Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef
Credit: Voyages
Sea turtle on Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef
Sunset, Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef
Luxury camping, Wilson Island, Great Barrier Reef
Credit: Voyages
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Eco features
Wilson Island is a National and Marine Park Island, so every effort is made to ensure you're lounging in ecologically sound luxury.
The lights run on solar power and the excess power also operates equipment like water pumps. Showers come courtesy of rainwater tanks on the island and absolutely everything is recycled (all material waste goes back to the mainland for processing and sewerage is stored in a deep septic system).
While you won't be searched on leaving, guests are forbidden to take coral souvenirs with them to ensure it remains for future generations to enjoy. The island is closed in February to allow the birds to nest in peace.
Guest numbers are sensibly restricted - no more than 12 people can stay in the 6 permanent luxury tents at one time. If you're not a camping enthusiast, don't be alarmed - sure, the mozzies are ferocious, but king-size beds, fluffy duvets and a raised timber floor is hardly survivor-style stuff.
Two gracious twenty-something hosts act as guides, cooks and cleaners during your stay, coaxing creative dishes from the gas burner BBQ. Banquet-style meals are served at the open Longhouse, where barefoot guests dine by candlelight and laze on the lounge with a book from the library during the midday heat.
The simple life
There are two minor details (mutton birds aside) that may trouble guests who can't do without their mod-cons. No hairdryers are allowed (they suck the life out of solar power) and amenities are shared (although even these are kept sparkling and stocked with luxury toiletries). They're grouped together in one block, away from the tents, making a night-time trip to the loo a trek by torchlight.
Oh, and there's no TV or mobile reception. But you won't even miss them - if you tire of whiling away hours in the double hammocks or the communal tent, your hosts are always on hand to help you discover the best snorkelling spots, including a massive bommie, a huge deepwater coral outcrop, teeming with fish and marine life.
Fading into the sunset
Sunsets are particularly spectacular. As the crimson sky fades to black, thousands of chirping black noddy terns flock back from feeding at sea and circle over the seashore in mesmerising unison. (Meanwhile, the guests head beach-ward to soak up the spectacle over oven-baked bruschetta and bubbly!).
After three blissful days of sun, snorkelling and sumptuous meals on Wilson Island, it's tough to leave this tiny patch of paradise. As you hear the roar of the boat engine coming to collect you and your fellow castaways, you'll be hard pressed to hold back from matching the mutton bird's sorrowful shriek in protest. It might feel like home but, at the end of the day, it's the natives that rightfully rule the roost.
