Adrian Taylor | 5th March 2011
LYNDIE Malan believes it's possible to create a tourism paradise on Great Keppel Island, without harming its delicate environment or using vast tracts of public access land.
As consultants begin compiling a detailed environmental impact study on the latest proposals for a luxury resort, GKI resident Lyndie has revealed her own alternative vision for sustainable tourism.
“I'd like to see a more user-friendly, artistic and unusual island,” she said.
“Not the same boring old golf course and villas that are found worldwide, as well as along the Queensland coast.
“They don't seem to be proving much of an attraction.”
At the core of her vision is a plan to bring 700 visitors to the island during the day, but to have strict quotas on overnight stays.
The day trippers would enjoy a range of food and entertainment facilities – with fine dining, live music, lots of shade and a safe ocean swimming enclosure.
“When the afternoon ferry departs, the island should become quiet for the night,” Lyndie said.
“The old nightclub at the resort was a constant torment for residents.
“Live music and a lively atmosphere during the day is great – but a quiet island at night is best for the wildlife and residents.”
On the site of the old resort on Fisherman's Beach, Lyndie would like to see a 60-person eco-tourism resort, discreetly arranged among the trees.
“This is about the sustainable limit for Great Keppel, considering the water supply,” she said.
Lyndie would also like to see a conservation park on the 875 hectares of public access land, where there would be a three-day walking track and camp sites catering for up to 12 people a night.
“Visitors would carry all their supplies in an out – like on New Zealand's great walks,” Lyndie said.
“Composting toilets and water would be provided, nothing else.”
The walking tracks would be designed by local artists – with outdoor art, including pottery sculptures.
She also proposes an underwater sculpture gallery for snorkellers and points to the success of similar ventures in the Caribbean,
“Sculptures and a shipwreck would provide a new habitat for corals and fish and would attract snorkellers. It would mean we were not dependant on healthy coral.”
Lyndie said her plans were driven by a desire to protect the island's reptiles and amphibians, ground bird life, frogs and small marsupials (like planigales).
As consultants begin compiling a detailed environmental impact study on the latest proposals for a luxury resort, GKI resident Lyndie has revealed her own alternative vision for sustainable tourism.
“I'd like to see a more user-friendly, artistic and unusual island,” she said.
“Not the same boring old golf course and villas that are found worldwide, as well as along the Queensland coast.
“They don't seem to be proving much of an attraction.”
At the core of her vision is a plan to bring 700 visitors to the island during the day, but to have strict quotas on overnight stays.
The day trippers would enjoy a range of food and entertainment facilities – with fine dining, live music, lots of shade and a safe ocean swimming enclosure.
“When the afternoon ferry departs, the island should become quiet for the night,” Lyndie said.
“The old nightclub at the resort was a constant torment for residents.
“Live music and a lively atmosphere during the day is great – but a quiet island at night is best for the wildlife and residents.”
On the site of the old resort on Fisherman's Beach, Lyndie would like to see a 60-person eco-tourism resort, discreetly arranged among the trees.
“This is about the sustainable limit for Great Keppel, considering the water supply,” she said.
Lyndie would also like to see a conservation park on the 875 hectares of public access land, where there would be a three-day walking track and camp sites catering for up to 12 people a night.
“Visitors would carry all their supplies in an out – like on New Zealand's great walks,” Lyndie said.
“Composting toilets and water would be provided, nothing else.”
The walking tracks would be designed by local artists – with outdoor art, including pottery sculptures.
She also proposes an underwater sculpture gallery for snorkellers and points to the success of similar ventures in the Caribbean,
“Sculptures and a shipwreck would provide a new habitat for corals and fish and would attract snorkellers. It would mean we were not dependant on healthy coral.”
Lyndie said her plans were driven by a desire to protect the island's reptiles and amphibians, ground bird life, frogs and small marsupials (like planigales).
