The Frankland Islands group is made up of 5 islands roughly 10 kilometers off the coast from the mouth of the Russell River which is about 45 minutes south of Cairns. They’re stunning! Normanby Island is the biggest of the islands and the only one that is visited by a tour operator, and there is only one regular day tour to the island. The different islands are Normanby, High, Russell, Round and Mabel. You can camp on Russell and High Islands but there are no facilities so you need to be self sufficient and be able to get yourself there. You can get more information on the camping options at the department of national parks website.

I went out to Normanby Island recently and had an amazing day. The island has rainforest, beautiful beaches and nice coral bommies on the inside of the island and during the trip saw 4 turtles. We did a naturalist walk around the Island and learned about the marine life which is easy to see during the walk since some of the reef and shallow areas are exposed at low tide. Normanby Island is a little more untouched than Fitzroy or Green but that also means there aren’t any facilities on the islands and it’s further away from Cairns.