasionally their clothing, as they enjoy a wet ride, dragging behind the boat.

Would-be sailors might want to head farther up the coast to the Whitsunday Islands, where the right weather conditions can mean another type of exciting water ride.

Budget travelers are welcome to sign up at special standby rates to sail on Apollo III, a 17-meter racing vessel once owned by Australian business magnate Alan Bond, whose crews used it to train for America’s Cup competitions.

Now retired from racing, the Apollo III takes up to 12 passengers for sailing cruises among the islands, some nights docking at prime resorts or in front of deserted beaches.

The standby rates, for bookings made less than a week ahead, are from $285 for three nights to $549 for six nights. All meals, linen, snorkeling gear, windsurfers and sailing lessons are included. You can book the standby berths through any travel agent between Cairns and MacKay.

The most comfortable months to visit the Whitsunday Islands are between June and October; November to December can be very hot, and between January and March you can expect wind and rain.

Only seven of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday group have resorts, and Long Island, Palm Bay and Hook Island all offer facilities for the budget traveler.