JoelSo – you want to explore the Whitsundays? After some more flexibility than staying in the resorts? Want to save some $$$? How about a chance to have an entire island to yourself?
Read on!
Top Notch Experiences on a Budget
There’s no doubt that when we travel – there’s generally a budget that needs to be adhered to. Big ticket items can eat into that very quickly… and sometimes it means noodles for a week to balance out the budget haha.
For us, the Whitsundays was one of those adventures that was high on our list – but of course, would come with a price tag…
When we looked, prices at Hamilton Island (we also looked at Hayman and Daydream Islands) started at over $350 a night for what we wanted (one bedroom), plus the cost for transfers. Personally, we weren’t to keen on the idea of sleeping in cookie cutter apartment rooms and being limited to such a small area of the island. A few days there, plus meals at the restaurant and drinks at the bar – we were looking at over $2,000. Surely there was another option…
Now everyone’s needs, preferences and budgets are different – and for some – that price is justifiable and affordable. Many appreciate the comforts of staying in a resort. But if you don’t mind “roughing” it a bit, strap yourselves in for a pretty unique experience!
Camping the Whitsundays with Scamper
Note: We have no affiliation with Scamper. They were the only service that we found offering the style that suited our trip.
Scamper offer equipment hire if you do not have your own camping/kayaking gear. They also provide 10L of water per person/per day. On the boat, the skipper will give you the scoop on what to do on each island.
After a quick Google, I found out that National Park campsites scattered quite a few of the Whitsunday Islands (remember that the Whitsundays are comprised of 74 different islands). At the time of writing this – National Park fees are only $6.85pp per night.
Okay so camping became our primary option. The images below are from Scamper, and give a brief description of the available camp grounds.
Below is the map from Whitsunday Islands Water Taxi if you’re after more options.
Although these particular companies offers transfers to and between these camp sites, you’ll actually find that there are others scattered amongst the Whitsundays. They are:
South Repulse Island – South of Airlie Beach, you’ll find that campsites are generally always available. Maximum of 12 people at a time.
Smith Island – Roylen Bay (Goldsmith Island) – again allowing 12 people and rarely booked.
Lindeman Island – a choice between Boat Port on Lindeman Island or Neck Bay on Shaw Island.
Glouchester Island, Amrit Island and Saddleback Island – very close to the mainland, north of Airlie Beach.
Make your booking here.
Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist Experience
As this trip was going to do well for our budget – we planned on a total of SEVEN days between THREE islands.
DAY ONE – Leave Shute Harbour with Scamper and arrive at Paddle Bay, South Molle Island (read about it in detail). There’s obviously a toilet and a couple of tables (one with a shelter), but nothing else. We were recommended this as the best place to camp around the South Molle group, and we were pleased. Chances are there won’t be many people around – or you may even have it to yourself! From Paddle Bay you can walk across to Mid Molle Island via a small strip of land. It provides a chance of some fun exploration.
DAY TWO – Our planning had revealed that South Molle was great for hiking. This was one of the reasons we wanted to go there. We explored most of the tracks during our full day there and we were blown away by the views and also the interesting landscape and animal life.
Follow Brauer Bay and head up to Lamond Hill, then the Balancing Rock. After a detour to Spion Kop, the journey and views at Mount Jeffreys are incredible!
Expect spiders, snakes, butterflies and sea life in and around South Molle. There’s also an abandoned resort on the island that is in ruins.
Once you get back to the campsite, it’s great to cool off and snorkel (though the snorkelling isn’t too great here).
DAY THREE – After a beautiful morning with no one else around, we packed up our gear and waited for our boat pick up. After about an hours boat ride, we arrived at our next stop – Crayfish Beach, Hook Island.
There wasn’t anywhere to really hike (except for exploring the rocky coastline) but the snorkelling made up for it! We were immediately impressed by this place and the small number of people allowed there.
After setting up camp, it was straight into the water to see the mass of coral and marine life. It is such an easy spot to snorkel (though at low tide you might need reef shoes to walk along the rocky edge to get to the deeper parts).
The campsite has two outdoor toilets and a few basic tables.
DAY FOUR – We spent the whole day snorkelling pretty much. At low tide you can wade right into the water and see coral and clams in the shallow water.
Further out it gets a bit deeper, and the coral comes to life – as well as the larger fish, sea cucumbers and an occasional turtle. The coral continues around both sides of the beach and follows the coastline for quite a while on the western side. After a certain depth, the water suddenly gets much deeper and the coral disappears.
DAY FIVE – Our last morning at Crayfish Beach, and of course, we snorkelled again haha. The marine life was pretty incredible once again. It’s not a very popular spot and you may see an occasional boat come into the large bay to set anchor.
Scamper arrived, and we were off again – this time to the infamous Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.
Again, there are day trips you can do to Whitehaven Beach, but we didn’t want to rush and join the hordes of tourists that arrive each day.
When Whitehaven Beach came into view, we were blown away by the colour of the sand. We also got lucky and seen a large sea turtle right near the shore.
The only downside to camping here is that it is busier than the other islands and a large number of boats remained anchored along the outskirts of the coastline. With the remainder of the day, we set up camp and enjoyed sitting on the pristine sands of Whitehaven Beach. All of the day tourists had gone by this point so it wasn’t very busy.
DAY SIX – Waking up early, we had a chance to snorkel along the headland near the campsite. It was fantastic because I was the only one out there for a couple of hours (my wife watched from the shore).
Dozens of rays lay on the sandy floor, attempting camouflage on the white sand. Giant schools of fish swam in the shallow areas and didn’t seem too bothered. There isn’t a lot of coral there, but it’s enough to keep things interesting.
We knew the day tourists would be coming soon, so we took our hiking bags and headed for the lookout nearby and also the trek across to Chance Bay. It was super quiet over there and we only seen one lady on the beach.
There was a large school of fish swimming in the shallow waters of the bay, and occasionally, a fairly large fish would race in and attempt to eat the smaller fish – it was quite a spectacle to watch – especially being in the water with them all.
Later in the afternoon, we headed back to Whitehaven Beach to see the day tours leaving. It was a peaceful moment once they had left. Sunset from the beach is a pretty special moment.
DAY SEVEN – Our final few hours at Whitehaven Beach were spent enjoying the white sands and the calm waters.
Scamper arrived and the journey back to Shute Harbour (mainland) began. It was a pretty smooth ride and a good chance to talk to other passengers who had similar experiences.
The beauty with this experience was the fact that the boat transfer takes you all the way to the campground. So taking a hiking bag, plus some bags of food (don’t forget the wine and some treats), snorkelling gear and luxuries (plus a kayak if you want) – isn’t difficult. The sites are very basic, but you’re after a fairly raw and natural experience – put this on your Ultimate Aussie Bucketlist!
