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 The
Whitsunday Islands are centrally located on the Queensland
Coast 150km north of Mackay, 300km south of Townsville
and right in the heart of the World Heritage listed
Great Barrier Reef.
There are 90-odd islands and islets in the group, forming the east coast’s largest island chain, and they are the peaks of low mountains, volcanic in origin, drowned when sea levels rose at the end of the most recent ice age about 6500 years ago. All but four of the islands are national parks and only a handful has resort facilities.
On some of the islands is evidence of the Ngaro aboriginal people who lived in the islands. They were accomplished mariners and
traveled between the islands in canoes of sewn bark. Middens, the remnants of quarries and stone fish traps are found on a number of islands. There are also aboriginal art sites on Hook Island.
On the mainland, the nearest towns are Mackay, Shute Harbour, Airlie Beach and Proserpine.
The tropical city of Mackay is the 'sugar capital' of Australia and its proximity to the rainforest and the reef make it a very popular holiday destination. There is an excellent heritage walk that reveals the history and highlights of the town to visitors.
MacKay's city centre is marked with the products of community arts project - almost 600 pieces of art are displayed depicting the theme of 'the natural north'.
Proserpine is another sugar town, located inland of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour.
Airlie Beach, along with Shute Harbour just 10 minutes away, are the mainland centre of the
Whitsunday's. These two towns provide water access to the islands of the Whitsunday passage.
The sheltered, warm waters of the Whitsunday's are ideal for all water sports and provide one of the safest and most beautiful cruising grounds in the world. Most of the islands are located in an area of 30 x 40 nautical miles, offering year round sailing in typical trade wind conditions. The Great Barrier Reef, 35 nautical miles to the east of the islands, protects them from ocean swells. The close proximity of the islands to each other and to the mainland, make for safe, easy passages between anchorages.
The proximity of the Great Barrier Reef to the Whitsunday's makes
snorkeling and diving experiences second to none. There are more than 3,000 reefs on the continental shelf, 400 different types of coral and around 1,500 species of marine life to discover.
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