nature travel, wildlife tours, adventure travel and general travel to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific

Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef

If you have ever wanted to get away to a remote tropical island, surrounded by turquoise waters, coral reefs, and just the lapping of the waves for background music, but didn't want to mortgage your home or first-born to do so, Wilson Island is the place for you. A tiny island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Wilson has no development other than 6 secluded, domed, hard-floored permanent "tents", the dining area and lounge, which are both located away from the tents. Tents have their own shaded verandah, of course with deck chairs, and are fully insect-screened.

There's no TV, radio, cell phones, whistle-blowing activities directors, shops, hairdressers or "personal watercraft" (we're not sure what's personal about 90+dB of noise, but that's a different issue). Just the sun, sighing tropical vegetation, over 800 species of corals, sea turtles, brilliant tropical fish, white sands, warm clear blue water, and peace.

Wilson is about nature - being surrounded by it, in the most serene, relaxing and mesmerizing way. Days are measured by sunrise, the sun being high overhead, sunset, and the dazzling appearance of the southern stars (it's only in these wide-open, southern reaches you truly understand why the Milky Way was named just that.) And of course, the gourmet meals, which miraculously appear for you, just when you want them. There are few better ways to enjoy fresh seafood, chilled white wine, and a fine dessert than sitting on an empty, tropical, white-sand beach, listening to the gentle lap of waves tinkling the coral.

Days are spent walking on the pristine beach, snorkeling, reef walking, watching the terns and other tropical birds flow with the sun and sky, and just being part of a natural, timeless world. Imagine a spa where there were no walls, no roof, no treatments, no decisions, no $2 per minute charge, no tipping questions - yet at the end you were more refreshed, more relaxed, and more alive than ever before. This is the Wilson experience.

All meals are included, with excellent Australian wines and other beverages, and are served in the open-sided Long House dining area, or you can have them as a beach picnic. It's up to you. There's also a screened lounge for evening relaxing if you choose.

To ensure a relaxing stay, stays on Wilson is only available for 3 night stays. Access is from Heron Island, where you can add time before or after at one of Australia's only true Great Barrier Reef island resorts.

Contact us for more information on becoming your own castaway on the Great Barrier Reef.

(by the way, there are no basketball or coconut heads, or Fedex packages on the beach - the island was named Wilson a long time ago...)

Heron Island is one of Australia's premier resorts, situated on a coral cay on the Great Barrier Reef. Available accommodation range from exclusive Reef Suites to relaxed tropical Turtle Cabins. Heron is a wildlife sanctuary, where seabirds and turtles nest, and is surrounded by superb coral reef which can be accessed by walking directly of the beach - no snorkeling necessary. Contact us for more information.