JoelWhere and How to Get There
South Molle Island is one of the 74 islands that make up the ‘Whitsundays’. It is a short boat trip across from the marina at Shute Harbour. Unless you have your own transport, it is worth contacting Scamper for boat transfers.
What to Expect
16km of hiking tracks, basic camping, toilets, lookouts, snorkelling, coral beaches, National Park, abandoned resort, lookouts, wildlife, mountain biking.
Where to Stay
You’ll find the resort has been abandoned since it was severely damaged by Cyclone Debbie in 2017 – so no resort accommodation.
But that’s okay! Here are FOUR National Park Campsites to choose from (two are from islands which are very very close)
National Park Booking here.
Paddle Bay
Situated on the Northern Spit of South Molle Island with a coral sand beach, you have a beach view from both sides of the campsite with spectacular sunsets from the Western side towards the mainland. Down the Eastern beach you can access the walking trails through the island to Mount Jeffery and Spion Kob lookouts.
Sandy Bay
Situated on the Western side of South Molle Island in behind Mt Jeffery facing towards the Conway Mountain Range, this is a shady campsite, great for groups. Direct access to bushwalking trails through the island, great for the keen bush walker or mountain biker.
Planton Island
Gives you that deserted Island experience, with only 1 campsite available, once you book it the island is your little oasis. The camp area is nestled in the trees, so even if a boat comes past, you still have utter privacy.
Denman Island
Want an Island to yourself? This is the one! Located on the Southern side of the Molle Island Group this little gem is your own private oasis, with only ONE campsite!
Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist Experience
We were looking for the ‘Whitsunday’ experience on a budget! And including South Molle Island was one of the ways to achieve that. We booked a seven day trip with Scamper.
First stop for two nights: South Molle Island
Second stop for two nights: Crayfish Beach
Third stop for two nights: Whitsunday Island
We had packed all of our camping gear and hiking bags onto the boat and were pleasantly surprised at the tranquility of South Molle Island (we camped at Paddle Bay as it came recommended). It’s obviously not as ‘Instagrammable’ as Whitehaven, but it had a certain unspoiled beauty to it. There was only one other small family at the campsite on the first night, and then on the second, we had it to ourselves. It felt like the island was all ours – and it could have been!
There is some tables, and two were undercover, and also a long drop toilet. It’s pretty basic, but if you are after the castaway experience, this is for you haha.
Next it was time to explore the island walking tracks – there is roughly 16km of trails covering the island, so perfect if that’s your thing! We explored the majority of the tracks while we were there. It was incredible!
The lack of people that visit the island shows because the animal life was abundant. Unfortunately, this included the countless spiders webs along the walking tracks – not to fear though! We also encountered a snake and heard more – the grass path near the summit is nice and sunny, so they’d love to lay there and soak up the sun.
All of the paths are fairly well defined and there is nothing too difficult. But the reward of the view at the top of Mount Jeffreys is worth it. The view out to some of the other Whitsunday islands is pretty breathtaking. The peak is grassy, with a great open space and a seat.
A side trip to the Balacing Rock was exciting – though the morning dew on the rocks made it a bit slippery!
As you make your way back down the tracks, peek in and view the abandoned resort from a safe distance. In some ways it is good that certain resorts no longer function – it’s helping to preserve such a cool place – it almost felt like we were on Jurrasic Island.
This was an awesome start to our week on some of the most beaitiful islands in Australia. We love the experience of doing things a little different – and we’d highly recommend trying National Park camping and boat transfers. With Scamper, they’ll pick you up, take you to your next destination, and give you plenty of water to tie you over for a couple more days.
