We parked our van and car in the storage area for $5 each per night and got a lift with our luggage to the jetty for a transfer out to Mackerel Islands, specifically we were heading to Thevenard Island for 4 nights. Transfers are Sunday and Thursday, unless you have your own boat capable of making the 22 km's offshore, in which case there is mooring available.

We got on the 11 metre Thevenard II and headed off with Skipper Simon and the chef who'd come in to do shopping, as well as a few contractors and a boat laden with air-conditioners for installation.

The trip across took around 45 minutes in relatively choppy water and the cost was $90 each return. The boat ramp on Thevenard is just the beach, and we were met by Scuba Simon and the assistant manager.

Thevenard has 12 self contained cabins sleeping from 4 to 10 as well as Club Thevenard which is a series of rooms with or without ensuite - basically 'donga's. Club Thevenard is the hub of the tourism centre with a swimming pool, restaurant and bar. There is also a grocery store, diving centre and recreation room with a pool table, TV, books, games and a ping pong table.

The water had flattened out in the afternoon, but we just chilled in our cabin - perhaps a mistake as the rain came in that night and stayed for the next few days.

We decided to set out on an around the island walk - thinking it was not that far, in fact it's about 12kms, but with nothing much else to do in the rain, and it being quite cool, we soldiered on. We took with us one fishing rod with some lures, a bag, water and some food. We collected shells, took photos and saw an amazing array of sealife, huge schools of fish, sharks, turtles, lobsters and we could see the coral from the shore.

There is a snorkelling trail around the island with around 14 markers which tell you what their is to see at each point.

We warmed up in the shower on our return and borrowed a few videos from the rec room to watch on the computer and basically bunkered down from the rain.

Once it cleared up we did some fishing from the Chevron Jetty (yes the Island is also home to Chevron storage tanks). There was a police conference on over a few days and many flights came and went, they weren't a bad bunch to talk to.

Originally we'd planned to hire a 'plaka' for the day to go fishing, but each morning was incredibly windy, although the afternoons were calm.

We grabbed a lift one day out to back beach to go fishing and they came and picked us up, we didn't catch anything worth keeping, but had a pleasant afternoon on the beach.

Biting the bullet we picked the afternoon before we left to go snorkelling, out in the boat with Skipper Simon, Scuba Simon and the assistant manager. The water was still murky after all the rain and the wind, but there were plenty of coral bombies and fish to look at and the 'boys' went crayfishing and caught two good sized ornates, one of which they gave to us to take home - yum!

The trip was rounded out by a fantastic meal at Crusoes' restuarant, a real credit to the chef when you realise how hard it is to get supplies to and from the island. We had an early cooked breakfast the next day before heading back to the mainland around 8am as Skipper Simon had to get back and take the 'barge' over to get fuel drums whilst the weather was relatively calm.

All in all we had a fabulous time, despite the weather, the crew on the island were incredibly friendly and helpful, always wanting to ensure we were having a good time. The accommodation is relatively basic, but more than you need for fishing or a family getaway, and each of the cabins have a bbq area overlooking the bay.

You can also stay on Direction Island, where there is just the one self-contained cabin, with an island all to yourselves.