Eerie drone footage shows how a once-luxurious tropical resort is being reclaimed by the bush

Eerie drone footage shows how a once-luxurious tropical resort is being reclaimed by the bush – as its owners fight to restore the site to its former glory

  • The Capricorn International Resort in the coastal Queensland town of Yeppoon was a popular hotel resort
  • It had holiday apartments, a golf course and the largest outdoor swimming pool in the southern hemisphere 
  • Now it has been abandoned and its famous pool and popular restaurants are slowly being reclaimed by nature

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Creepy drone footage has shown how a once-luxurious tropical resort being is slowly reclaimed by the surrounding bush. 

The Capricorn International Resort in the coastal Queensland town of Yeppoon was once an extremely popular hotel resort. 

It included holiday apartments, a golf course and the largest outdoor swimming pool in the southern hemisphere which attracted tourists from all over the world. 

The resort opened in the late 1980s but was closed down and abandoned in 2016 after most of the facilities fell into disrepair and nature has slowly begun to reclaim it.  

The Capricorn International Resort in the coastal Queensland town of Yeppoon was once an extremely popular hotel resort. It included holiday apartments, a golf course and the largest outdoor swimming pool in the southern hemisphere which attracted tourist from all over the world

Now the largest pool in the southern hemisphere is empty with the beautiful water being replaced with dirt and debris

Now the largest pool in the southern hemisphere is empty with the beautiful water being replaced with dirt and debris

The resort was originally developed by wealthy Japanese businessman Yohachiro Iwasaki and his family still owns the site. 

During the planning phase of the resort, locals were concerned about Mr Iwasaki’s ambiguous vision and some were upset at a foreigner owning such a large portion of land. 

Even the local chapter of the RSL protested its development on the behalf of World War II veterans and when Mr Iwasaki hosted an event to celebrate the construction of the resort, he was greeted by an anti-Japanese display outside the RSL building. 

On November 29, 1980 a bomb went off at the resort’s construction site and tore a 7m hole in the first block of holiday units which were nearly completed. 

The explosion caused over $1million in damages but luckily, nobody was injured. 

After the explosion, construction progress was heavily delayed and the cost of bringing the resort to life went severely over the expected budget but eventually opened several years behind schedule.

The resort opened in the late 1980s but was closed down and abandoned in 2016 after most of the facilities fell into disrepair and nature has slowly began to reclaim it

The resort opened in the late 1980s but was closed down and abandoned in 2016 after most of the facilities fell into disrepair and nature has slowly began to reclaim it

The resort played a pivotal role in the tourism infrastructure of the region and its closure has been a major blow to the industry

The resort played a pivotal role in the tourism infrastructure of the region and its closure has been a major blow to the industry

In its prime, the resort also included numerous bars and eateries, a Japanese garden and restaurant and was surrounded by 9000 hectares of bush.  

Private planes would ferry Japanese businessmen to the resort where they would spend most of their time drinking alcohol, swimming in the gigantic pool and playing 18 holes on the gold course. 

It put the town of Yeppoon on the map and brought in both domestic and international tourists. 

The resort played a pivotal role in the tourism infrastructure of the region and its closure has been a major blow to the industry. 

Now the largest pool in the southern hemisphere is empty, with the once sparking water replaced with dirt and debris. 

The gorgeous rock fountain that once spurt streams of water onto people relaxing with their family in the pool below is now covered in rust and is slowly decaying with each day that passes. 

The only part of the resort that is still open and functioning as intended is the golf course.  

In its prime, the resort also included numerous bars and eateries, a Japanese garden and restaurant and was surrounded by 9000 hectares of bush

In its prime, the resort also included numerous bars and eateries, a Japanese garden and restaurant and was surrounded by 9000 hectares of bush

The gorgeous rock fountain that once spurt out streams of water onto people relaxing with their family in the pool below is now covered in rust and is slowly decaying with each day that passes

The gorgeous rock fountain that once spurt out streams of water onto people relaxing with their family in the pool below is now covered in rust and is slowly decaying with each day that passes

The resort was originally developed by wealthy Japanese businessman Yohachiro Iwasaki and his family still owns the site. The Iwasaki family proposed a $600m redevelopment plan but two years after the announcement, there has been no progress on the plan to restore the resort

The resort was originally developed by wealthy Japanese businessman Yohachiro Iwasaki and his family still owns the site. The Iwasaki family proposed a $600m redevelopment plan but two years after the announcement, there has been no progress on the plan to restore the resort

The Iwasaki family have sworn to find a joint venture partner to bring the decaying resort back to life. 

The Iwasaki family proposed a $600m redevelopment plan in 2017 but two years on from the announcement, there has been no progress to restore the resort. 

The Department of State Development has given Iwasaki Group a deadline of June 1, 2020 to begin to secure development approval.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk