Flora, fauna and ocean activities: Australia’s islands offer unique experiences writes Ewan McDonald
Australia's islands are paradises. Norfolk is a "South Pacific paradise". Lord Howe is "Just Paradise". The Cocos (Keeling) Islands are "the last unspoilt paradise".
Annoying thing is, they're pretty much right. Let's fly, sail, paddle and snorkel around the island continent. Where better to start than an Aussie paradise where the locals would rather be part of Aotearoa?
Only 800km from New Zealand, Norfolk Island shares the sub-tropical climate of Australia's eastern seaboard. It's tiny – only 8km x 5km but there's plenty to keep you occupied. Or, if you prefer, engage with full-on laziness.
Beaches of clear water sheltered by coral reefs; dramatic headlands with panoramic views; waterfalls tumbling from cliffs to the ocean. Fishing is sensational; surfers will enjoy sharing waves with… no one.
It's home to rare birds, the world's tallest tree ferns and the namesake pines. There are walking trails, only one road and minimal public transport (familiar?). Best way to get around, and meet the 2200 locals, is to hire a Mini Moke. You'll find cows have right of way, and everyone has time to chat.
Norfolk Island: 805km north of NZ, 1675km northeast of Sydney; 2.5hr flight from Auckland, Sydney and Brisbane.
Smarter than Barcelona or Venice, Lord Howe Island protects its World Heritage listing by restricting visitors to 400 at any time. The tiny outcrop is home to more than 450 species of fish and 90 of coral, many unique; see them on a glass-bottom boat and snorkelling tour or hand-feed fish (under strict conditions).
Lord Howe Island Marine Park has 60 known dive sites. Fishers can try from the shore or head outside the reef (be aware, tough rules apply).
The lagoon inside the world's southernmost coral reef is perfect for swimming and water sports, and the island is bringing back its Ocean Swim Weeks and Summer Festival next year.
Onshore, hard-out hikers can challenge the Mt Gower day trek; more gentle walks take you through palm groves to spot astonishing birdlife.
Lord Howe: 700km northeast of Sydney; 2hr flight from Sydney; options from Port Macquarie, Newcastle.
If you want to find a deserted island, go to Queensland. We can't mention all the hotspots here so – spoiler alert – here are some of my experiences.
Orpheus Island is 11km of white beaches, national park and biological research station. Limited to 28 guests, its luxe resort's rooms and villas are set in palms a couple of metres from the beach. Priding itself on its kitchen and cellar, it has a lot to be proud of.
This is an island where you can do a lot of nothing. Or you can do a little of just about everything – snorkelling and diving, fishing and boating. Treatments at the day spa. Until the private helicopter flies you back to reality.
Orpheus: 80km north of Townsville; 30min private helicopter.
The Whitsundays are 74 islands rated one of the world's most beautiful sailing grounds (some people haven't seen the Hauraki Gulf). Golden sandy beaches - apart from Whitehaven, that's 7km of white sandy beach. Fringing corals and reef life. Resorts, golf, but for me…
You've heard of Grey Nomads. Here, they're Blue Nomads, messing about on boats. Where better than semi-tropical islands where the water is 27C in our midwinter, there are sea-turtles and dugongs and whales and other cool undersea locals?
Whitsundays charter companies make hiring a yacht easy. You can "bareboat" - that is, self-sail. They will put you through a gentle grilling (seamanship, not barramundi on the barbie) to make sure you know each side of the boat from another. If not they will provide a skipper.
Whitsundays: 250km south of Townsville; daily flights to Hamilton Island from Sydney, Brisbane.
Cook named Magnetic Island because he believed his compasses went off-beam when he sailed past. More than half is enshrined in national park; more than 800 koala live here, the largest group in the wild; and it's an angler's dreamland.
A favourite holiday spot for mainlanders since the 1800s, the ferries now dock at a terminal with supermarket, resorts, cafes and boutiques. Enjoy water sports, golf, diving, jet-skiing, fishing, horse riding and topless car hire (think mini-jeeps).
Magnetic Island: 8km east of Townsville, 20min ferry from Townsville.
Lady Elliot is a resort with a difference: no cellphone reception, intermittent internet. Traffic - foot, reef-shoes only - gives way to 100,000-plus nesting seabirds. On land or in sea, turtles rule; it's one of their most important breeding grounds.
For several days you can live in one of the world's most delicate ecosystems. All food, all trash must be flown in and out; virtually all power is solar. Only 150 people can stay overnight in the old-time guano miners' cabins; 100 others can come and go daily.
Lady Elliot: 85km northeast of Bundaberg; 30min flight from Bundaberg.
Fraser Island is the world's biggest sand dune, 250km of beaches, 40km of strikingly coloured sand cliffs, rainforest growing in sand, dune lakes, woodlands and mangroves.
A dingo loping along the beach, a prehistoric lizard climbing a tree are the gotcha photos, but there are rare mammals, birds and reptiles all around; dolphins, dugongs, turtles, rays in the waters.
More than 1500 humpbacks hang out here in August-October, using the island to shelter with their calves for up to two weeks.
Accommodation for any wallet, but the real experience is tenting in the 45 dingo-fenced, lake or beachfront sites (permit, 4WD needed).
Fraser: 40km east of Hervey Bay; 15min flight, 50min ferry from Hervey Bay.
For families, the most accessible and best set-up offshore escape is Moreton Island. Most will opt for, and won't need to stray too far from, the vast Tangalooma Island Resort with its accommodations, bars and restaurants, water and land-based activities from dawn to dusk.
Divers will appreciate the Tangalooma Wrecks, walkers rambling among bush, ranges and wildflowers. Try tobogganing down massive dunes (I face-planted), quadbike trails (wrapped it around a tree) and hand-feeding wild dolphins (they stopped me there, for some reason).
Moreton: 47km east of Brisbane, 75min ferry from Brisbane.
Far out. Literally: cross the continent and keep west for another 2750km to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a perfect circle of 27 Indian Ocean coral islands, only two inhabited. By humans, that is.
Closer to Indonesia than Australia, these remote atolls are best-known as an internationally significant wildlife habitat.
Most tourists stay at West Island's laidback resorts. On Home Island, Cocos Malay people offer traditional culture and cuisine. Direction Island is currently "Australia's best beach"; expect to swim, snorkel, dive the reefs or enjoy fishing and year-round surfing. Windsurfing and kiteboarding are popular from July-September.
Cocos (Keeling): 2750km northwest of Perth; twice-weekly flights from Perth via Christmas Island.
DETAILS For more island inspiration, go to australia.com
This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald Travel here.
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