in Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria

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About Sweers Island

Sweers Island, located in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria, although famous for its fishing, has much more to offer – great food, comfortable accommodation, sandy beaches to explore, bird watching, bushwalking and boating. The only rules are those concerning safety. The island is yours – you can do your own thing.  

Click on the Thumbnails below for the full size picture.

Boating                             Swimming                           Dining

On arrival you will be shown to your cabin, allocated a boat and over a cup of coffee you will be given a familiarisation and safety briefing, after which the boat is yours for the duration of your stay. Weather permitting, you can fish from daylight to dark.

The island is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Over 100 species are seen, including the beautiful Rose-crowned Fruit Doves, which are resident.  Bush Stone-curlews mingle with the guests in the dining area at night and Bustards often wander in for breakfast.

Rose-crowned Fruit Dove     Bush Stone-curlews   Bustard (Plain Turkey)

From late August, the awesome Morning Glory Roll Clouds are often seen rolling over the island. These spectacular formations are being studied by scientists from all over the world.

Morning Glory Roll Clouds at Sweers Island

A comprehensive study of the flora, fauna and marine biota was carried out by the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland in 2002, as part of the Matthew Flinders Bicentenary. Flinders (1802) was the first of many explorers to visit the island and several monuments have been erected to commemorate these events.  Click here to see our History Page.

Click here to read Prof. Peter Saenger's article on how Sweers has changed over the years.

There is no set time for a visit to Sweers – you can drop in for morning tea and a swim or stay for a week. It is completely informal.

In 1996, the Australian Geographic Society commissioned a story on Sweers Island. Their Photographer of the Year, Bill Bachman, travelled to the island to take the wonderful photographs featured in the article which appeared in 1998 in Issue 49 of the AG Society Journal. The publication is long out of print, and the Society has kindly granted permission for us to reproduce it here for you to read. Click on the link below to download the pdf file which is just under 4MB in size. For more information on the Australian Geographic Society, see www.australiangeographic.com.au 

Click here to read the Australian Geographic article on Sweers Island.

SPOT THE GROPER!

For the past few years, a Queensland Groper has been coming in to feed in front of the filleting table. Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view of this magnificent fish, who could be 40 or 50 years old.

NB: Gropers are fully protected by Law so please do not try to catch him, or throw him inappropriate food. 

Weather

The average daily maximum temperature ranges from 35 degrees C in December to 24 degrees C in June and July. The most pleasant times to visit the Gulf Country are from late March until mid October. During this time, south-east winds prevail and can sometimes blow up to 25 knots in the morning and drop off to dead calm in the afternoon.

These winds can be chilly at night so from May to September it is advisable to bring at least a warm jacket and jeans for evenings.  

Local Weather Observations  www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/wrap_fwo.pl?IDQ60042.txt

Local Radar Picture (Mornington Island) http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR363.shtml

Four Day Weather Forecast www.bom.gov.au/products/IDG00074.shtml

CLICK HERE FOR WEATHER FORECAST

NEW! Let us know if you would like us to post you one of our new promotional DVDs - put together by the team at Bushvision, a good old Aussie community television and video production team. www.bushvision.com 

Sweers Island Resort.    Mail:  PMB 1 Karumba QLD 4891   Phone: 07 4748 5544    Fax: 07 4748 5644    Email:  info@sweers.com.au

Website by Lyn using  This page last updated on June 19, 2010  © 2003