If you’ve not been to the Capricorn Coast recently you might be surprised at the diversity of things to do in Yeppoon and the surrounding region.
Yeppoon is located on Queensland’s central coast, northeast of Rockhampton and just below the Tropic of Capricorn. It’s a 5-hour drive north of Hervey Bay, 8-hours from Brisbane and an essential stop on a road trip up the Queensland Coast towards Cairns.
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Stay for a week or two and you’ll have time to discover the white-sand beaches, beautiful coral, tropical fish, native birds and wildlife, rainforests, geological formations dating back to prehistoric times, fun family attractions, National Parks, art, history and a fabulous food bowl region.
Awesome Things To See And Do In Yeppoon
A key attraction on the Yeppoon waterfront is the fabulous infinity lagoon pool complex. This stunning spot is completely free to use, you can relax here for the day or stop by for a quick dip to cool off whenever you feel like it.
Most people just chill out, chat and have a refreshing soak while enjoying the view. You’re able to swim and play too but there’s no jumping or diving into the pool and there are lifeguards on duty to make sure everyone is playing safe. There is also a zero-depth area for toddlers with seating for parents on the edge.
There are large sun shelters positioned over the grass area so you can put down a blanket overlooking the pool and sun loungers to relax while you dry off. Directly behind the lagoon are more parklands, a skate park and a big picnic and BBQ area. In front of the pool is Main Beach providing the ‘infinity’ view out to the Keppel Islands.
The 10 Best Things To Do & Activities In Yeppoon, Australia
The complex includes a ground floor juice bar and cafe with a restaurant and bar upstairs. There are immaculately clean changing areas, showers and toilets available, the only thing we really felt were missing are a few lockers, just somewhere to secure water-sensitive items like phones and keys would be great.
If you are travelling with younger children they will love the Kraken water playground with the safe zero-depth water spouts. There are toilet and changing facilities nearby and plenty of seating and picnic spaces for the family to keep a close watch.
The Kraken of course is a giant sea monster depicted in Nordic folklore as something like a giant octopus. The Kraken playground is super cute and a popular hangout for families. The shaded seating around this area was one of our favourites for our morning coffee with stunning views out over the beach. Being elevated there’s a little bit of breeze there too on a hot day.
Best Yeppoon Beaches
While Yeppoon has one long expanse of sand stretching further than the eye can see to the north, technically it’s only Yeppoon Main Beach near the town and turns to Farnborough Beach at these rocks near the campground. Farnborough beach then continues on to the north for around 17 km up to Sandy Point just below the Byfield National Park.
Walking this stretch of sand into ‘town’ each day was just beautiful and especially pretty like this with the warm glow on the horizon at dawn and dusk.
The main question we are asked, and kind of wondered ourselves when we arrived, is whether there are crocodiles around Yeppoon? The locals were swimming here and the surf life-saving club is active including nippers in the water each week so we were inclined to think the crocodile line was actually further north than we’d believed.
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In reality yes they do get salties in the ocean along the Capricorn Coast, it’s rare but a couple of months before our visit a 3.5-4 metre croc was confirmed floating off this southern part of Farnborough beach. I love walking along the sand and spending time on the beach but we headed down to the lagoon pool whenever we wanted to take a dip.
The Keppel Islands are a group of 18 islands located around 15 km off the Capricorn Coast. Great Keppel, as the name would imply, is the largest and very easy to visit from the Keppel Bay Marina just south of Yeppoon.
Two companies run daily ferries out here, we went with Keppel Konnections on a day trip and got the ferret ticket that includes lunch at the bistro, you can also stay out here in the cabins that are dotted around. It is a rustic unspoilt paradise but keep in mind that means the accommodation and facilities are basic.
Kemp Beach Hi Res Stock Photography And Images
With 17 beaches and a range of walking tracks, you aren’t going to be bored out here. The waters are crystal clear and beautiful for swimming, being in the southern Great Barrier Reef snorkelling is also popular with tropical fish, coral and turtles to see.
You can hire snorkelling gear from the beach shack and hike to some of the better snorkelling spots like Monkey Beach or join one of the snorkelling trips that head out to Middle Island or the more sheltered beaches depending on the weather and tide. There are also kayaks to hire from the beach as another way to get around the rocky heads to different beaches.
You can see the hiking trails on this map, there are some signs and markers along the way but they are limited so make sure you are confident navigating before heading deeper inland or out onto the longer trails.
Ocean Views Yeppoon (australia)
Even if you confine yourself to a snorkelling tour and the two beaches around the visitor precinct, Putney Beach and Fishermans Beach, or perhaps take the walk up to the lookout you are going to have more than enough to keep you busy for a day trip.
The waters are crystal clear and perfect for swimming. The long sweeps of sand and few people mean there’s plenty of space to spread out and the Bistro and bar are conveniently positioned to wander in off the sand for something to eat whenever you feel like it.
Visiting the tropic of Capricorn means you are now in crocodile country and the more you know about these fascinating apex predators the better it is for them and you. Koorana Crocodile Farm is first and foremost a farm, not a wildlife park but its multi-faceted approach to the business means that they also provide crocodile handling training to wildlife staff, safety training to those who work in and around crocodile habitats, and tours for locals and visitors.
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We joined their morning tour which involves meeting several of their breeding stock from a safe distance. These big boys and their girlfriends are impressive animals, seeing them fed during the tour you appreciate how invisible they become even in shallow water close to the bank and how fast they move getting clear of the water.
The tour focuses on the animals, not the nitty-gritty of farming them, there are around 3, 000 crocodiles on the farm and we meet maybe a dozen of them on the tour, almost all are fully grown. The only exception is a young crocodile brought out at the end that we had the opportunity to hold and take a photo with.
An interesting insight for me was seeing what a crocodile nest looks like, it’s not something you see in a wildlife park. You could easily mistake it for a brush turkey nest if it wasn’t for the nearby wallow to collect fresh water and a slide into the waterway.
Great Keppel Island
At the right time of year, you might also witness the egg collection process on the tour, every egg must be removed and incubated, a skilled and nailbiting job to be sure but while the fencing is substantial to keep the big crocs in, the hatchlings would have no issue walking through them and into local waterways. Not the way to stay on good terms with the neighbours.
After the tour we stayed on for lunch in the restaurant, you can read more about our experience dining here and our reviews on other local restaurants around Yeppoon in this article.
Directly southeast of the Keppel Bay Marina is the gorgeous Kemp Beach. The 2 kilometres of sand are bracketed by the Capricorn Coast National Park. At the northern end is the Double Heads section with walkways to Pebble Beach, the Rosslyn Bay lookout and Fan Rock lookout. At the southern end is the Bluff Point scenic walk with more lookouts from the summit over Bluff Rock and the Keppel Islands in the distance.
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It’s a great spot for a beach day with the sheltered bay having a shallow drop off and minimal waves. Soft white sand, a backdrop of the dunes and a walk into the national park make this one hard to beat.
There are two great restaurants nearby, Beaches is across the road with their menu based around fresh organic produce from the High Valley Dawn permaculture farm and Waterline is also within easy walking distance with great food, views out over the marina and live music on a Sunday afternoon.
If you are self-catering on your travels the Rosslyn Bay Fish Market is also located on the water’s edge here with an excellent range of local fish and seafood. They are