Humpy Island is a little sand island 13kms off the coast of Rockhampton. It is part of the Keppel Island's group, about 1km south of Great Keppel and the most popular for campers. There are other islands nearby you can camp on that have no facilities.
Getting there
You can only access Humpy Island by boat so you need to launch at Rosslyn Bay Marina. This is a 45min drive from Rockhampton. There is ample parking at the marina and once you set off it's approximately a 20min boat ride. Being up to date with weather/wind conditions is a must. If you don't have your own boat there are businesses that can drop you off and pick you back up.
Camping
There is drop down toilets and cold rainwater showers available here and you can set up camp under the shade of the Casuarina trees anywhere you please. It feels so remote with only 60 people able to camp here at a time. Camping permits can be booked online.
You must remember to bring drinking water and take all your rubbish home with you.
Snorkeling & Fishing
The beauty of Humpy Island is you can walk straight off the beach and start snorkeling. We were almost immediately greeted by a turtle who continuously visited during our stay! There are many other snorkeling spots around The Keppel's, you just have to be mindful of where you can safely anchor your boat.
The fishing around here is great too, hubby caught a pb Coral Trout while we were here and that was his trip made! Again, being mindful of green zones (no fishing areas). Next time we will be taking squid jigs as while I was snorkeling I watched 2 squid wrap around the boys bait and then swim away!
Safety
One thing to keep in mind about anywhere up north is the stingers. Irukandji jellyfish can be found here, and stinger suits may be required if the warmer weather or northerly winds bring them in. You cannot see them, so we checked in with the kiosk on Great Keppel to see if we needed to hire suits or not - we were assured they hadn't experienced the northerlies or had any reports of stings recently, so we were confident stinger suits weren't necessary this trip.
Humpy Island can only be described as Heaven on Earth, so if you love being on (and in) the water and can get lucky with the weather, start planning your trip here. You won't be disappointed...unless the weather prevents you from getting your boat over! If you're hanging around the Rockhampton area before or after your trip, check out our blog "Things to do around Rocky".
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