BEDARRA ISLAND
Area: Queensland
Country: Australia


Location:
Just off Queensland coast, 3 mls E of Mission Beach, 4 mls S of Dunk Island. 81 mls SE of Cairns and its international airport.

Telephone code from UK:
61 7

Website:
http://www.bedarraisland.com

Position:
Second largest of the Family group of islands: it is the "mother" to Dunk's "father" with "twins" and "triplets" farther S.

Description:
At only 1 ml from end to end, Bedarra is a small continental island (ie the top of a submerged mountain) covered in tropical rainforest. Apart from an area of mangrove swamp the terrain is steep and hilly, rising to a single 350-ft peak (Allason Hill) and with spectacular mounds of smooth, rounded granite boulders, especially near the beaches. Rainforest needs water, so it rains a lot here and produces copious amounts of water from its springs. Most celebrated of its indigenous fauna is the megapode bird or scrub fowl, which incubates its enormous egg in a 6-ft high mound of compost often 10 ft or so across. Plenty of other birds, spiders and assorted creepy-crawlies.

Suitability:
Seekers of intimate luxurious seclusion in a rainforest setting. 18 mls from outer reef, so not favoured by divers.

Accommodation:
Only 1 tiny exclusive resort hotel, so a maximum of 30 guests.

Shopping:
None bar the hotel's boutique and its "essentials" cupboard behind reception for sun cream, cigarettes etc.

Beach:
Eight beaches of fine golden sand _ some of the best on the Great Barrier Reef islands. Both of the main beaches at the resort have rainforest right behind them. Wedgerock Bay Beach has enormous granite boulder formations and the hotel's water-sports centre.

Entertainments:
Daytime: apart from eating, drinking and sunbathing, favourite here is walking in the rainforest jungle on a clearly marked trail to the now abandoned resort of Bedarra Hideaway, spotting exotic flora and fauna along the way. Taking your own outboard dinghy and iced-champagne picnic to a private beach for the day is also a pastime of choice. Nightlife: none unless one of the guests plays the piano or someone organises a party in the free-for-all bar. Videos or Scrabble if desperate.

Eating:
None. Only one restaurant in the hotel, but fine food is what you pay for here.

Public-transport:
None: no roads. Launch to Dunk Island provided by hotel; takes about 15 mins.

Local-excursions:
Various boat trips for scuba diving, big-game fishing or just cruising the local islands. Dunk Island visit.