Why you need to experience remote Haggerstone Island

A seriously special place, Haggerstone Island is privately-owned, and caters to a small number of guests who venture here to experience its wilderness. Most of the time you’ll be one of 10 guests on the island – or even less.

Want to have the island entirely to yourself? This is one of the few Queensland islands you can rent, available for groups of up to 12 people. The crew will cater your stay entirely to your needs, from your daily adventures to what’s on your plate.

Spend the evening enjoying sunset drinks or a moonlit dinner on the jetty. Watch the stars come out around a beach-bonfire or experience a traditional Tahitian Hungy, where local meats are wrapped in banana leaves and cooked underground for 8 hours. Here, you can do as much or as little as you like.

You’ll sleep in rustic beachfront villas

This is no high rise hotel. Dotted along Haggerstone’s long beach are five secluded beachfront villas, each uniquely designed by owner Roy to reflect the aesthetic of the surroundings. Every open-plan villa features a private deck with sweeping ocean views, tropical garden, and front row seats of the best entertainment: nature itself. Expect barefoot luxury in the best possible way; you’ve got everything you need, and none of the pretention.

The journey here is all part of the adventure

There's a good chance you may not have heard of this secret spot. Located on the outer Great Barrier Reef, Haggerstone Island is well worth the effort to travel here.

Arrive in Cairns first (here’s a few things you should do if you have a few days up your sleeve), and then jump onboard the private charter flight to the Haggertsone airstrip. This two hour flight will be the most scenic of your life, with a bird’s eye view of uninhabited virgin rainforest, and the bright Coral Sea below, dotted with reef and coral cays.  

From here, you’ll then take the island’s jet boat to be transferred to Haggerstone Island.

And there’s more adventures at every turn

Your stay at Haggerstone Island includes daily adventures on the 45ft jet boat, so take your pick of the action once you arrive. Whether you want heart-racing thrills or heart-soaring peace and quiet, Haggerstone delivers both on and off the water.

The two coral lagoons are perfect to jetski, wakeboard, waterski, kayak or canoe. Explore the walking tracks for a relaxing afternoon, and climb to the top of the hill for panoramic views of the island and surrounding reef systems. Or sit back on the jetty, cocktail in hand, and watch the local fish and turtles swim below.  

Want a truly pinch-yourself experience? Book the chartered helicopter service to visit private waterfalls, sand-cays, fish untouched river systems or enjoy a sunset champagne atop mountainous sand dunes.

There’s a whole world underwater to discover

Few travellers get to experience the raw beauty of the Outer Great Barrier Reef – or get to do so in such a down-to-earth, peaceful way as you can on remote Haggerstone, far out of reach of day trippers.

Here, it’s on your doorstep, thanks to two clear water lagoons located right off the beach. Home to some of the world’s most vibrant coral gardens, float over the top to watch colourful fish feed, or plunge into the cavernous coral formations to meet green turtles, manta rays and more.

Experience even more untouched beauty on the daily snorkelling trips that will take you to the crew’s favourite outer reef locations. In these waters you can also explore a 1840s shipwreck and World War Two artefacts, buried below the surface in reef gardens.

It’s home to one of the largest Green Turtle rookeries in the world

If you’re looking for turtles, you’ve come to the right place. Green turtles are abundant in the waters off Haggerstone Island. In fact, nearby on the Outer Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest rookeries of the species in the world. So whether you’re sipping sundowners on the jetty or diving beneath to explore the reef, you’re sure to meet a few.

Dine on daily-caught seafood and homegrown produce

When your backyard is the ocean, it’s only natural that seafood is pulled from the water and put on your plate just minutes later. You’ll probably see Haggerstone’s team heading back to the dock with what’ll be on the dinner menu that night. Sustainability is a way of life here; they only take what’s needed each day and release the rest.

The fruit and veggies on your plate? They come from the owner’s garden, grown organically right here in the orchard – down to the Thai herbs in your dinner. Even the eggs are the produce of the island’s free roaming chickens.

It’s an impressive place to cast a line 

Want to try your hand at catching dinner?

Thanks to its uninhabited coastline, Haggerstone Island offers an unparalleled fishing experience, from spearfishing to deep sea and estuary fishing. And you don’t have to be an expert to get involved.

Whether it’s your first time or not, the crew will show you the ropes of spearfishing in the reefs for local crayfish, coral trout, fingermark and Spanish mackerel.

Thirty years of experience means they know the best fishing spots at sea or in the untouched river systems, and depending where you cast, you’ll quickly be reeling in red emperor, giant trevally, barramundi and mangrove jack.

It’s a place to embrace the solitude

Haggerstone Island’s owners Roy and Anna arrived here with a barge in 1985 and spent six years in virtual solitude, slowly transforming the island from uninhabited jungle to its rugged, welcoming resort. 

And that sense of deserted island beauty remains to this day. There’s nowhere else quite like Haggerstone. It might take your breath away, but breathe in deeply – it feels different to any other place on earth.