Yeppoon has long been a bit of a grey nomad hotspot … and it’s very easy to see why.
Situated about 40 kilometres east of Rockhampton it’s a great place to take a breather as you head up or down the coast. The friendly, well-serviced town, with a population of 7,000 or so, has got some great caravan parks, is right next door to a stunning national park, state forests and a conservation area.
The first settlers arrived in the Yeppoon area in 1865 and the land was used for timber, cattle and growing pineapples.
It was perhaps inevitable that, with the industrial city of Rockhampton so close by, people would eventually realise Yeppoon was a top place to commute from and to come home to.
Tourism soon followed. And how!
The scenic view from Double Head Track. PIC: Tourism and Events Queensland / Blink Photography
Today the town has grown to service the needs of the multitude of visitors and ever-welcoming locals. There is a healthy collection of cafes, restaurants and shops … and the beaches are jaw-dropping.
The town famously nestles within a system of 13 beaches across 95 kilometres of Capricorn coastline, and the surrounding scenery and idyllic islands leaves most visitors eager to stay ‘just one more night’.
There are several great caravan parks in and around Yeppoon, and Byfield State Forest, half an hour or so to the north, offers caravan-friendly camping at Upper Stony Creek and Water Park Creek.
The main street and the esplanade here boast some interesting ships and art galleries, as well as some eye-catching murals. There are also some great cafes and eateries, with many offering panoramic views from their front decks. It’s also a lovely place to stroll around, with some great walking paths and picnic areas.
The ’Keppel Kraken’ water park sits on the foreshore, and there’s a new lagoon pool at the southern end of Yeppoon Main Beach. Other popular beaches include Lammermoor Beach, Kemp Beach, and – a little to the south – Kinka Beach.
Stunning Yeppoon Lagoon. PIC: Tourism & Events Queensland
As you do head south from Yeppoon, you are afforded magnificent views out to sea. From Wreck Point Lookout you can see all of the major islands, including Great Keppel and North Keppel islands. And if you are keen to visit the palm-filled paradise isles you can take a boat from Rosslyn Bay Boat Harbour. It takes about half an hour to get across to Great Keppel Island on the ferry.
There are a number of cruises and tours available, including island hopping adventures and glass bottom boat journeys. And, of course, there are fishing charters also on offer.
Yeppoon also boasts some great markets including the community markets at the showground every Saturday morning, and the Fig Tree markets at Merv Anderson Park on the first Sunday of the month.
Other nearby attractions include Koorana Crocodile Farm, Cooberrie Park Wildlife Sanctuary, the spectacular ANZAC Memorial at Emu Park, and Shell World … where 20,000-plus shells are on display.
A little further afield, and well worth the a 50-minute drive inland from Yeppoon, are the spectacular 390-year-million-years-old Capricorn Caves.
As previously mentioned, this is a truly stunning part of the world. Just to the south of Yeppoon is Capricorn Coast National Park, which has four separate accessible sections. There are some amazing spots to view the rock formations and volcanic headlands from, and some great short walks to enjoy, including those at Bluff Point and Double Head.
About 30 minutes or so north of Yeppoon along the sealed Yeppoon-Byfield Road is the Byfield National Park, Byfield Conservation Park, and Byfield State Forest. Access to the national park is very much four-wheel-drive only. It covers some 15,000 hectares and boasts massive sand dunes, as well as rugged granite pinnacles like The Peaks and Mt Atherton. In the eucalypt woods and rainforest areas, birdlife is abundant.
The state forest is actually far more accessible than the national park and the camping is excelent. The area has about 7,000 hectares of exotic pine plantation and 17,000 hectares of native forest, as well as pockets of rainforest along Water Park Creek.
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