We came to Haggerstone in April 1985. A 70 ton barge unloaded poles, timber, fruit trees, chickens and an old tractor. The island was jungle covered, uninhabited and hundreds of miles from what we knew as civilisation.

We were not to know we would spend nearly six years alone on the island. We were virtual strangers and we came from backgrounds that were worlds apart. Anna was English, well travelled and held a Bachelor of Human Sciences degree. She was a capable potter and had a very patient and practical attitude to survival. By coincidence, Anna had walked the beach of Haggerstone Island some eight years before the barge arrival. She had joined her father, John Heyer, to locate the Pandora wreck and Haggerstone was an exploratory stop.

My childhood and youth were spent on a sheep and cattle property in Gippsland, Victoria. At age 17, all I could really do well was shear a sheep and play a guitar. I was a keen hunter and the love of hunting and music was too strong to hold me on the property. I spent seven years in New Guinea, crocodile shooting and playing music. I then based myself in Cairns, North Queensland and continued doing what I loved most - hunting, fishing and playing music. However, I had developed an interest to build houses and so I began. My direction in design and building was definitely rustic native and led to the desire to create a Robinson Crusoe style abode in the wild.

Many years later, here we are on Haggerstone near the Great Barrier Reef. It is now a home in the wilderness and by our standards truly palatial. We tend to forget that we lived in a tent for a year and carried water by bucket for two.

We welcome you to our home and hope you enjoy your stay.
 

Regards, Roy & Anna

The lodgings are conical roofs, with shutters for walls, a slate floored bathroom with one glass wall, a deck with a view, and what a view, of the turquoise lagoon and a backdrop of uninhabited islands floating in the horizon. There are three hand crafted private guest houses that look out upon the sea. Each includes a bathroom, kitchenette and sundeck. Two of the huts are self contained and one is a more rustic hut with outside shower and toilet. Each guest house can accommodate up to four people. They cater for just 6-8 guests at any one time.

Activities and Other Things To Do
Things to do on the island, besides relaxing include:

• Fishing: rod, reel or fly fishing, reef, ocean or river. Bait is caught off the island beach.
   
• Spear Fishing: catch dinner. Reef fish and tropical crayfish are easily obtained on nearby reefs.
   
• Scuba Diving and Snorkelling: with incredibly clear lagoons with beautiful coral gardens right on your door step.
   
• Wildlife: with prolific marine life, both land and sea bird species, Green Turtle rookery nearby.
   
• Shipwreck: discover shipwrecks, nearby lies a shipwreck from the 1840s.
   
• Beach Combing: the adjacent mainland beaches has no access roads, leaving miles of uninhabited coastline to explore.

How To Get There

• Location: 600 km north of Cairns.
   
• Access: Access by light aircraft from Cairns then transfer by boat from Hicks (see the website for full details). If you are lucky, you may see a fleet of trawlers, a school of tuna besieged by flocks of noddies or the “mothership” that plies the coastline, delivering supplies to remote areas such as Haggerstone Island every two weeks.

Check out our listing of Haggerstone Island accommodation. In addition to our listed online travel guide information, contact the local tourism visitor centre for your destination for more attractions, tours, local maps and other information.