Headbanging on Great Keppel Island

“It's back! Sunset Sessions is coming back to Great Keppel Island Hideaway, Saturday 16th November!
Join us for a full day of live music and fun in the sun. Further info & line up coming soon...”

Whooo - obviously our entire trip has hinged on being at an idyllic island to hear good music played very badly 😊

We had hoped to get on a snorkelling tour of the island, but they were full. Instead we caught a boat across, somewhat mystified why young peeps were going across with cases of beer. When we arrived at around 10:30, the music was already in full swing and the sand too hot to walk on with bare feet. Head banging was underway. 1,600 people were expected to be there by later in the evening.

We stopped for the obligatory refreshment, checked out the dive shop and then rented mask, snorkel and fins and set off to walk to another beach. The guy in the dive shop told us the path was steep, but he’d “taken some old .... it’ll be OK. I think he realised he was taking to some aged people.

The path was steep and the weather was hot. What I need to pass on is the danger of brimmed hats - maybe all hats are brimmed otherwise they’re a beanie or similar. Anyway, walking along wearing a brimmed hat, looking down, watching where we put our feet to ensure we don’t trip on the rocks and the exposed roots, well the brim stops you seeing what’s at eye level and WHACK, we walk straight into low hanging branches. Head banging again. You’d think we’d learnt but no, WHACK again.

The beach was beautiful and deserted. A number of boat were moored 150m off the beach, near the reef. What, we have to swim 150m to the reef? We didn’t make it, not through exhaustion, it was just unnerving and a bit disconcerting. We’ll do it another way. Had a good swim, a bit of a sunbathe and then back up the hill back to the main beach.

The trip back was distinctly rough. I thought that catamarans are supposed to be stable but this was going all over the place. Sick bags were offered. Those sat outside were enjoying the spray from the waves. What would the boats returning with the young revellers be like? Bun spotted a turtle just as we had slowed down to go into the port.

The campsite had sent a minibus to collect us and take us back to the site. That morning, on the way to the port driver showed us a colony of fruit bats and a nest that a pair of Ospreys had made on the lights in the marina, we must try to get some photos, but no sign of any birds.

Back to Bertha for a shower, change and then hit the town.Read more