Great Keppel Island, One of the World’s Most Beautiful Places to Swim a Marathon | Back Roads | ABC Australia

Backroads travelled to Great Keppel Island, 15 kms from the coast off Yeppoon, in Queensland, Australia.

There presenter Heather Ewart met the founder of the island’s annual 20km Swim Around Keppel — now in its seventh year — one of the longest marathon swims in Australia.

The idea for the open water swim around tropical Great Keppel Island was conceived by former Latvian Olympic swimmer Val Kalmikovs.

Mr Kalmikovs, who lives in Rockhampton, says open water swimmers travel from far and wide to participate in the minimum six-hour swim.

“It’s probably one of the most beautiful places in the world to swim,” he said.

“Not just [for the] scenery but [the] underwater life, and the coral and rock formations.

“Everybody who come over here they’ve said there’s nothing like this anywhere else.”