Curtis Island, a 16 kilometre barge trip out from Gladstone, was the destination for members of the Bundaberg Four Wheel Drive Club to get away for the Easter weekend.
The group spent time exploring the islands four-wheel drive tracks to remote fishing spots, back to basics bush camping areas, beaches, wilderness areas and wetlands.
Most of the island is made up with the Curtis Island National Park, the Curtis Island Conservation Park and the Curtis Island State Forest.
The waterway between the mainland and Curtis Island, which is approximately 27 kilometres long, is known as The Narrows.
It connects Gladstone Harbour to Keppel Bay (the mouth of the Fitzroy River).
The Monte Cristo pastoral station, which was established in the 1860s, raised cattle and bred horses.
They took advantage of the shallowness of the Narrows to cross their animals to the mainland at low tide at a point that became known as Ramsay's Crossing.
This practice continued until 2014 when the pastoral station was sold to be developed as a gas plant. There are three liquid natural gas facilities on the island now.
The small town of Southend, where the barge drops off both holiday makers and residents has limited supplies, with the Capricorn lodge catering for basic meals and various thirst quenching drinks.
The aptly named Turtle Beach is home to the third largest flatback turtle rookery in Queensland, so if you are visiting between October to March you may see nesting and hatching on the shore.
The endangered Capricorn yellow chat, a brightly coloured songbird, has been recorded in remnant wetlands on Curtis Island Conservation Park to the island’s north.
As a first time destination for most of our club members, the island offered an array of activities to keep us on the go.
We look forward to a return visit to explore more of what the island has to offer.
To find out more on the Bundaberg Four Wheel Drive Club and activities we have on, contact us via email: info@bunadberg4wdclub.com on the net here or catch us on Facebook or Instagram.
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