Known as Coochie to its 700 residents,this is the only place in Australia with a Flinders Day holiday (explorer Matthew Flinders stopped here on July 19,1799). Each year,on the Sunday closest to that date,locals take part in celebrations including outrigger canoe races while a band plays on the shore.
Coochie is the hidden gem of Moreton Bay's islands. It's barely 10 minutes from the mainland,with public ferries running every half-hour from Victoria Point,but hardly anyone has heard of it. Visitors can swim or kayak beneath big red cliffs,swing a club at the bushland golf course (just put $10 for nine holes in the honesty box) and sleep in a heritage cottage by the water (there's also a quaint old beach resort). You can walk from one side of Coochie to the other in 10 minutes,or circumnavigate the island in an hour on a heritage walk. There's a general store and cafe,but not much else,though it does have a website:visitcoochiemudlo.com.
PEEL ISLAND
You won't find a prettier Brisbane beach than the one at Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island's south coast – its clear blue water and flotilla of visiting boats will remind you of the Whitsundays. Yet while this island teems with dolphins,dugongs and turtles and is a favourite for Brisbane boaties,it was never a paradise.
From 1907 to 1959,Peel Island was a leper colony,and only after being decommissioned was it discovered that the strain of leprosy suffered by Peel Island patients was not contagious. Prior to that,it had been an asylum for Brisbane vagrants.
These days,you don't need to suffer from leprosy,or be homeless,to get here. But you will need your own boat (there's no public ferry) and can hire one from Smart Power Boat Hire. There's also a day trip available with Aria Cruises. While you can't visit the former leper colony,as it's protected in a national park,there's a shipwreck to snorkel over at Platypus Bay.