Cocos Islands, Going Coco – Reader Story

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AT reader Blake Roet unwinds on the Indian Ocean island paradise that still calls Australia home.

It was time to escape the pressures of city life, recharge my batteries and fill my lungs with sea and scuba air. After hearing exciting stories from fellow travellers about the Cocos (Keeling) Islands I decided it was time for me to experience them first hand.

 

Referred to by the locals as Cocos, the islands are located in the Indian Ocean, 2950km north-west of Perth and 3700km west of Darwin. The 27 islands in the group include the southern atoll islands, which surround a beautiful blue lagoon, and the uninhabited North Keeling Island, which is protected within the Pulu Keeling National Park.

 

The islands were owned by the Clunies-Ross family until 1978, when they were acquired by the Australian Government, which had administered them as an Australian Territory since 1955. The small population of around 600 people resides on two of the southern atoll islands. The largely Muslim Cocos Malay population, which were originally brought to the islands from Malaysia to work on coconut plantations, reside on Home Island where they live a traditional Malay life in kampungs. The Government administration, airport, commercial activity and tourist facilities are located on West Island.

 

Other atolls surrounding the lagoon include stunning Direction Island, which is a favourite destination for daytrippers and campers from West Island, and a number of smaller islands where the Cocos Malays maintain weekend shacks for fishing and relaxing.

 

North Keeling Island has great diving, is a popular spot for birdwatchers and is the location of the wreck of German naval raider SMS Emden which was destroyed and then beached in 1914 after attempting to attack the communications facility then operating on Direction Island.

 

The beaches on West Island are amazing. These include Trannies beach (for readers who are family-conscious please note this beach was named after a nearby communication transmission facility) at the northern end and Scout Park beach and the nearby Yacht Club beach at the southern end.

 

Across the lagoon by boat you’ll find a beautiful beach on Direction Island (not camping here for a night is my only regret). The lagoon offers terrific snorkeling including the waters between Scout Park and the small island of Pulu Maraya, where juvenile but harmless black-tip reef sharks cruise the channel in knee-deep water.

 

The diving around Cocos is world class with healthy reefs inside and outside the lagoon and an abundance of reef fish, large pelagic fish, turtles, reef sharks and the occasional tiger shark. However, the attraction that sets Cocos apart from other dive destinations is its resident lone dugong named Kat.

 

I dived with Cocos Dive, which is operated by Dieter Gerhard and his partner, underwater photographer Karen Willshaw, who have developed a special relationship with Kat. Upon the boat’s arrival at the dive site Kat comes out of the blue to the boat and rubs herself along the anchor line to invite divers into the water.

 

The islands also attract kite surfers and windsurfers from around the world, especially to Yacht Club Beach. There are good surf breaks on the ocean side of West island, too, with basic surf camps located along the shore

 

There are, of course, sacrifices to be made when travelling to such a small, exotic and isolated location. Inevitably, food, entertainment and accommodation options are limited, but in my experience you can not have all these and still expect a unique experience such as I had on these islands.

 

Cocos is not a party location. There’s only one bar on West Island: the Cocos Club. On certain Friday nights men also gather at an isolated beach location on West Island, where they discuss secret men’s business, enjoy a few cold beverages then relieve themselves in a unique bush toilet (see opposite).

 

Travelling to Cocos is demanding and expensive. I flew from Melbourne to Perth, then flew to Cocos the next morning, but this is definitely worth the effort.

 

Find out more about this intriguing destination in the Australian Indian Ocean Territories:

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.