Benz World Blog » Keppel Island

Island Life

Jason Benz — Sun, 02 Jul 2017 08:48:00 +0000

This beach is the shortest route to the bar when you arrive by ferry on Keppel Island in Queensland, Australia. This place reminded me of Jamaica and Cuba. People who live in remote islands seem to approach life differently to city dwellers. There is a slower pace in tune with nature which is more like surfing than a busy driven urban lifestyle.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Abandoned Observatory

Jason Benz — Sun, 05 Feb 2017 22:01:18 +0000

This is the Middle Island Underwater Observatory off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It was refurbished and re-opened in 2007 so visitors could descend six metres below sea level to view coral and fish including honeycomb cod, flowery cod, damsel fish, moon wrasse and gropers. It looked as if it had been abandoned again when this photograph was taken in 2016.

Ian’s Boat

Jason Benz — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 23:03:09 +0000

This is one of the Keppel Islands. I don’t remember which one as Ian was good enough to take us to a few islands in his boat on 1st Jan 2016. This is one of those rare occasions when I wish my camera had GPS. It is fondly remembered as the best New Years Day ever.

Long Beach

Jason Benz — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 10:03:18 +0000

This in Long Beach on Great Keppel which is an island 15km off the coast of Queensland in Australia.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is be available for download here.

Tree Snake

Jason Benz — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 08:20:17 +0000

This is a common tree snake which we encountered on Keppel Island, off the coast of Queensland. They come in a range of colours including black, brown, blue, grey, green and yellow. Although it is harmless, without an immediate identification and the fact that Australia contains all of the top 10 most venomous snakes in the world I decided to give it the respect it deserves as it slid under the chair I was sitting in.

Keppel Konnections

Jason Benz — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 09:01:57 +0000

This is the ferry we took to Keppel Island recently. It is a new service which started a few months ago. Last year we took the more expensive Freedom Fast Cats which had a monopoly at the time. Either way at around $50 return it is the cheapest way we know of to see the Great Barrier Reef. The bloke with the boxes is Geoff Mercer who was our host at the GKI Holiday Village. He then became our boss when we decided to spend an extra week on the island working for our accommodation.

Yellow Sunbird

Jason Benz — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 11:27:27 +0000

This is a female Yellow-bellied / olive-backed sunbird. The male bird has an amazing metallic looking blue-black throat. They are similar to hummingbirds, nectar feeding on the wing and plucking spiders from webs. It is a pity she did not give our van the once over as she would have found a particularly fat, hairy, spider to eat. Instead it was left for us to discover one night after we had got into bed and were about to turn out the lights. After failing to persuade the giant insect to leave, it was unfortunately necessary to dispatch the creature with an axe.

New Year

Jason Benz — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 13:01:48 +0000

Happy New Year 2016! Before Christmas we ventured north in our van without any plans for the new year again. This is Ben Beasley playing at the hideaway on Keppel Island. We stayed on the island for an extra week by helping out in the Holiday Village. We return to mainland Australia on the 3rd Jan.

Orchard Swallowtail

Jason Benz — Tue, 29 Dec 2015 00:43:25 +0000

This Orchard Swallowtail Butterfly has been visiting us each morning at our campsite on Great Keppel Island. Thanks to Karen at GKI pizza for the identification. It has a wingspan of about 5inchs making it the largest butterfly you will find in many parts of Queensland. Although it is part of the swallowtail group it has no swallowtail, adding to the list of Australias wonderful and eccentrically named creatures.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Shark Christmas

Jason Benz — Fri, 25 Dec 2015 08:25:40 +0000

This shot was taken at Clam Bay on the far side of Keppel Island. We trekked for 2.5hrs to get there and hoped to find at least one boat with some other snorkellers to share the reef with. Alas we found ourselves alone. After exploring the coral for about an hour we walked down the beach only to discover we had been sharing the water with six sharks. We suspect they were one of Jaws’ less bitey cousins judging by their proximity to the shore.