DIRK HARTOG ISLAND
This island, 80 km long and 14 km wide, is Australia's claim to fame as an ecotourism destination.
In 1772, the Frenchman François de Saint Alouarn, commander of the gabare le Gros Ventre, under the orders of Kerguelen, landed on this island and officially claimed Australia for King Louis XV by burying two coins and a parchment in a bottle. The French historian Philippe Godard and a Franco-Australian archaeological team discovered the bottle in 1998. The site is now classified, as are the French claims apparently!
Seen from Denham, the island seems to be a film of white sand floating between the blue of the sky and the turquoise of the sea. It is 80 km long and 14 km wide.
A famous ecotourism destination, you can get there by boat aboard the Naiad which takes 1h15 to cross. You can also bring your 4WD by booking on the Dirk Hartog Island website the ferry crossing from Steep Point, the most western point of Australia (it is reached by a track from Hamelin Pool). You can sleep at the Eco Lodge or at the basic campsite. Turtle Bay on the island is one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. A gin distillery opened in 2020 on the island, using mostly natural local ingredients, with a nod to William Dampier, the English explorer and navigator who first established a scientific collection of Australian plants when he came to Dirk Hartog Island in 1699.
Possibility of an organized visit of Denham for the day, on the same site. A change of scenery is guaranteed.