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Travel & Touring| WA Things to Do
1 November, 2022 By: Fleur Bainger
WA has 3747 islands, but you can only stay on a handful of them. Introducing Woody Island - the Rottnest of Esperance.
If you hear rustling in the bushes on Woody Island, there’s no need to stop and freeze.
Somewhat uncharacteristically for Australia, the holiday isle sitting just 15km off the coast of Esperance, or Kepa Kurl, is entirely devoid of snakes. The crackling of leaves comes instead from resident skinks, geckos and quail, who roam noisily but invisibly beneath the cover of nature’s understorey. It takes some getting used to, but once you’ve calmed your body’s auto-response, the snake-free status becomes another of the getaway’s many charms.
Woody Island, some 700km south-east of Perth, is the only place you can stay within the 105 islands of the Recherche Archipelago, also known as the Bay of Isles. Dotted with safari tents and lined with walking trails, this rocky isle in the Southern Ocean is a 40-minute boat trip from the mainland. Woody Island Eco Tours operates a daily ferry service year-round between Esperance and Woody Island. They also recently began one-way heli-transfers which can land you on the island within six scenic minutes. In addition to ferry transfers, Woody Island Eco Tours also operates and manages all of the accommodation and facilities on the island.
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From grazing lands to weekend escape
Curling around three coves and covered in a blend of coastal scrub and wooded thickets, Woody Island was uninhabited until the late 1940s. The harbour’s tugboat owner, Don Mackenzie, took a shine to it, using it for family weekend escapes and grazing land: he shipped over 300 sheep and built basic infrastructure. By 1954, the livestock had to be removed as the archipelago was declared a nature reserve, but for the Mackenzie’s, the connection continued.
The ’70s saw Don and his sons start to bring day trippers across on their tugboat – the only one at the time to be licensed for passengers. The family added basic camping facilities for overnight visitors in the 1980s, evolving the island into a rustic, summer school holiday camp site and short cruise destination.
The Woody Island Visitor Centre opened in 1999, characterised by its tree trunk supports and all-wooden interior. It faces Shearwater Bay, a natural harbour where boats moor and visitors wander up the jetty past rounded rocks, with only a tiny strip of sand. Long ago, the Mackenzie’s installed environmentally friendly composting toilets, rainwater tanks and boardwalks that minimised nature trampling and erosion and are still in use today.
Esperance local and chief executive officer of Woody Island Eco Tours, Gen Spencer, remembers the joy she felt as a child, arriving on the island.
“It was a treat to go out there whenever we could,” she says. “I had my 13th birthday there.”
The nostalgia was so strong, that when Spencer’s family took over the running of the island in 2017, she was determined to bring back the pontoon and double slide she loved as a kid. A replica of the one living in her memories arrived in March 2022.
“I wanted to bring back the pontoon, to bring back the past with something new” she says. “Everyone is just so happy to see it up and going again.”
Things to see and do
As an adult, Spencer is just as enchanted by Woody Island. “You drift in on the boat and all you can hear is the island is alive,” she says. “It’s flourishing with birdlife, and you can hear the chirping; there’s an abundance of different plants and trees. I love that first sensation.”
Beyond the comforting absence of snakes, the island is home to flesh footed shearwaters and fairy penguins who return each evening to Twiggy’s Landing. The tranquil spot is found at the end of a bush trail and is named after a pet Labrador who was lost at sea about 4km from the island, and later turned up there.
You may also see roos on the rocks, silhouetted at dusk, although a court of kangaroos outside Black Jack’s bar, beside the Visitor Centre, is far easier to spot. They were introduced to the island to keep on top of weeds and feral plant species. And the bar? Named after a pirate that once lurked on Middle Island, not the poker game.
There are other marked walking trails, including the Island Top Walk and one that takes you to the suggestively named Skinny Dip Bay. You can go it alone to the bay, wandering along slender eucalypt woodland to reach a secluded corner of granite boulders tumbling into the sea.
The Top Walk is do-able under your own steam, or you can join a guided 1.8km walk, whether staying on the island ($65) or joining a day trip ($125/adult). Head uphill through a cluster of sheoaks whispering in the wind and look for the bench seat with a plaque dedicated to “Tom, who loved the birds and quiet places.” Finish up at the solar-powered Visitor Centre and kiosk, and tuck into a steak sandwich or locally caught gummy shark fish with chips.
Snorkelling on Woody Island is fantastic and wearing a wetsuit highly recommended. Gen Spencer describes the ocean temperature as “refreshing,” which some may say is an understatement. It’s worth diving down to inspect the waving seaweed below. Within, there are 450 species of soft coral, intricate sea grasses and sponges, along with varied fish (marine gear is free to overnight guests; day trippers can rent it).
“We have a huge range of coral growing under the jetty, which is unusual for Esperance,” says Spencer. “There’s vibrant colour and red starfish up the pylons of the jetty.” Helpfully, there’s a Perspex-bottomed kayak for cold-adverse guests.
While on the island you can opt for some interesting side trips, including fishing charters in the waters around the island and a trip out to Middle Island with it's renowned pink lake - Lake Hillier (more on that below). Woody island is also home to the world's second largest diveable shipwreck - the Sanko Harvest - which is also the largest in Australia.
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Where to stay
The styles and standard of accommodation on Woody Island has evolved over time. Most of it is set up for you and includes beds, making for a comfortable wilderness stay. Starting with raw bush camp sites ($60/night for two people), there are ground-level tents ($120/night, bed/s included, fits two) furnished family tents on decking ($160/night, for a maximum of four guests) and balconied safari huts on stilts ($180/night, fitting two adults and three children).
“All of the family and standard tents are brand new,” says Spencer. “We’ve used a canvas that aerates better and they’re a darker colour so the sap off the eucalyptus trees doesn’t show up as much. We’ve also upgraded the decking beneath the tents and around the island.”
More recently, a coveted number of couples-only ‘luxury retreat’ eco tents opened, with inviting interior-styling including lush linen on a king bed, couch, fluffy rug and stunning balcony views ($260/ night, minimum two-night stay). Lighting is solar-powered and there are even USB points for device recharging – not that you’ll need them on the island, which has blissfully limited phone coverage.
In 2023, it’s the safari huts’ turn to be upgraded, with all-new canvas and beds. It comes at a time when Woody Island is welcoming more visitors than ever before.
“At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a 100 per cent loss in accommodation and ferry bookings,” says Spencer. “Once regulations loosened off, the season that’s just been [September 21-June 22] was our busiest yet. We were up 30 to 40 per cent in some months.” Spencer says Woody Island’s untamed nature and tranquillity will continue to draw visitors, along with the transformation it delivers. “You really feel like you have travelled overseas to a completely different place.” she says. “And yet you’re only 40min from town."
Middle Island’s captivating pink lake
While you’re in Esperance, a trip to this unique wonder makes a great additional adventure. Seeing (and snapping) Lake Hillier, the otherworldly fuchsia-pink lake on Middle Island, is a bucket list item for many.
Fly Esperance has a dedicated, 80min fixed wing scenic flight experience that also takes in Woody Island and Cape le Grand National Park, and for something fun, it has recently launched a flying bar hop, with the option of adding on a view of Lake Hillier. HeliSpirit, which operates its helicopter out of Esperance during the warmer months, lands on a rock platform on Middle Island and runs a guided walk to the pink lake’s edge.
