the keppel islands

extraordinary reefs

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Science, local knowledge, and natural beauty on the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Barren Island, Keppel Bay © Ray Berkelmans.

The Keppels region

Islands, rocks and dive sites

Tourism

Resources

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Keppels islands and rocks

Best dive sites

Information for visitors.

Islands and rocks

Best dive sites

Visitor’s map

The Gordon La Praik Soft Coral Collection

by Alison Jones | 01/11/2020 | People and places | 0 Comments

Gordon La Praik is a citizen scientist who devoted decades of his life to studying, identifying and documenting the soft corals and mollusc of the Keppels and Southern Great Barrier Reef. Gordon has allowed us to share his stunning photographs and unique story through...

Keppel Bay’s 7700-year-old reefs

by Alison Jones | 23/08/2020 | Coral | 0 Comments

—The Keppel Islands— Keppel Bay’s 7700-year-old reefs By Dr Alison Jones | 23 Aug 2020 Unlike other reefs of the Great Barrier Reef, Keppel Bay reefs have been able to alter their pattern of growth and survive changes in sea level and climate about every...

Keppels first bleaching in 14 years

by Alison Jones | 20/04/2020 | Coral | 0 Comments

In February 2020, the first bleaching event in 14 years occurred in the Keppel Islands. The corals mainly affected were the fast-growing branching corals that live in the shallow waters fringing the islands. While many see this as a devastating event, a new study...

Keppels bleaching 2020

by Alison Jones | 07/03/2020 | Coral | 0 Comments

Coral bleaching occurs when reef building corals shed their tiny algae to relieve stress and to increase their chances of survival. This spectacular aerial image of bleached branching corals at Big Peninsular was taken by Max Allen Jnr from Freedom Fastcats. Keppel...

Patchy coral bleaching observed Monkey Reef

by Alison Jones | 22/01/2020 | Coral | 0 Comments

If you’re visiting Monkey Reef off Great Keppel Island this week, you may see patches of bleached or seemingly dead corals. After a run of days with light winds and water temperatures peaking during the mid afternoons above 28 degrees C in the last 3 weeks, the...

Keppels 2019 coral spawning even caught on video by Keppel Dive

by Alison Jones | 20/11/2019 | Coral | 0 Comments

Keppel Islands lunar bleaching?

by Alison Jones | 29/09/2019 | Coral | 0 Comments

Corals at Monkey Beach reef off Great Keppel Island were exposed to the air during the spring low tides at around 3am and 3pm on the 28th and 29th of September 2019. These extreme 'spring' low and high tides occur monthly at the time of the New Moon but only the...

The opportunists of the sea

by Alison Jones | 29/09/2019 | Everything else | 0 Comments

Coral will grow just about anywhere! This diver's mask lay submerged for months and has become home to sponges, soft corals, turf algae, macro algae and what looks like a cyanobacteria. It shows how opportunistic marine animals and plants can be.

Tuskfish uses rock to crack open cockle shell

by Alison Jones | 08/06/2019 | Everything else | 1 Comment

Scott Gardner was returning from an 18-metre dive in the Keppels on 12 November 2006 when he heard a cracking noise.

Ferocious Pufferfish filmed at Pelican Island

by Alison Jones | 23/05/2019 | Everything else | 1 Comment

Aptly named for its random attacks on humans, this giant Ferocious Puffer fish didn’t seem so fierce at the time. It was not camera-shy and seemed to enjoy our pats and attention.