7 reasons why you need to holiday on Orpheus Island

If it’s peace and serenity you’re after, you’ll have no trouble finding it on Orpheus Island. There’s only one resort here and there will never be any more than 28 guests at one time.

It’s impossible to make any bad decisions while on holiday at Orpheus Island Lodge. All 14 of the contemporary rooms, suites and villas boast stunning ocean views with a calming colour palette and elegant beach feel. There are five room types and each one has something special to offer. For families, the North Beachfront Villa is best, while the South Suite’s outdoor bath and private terrace make it the perfect abode for a romantic stay.

Every guest receives three gourmet meals daily, complimentary Australian wine, beer, sparkling and soft drinks, and an all-inclusive mini-bar and gourmet snacks.

While you can get wifi in the main pavilion, coverage is unreliable throughout the rest of the island, which is just the excuse you need to switch off from reality and explore all the natural beauty waiting at your doorstep. And the resort provides everything you need to do just that.

Grab a snorkel and fins and borrow a motorised dinghy, paddleboard, kayak, or catamaran and head out onto the water to cruise the coastline. Orpheus also offers a daily complimentary guide-led activity, such as forest hikes, snorkelling trips or beer tastings.

The island is mostly an unspoilt national park

Orpheus Island may be small but it has a lot to offer nature lovers. Only 12 km long and 1300 hectares in size, the island is covered almost entirely in National Park.

Rainforest and dry woodlands of Moreton Bay ash and acacias dominate the island. There aren’t any roads on the island, but there are a number of walking tracks leading from the lodge into the native bushland of Orpheus Island’s National Park.

The island is composed of volcanic rocks that formed around 280 million years ago. Molten rock intruded into cracks in the granite bedrock, forming an intricate and unique spider web pattern of dykes along the headlands and rocky shores.

All your meals come from a chef-hatted restaurant

There may only be one restaurant on the island but don’t expect to get bored with the menu. Every meal is a degustation of flavours, with a nod to the local ingredients, some sourced from Orpheus itself.

The menu is constantly changing depending on what’s in season, what’s growing in the resort’s garden, and what seafood was freshly caught that morning. It’s also been tailored to suit your palate. Upon arriving at the resort, the executive chef sits down with you to find out what gets your mouth watering.

From there, chef Josh Childs and the team turn your requests into chef-hatted meals that are nothing short of spectacular. Every day the menu changes, and since you’re in holiday mode, they also take away the stress of choosing what to have - everything is decided for you (and included in your package price).

Mornings start with a gourmet à la carte breakfast of seasonal fruits, freshly baked bread, and a selection of hot dishes like pancakes, smashed avocado and made-to-order eggs. Lunch is a cuisine-themed spread of tapas, made for sharing. And for dinner, a four-course degustation with complimentary Australian beers and wines finishes the day on a candlelit note out on the outdoor deck.

You can indulge in an ancient Indigenous spa treatment

What’s a trip to paradise without some pampering? Inspired by its Aboriginal name, Gwandalan, which means ‘rest and peace’, you’re in good hands at the Gwandalan Day Spa when you holiday on Orpheus Island. The treatments are a unique experience, combining indigenous herbalism and aromatherapy traditions with modern massage techniques.

If you’re looking to reconnect the body, mind and soul, splurge on The Dreaming treatment. For three hours, you will be pampered from head to toe with a body scrub and warm mud wrap, followed by a Kodo massage to balance and realign energy flow and enhance your mind and body wellness. Your pamper session finishes with an indulgent facial, hair mask and hand and foot treatments.

Each spa treatment is enhanced with Li’tya spa products, which use wild-harvested pure Australian botanical and organic ingredients to nourish the body and the senses.

If you loved your Gwandalan Day Spa treatment, check out these other Indigenous-inspired health and wellness experiences in Queensland.

The resort cares about the future of the Great Barrier Reef

When you’re surrounded by paradise every day, you can’t help but want to do everything in your power to protect it. Which is why Orpheus Island has numerous eco initiatives in place.

Each menu is made up of locally sourced and sustainably produced ingredients. Most of the vegetables and herbs are grown on the island, fish is caught locally, and eggs come direct from the resort’s chickens.

Orpheus Island Lodge treats and recycles all waste water and uses solar panels to heat water. It also has its own research station in partnership with James Cook University. Located within Pioneer Bay, the world-class marine research facility allows students to study the well-developed fringing and mid-shelf reefs, mangroves, and the hundreds of species of fish and corals that flourish in the waters surrounding Orpheus Island.

The lodge also donates $50 per guest stay to The Reef Keepers Fund. The environmental initiative supports projects and organisations that are committed to protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

There's so much to explore on and around the island

Orpheus Island may be scarce on humans, but it’s inhabited by many native mammals, reptiles and bird species. By day, terrestrial birds such as the orange-footed scrubfowl search the rainforest floor for food. At night, nocturnal echidnas and bandicoots come out to forage in the forest.

Dip your head below the surface and you’ll find more than 1100 fish species, snubfin dolphins, manta rays, reef sharks (don’t worry, they’re harmless!) and humpback whales. In the evenings, you can watch a reef shark feeding frenzy as staff members drop fish scraps underneath the jetty.

Orpheus Island’s giant clam garden awaits just minutes by boat from the lodge. Planted in the 1980s, the garden is now populated by 300 impressive molluscs. Each clam can weigh up to 200 kilograms, stretching 90 centimetres in width. The clam’s rainbow-coloured ruffled chinchilla lips light up the ocean floor, making for an unforgettable snorkelling experience.

If you’d rather just roll out of bed and go snorkelling, wander down to the white sand beaches of Hazard Bay. The surrounding reef is brimming with marine life and colourful coral.

Close by Orpheus Island is Australia's largest island national park, Hinchinbrook Island. Plan to spend an entire day here. You’ll practically have the whole island to yourself. Follow the lush rainforest trails to the Zoe and Mulligan waterfalls, relax on the secluded beaches, and spot saltwater crocodiles in the island’s waterways.

Getting to Orpheus Island is part of the adventure

The beauty of a remote island is it’s an adventure to get there. The only way to get to Orpheus Island Lodge is via helicopter. The scenic flight takes 30 minutes from Townsville and will give you the perfect teaser of paradise to come. You can book your helicopter transfer with Nautilus Aviation through Orpheus directly.

Guests are limited to a luggage limit of 15kg per person, which will need to be packed into a duffel bag (which the hotel can provide). Excess luggage can be stored in a locked room at the hangar.

Want to get to know the other Great Barrier Reef islands? Check out this guide on choosing the right Queensland island escape for you.