Great Keppel Island

Known as Wop-pa to its Woppaburra traditional owners, Great Keppel is the largest of the island group that bears its name. Once home to one of Australia's most iconic resorts, the 4-sq-km island has been associated with desert-islands dreams in the country since the 1960s. Natural bushland covers 90% of its interior, rocky headlands divide its 27km coastline into 17 bone-white beaches, and it's fringed by coral in every direction. The site of the old resort, which closed in 2012, has been acquired by a developer with plans for a new mega-resort, complete with golf course, marina, airport and environmental research centre – get here soon if you prefer to do your islands in solitude.