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The 74 Whitsunday islands known as the Whitsunday group are probably the best known and most developed of the Queensland Great Barrier Reef islands. The group was named by Captain Cook who sailed through here on 3 July 1770... Curiously, the Whitsundays are in fact, misnamed - Captain Cook didn't actually sail through them on Whitsunday as he thought. Cook forgot to allow for the international date line and his meticulously kept log was one day out, something he only realised when he got back to England. The Whitsunday islands are scattered on both sides of the Whitsunday passage, within 50km of Shute Harbour, the jumping-off point for many of the cruises through the group.
The actual Great Barrier Reef is at least 60 km out from Shute Harbour with Hook Reef being the nearest part of the reef... many of the Whitsunday islands are national parks. The large block of mainland national park opposite them, stretching from Airlie Beach south to Conway is known as Conway National Park... All the islands of the group are high continental islands and with the large tidal variations you get in the Whitsundays when the tide is out large expanses of mudflats are exposed in front of some of the Whitsunday holiday resorts ... when this happens its time to head for the resort swimming pool.
Airlie Beach is the mainland centre for the Whitsundays and there are plenty of shops, banks, travel agents and tour operators. You can also find out all about day trips, overnight Whitsunday sailing holidays and standby rates at resorts and so on there.
All but five of the Whitsunday islands are national parks; in all over 95% of the island land area is park.
Whitsunday Islands & Wildlife
The Whitsunday islands are essentially drowned mountains with peaks rising clear of the sea... with the Whitsunday islands being initially formed by volcanic eruption - the unmistakable shape of Pentecost Island is the remains of the plug of rock from a volcanic cone... Although the Whitsundays are not technically reef islands, many of them have fine fringing reef systems. The great range between low and high tide which can be up to 4.0 metres in the Whitsundays creates fast flowing currents between the individual Whitsunday islands and in turn the nutrients carried by these currents feed a healthy variety of corals. Closer to the shore there are crabs, oysters, snails and worms, and a variety of birds of prey that patrol the coastal strip
Inland there are vine forests and the distinctive hoop pines found on most of the Whitsunday islands. Eucalypts and acacias predominate on the drier slopes while the grass tree is a familiar understorey sight. There are not as many animals on the islands as on the adjacent Whitsundays mainland, but on some islands goannas and bush-tailed possums have learnt to raid provisions.on these Whitsunday islands where camping is permitted... rock wallabies are found on Whitsunday Island, and the unusual Proserpine rock wallaby on Gloucester island. There are plenty of birds with over 156 different species being recorded throughout the Whitsundays.
Diving and Snorkelling
The water in the Whitsundays tends to be clearer at the northern end of the outer islands - Hook, Border, Deloraine and Langford are particularly popular snorkelling and diving locations. Regular scuba diving tours are made to the outer Barrier Reef.
Whitsunday Island Day Trips & Flights
Whitsunday Cruises - If you are not simply transferring to an island there are all types of Whitsunday cruises and Great Barrier Reef tours out to the islands of the Whitsundays and beyond them to the Great Barrier Reef. Most trips originate from Shute Harbour (the end of the road from Airlie Beach) or at the Abel Point Marina... some of these Whitsunday Island daytrips pick up from islands on the way, and others originate from the islands themselves, particularly Hamilton Island
Helicopter and Air Tours - Air Whitsundays seaplanes are based at the Whitsunday airport which you access from Shute Harbour Road. This company operates the only day trip to exclusive Hayman island... you fly in one of their Seaplanes from the mainland to the island, where you have use of all the Hayman resort facilities for the day and a credit towards your lunch... they also operate three hour trips to Hardy Reef and 1.5 hour trips to beautiful Whitehaven Beach, you can also combine the two trips into a single one day package.
Also based at the Whitsundays airport Helireef offers daily helicopter flights out to Fantasea's large Reef World pontoon on the outer reef, includes snorkelling gear, rides in the glass bottom boat and semi-submersible, lunch and the Fantasea fast-cat back to Shute Harbour .you can also fly both ways.
Whitsunday Yacht Charter
Sailing through the Whitsunday passage in 1770. Cook wrote that "the whole passage is one continuous safe harbour". In actual fact, stiff breezes and fast flowing tides between the islands can produce some tricky conditions for small craft but, with a little care, the Whitsundays offers superb sailing and bareboat charters have become enormously popular. "Bareboat" doesn't refer to what you wear on board - it simply means that you rent the boat without a skipper, crew or provisions.
Most Whitsunday yacht charter companies require potential renters to have previous sailing experience... a series of online articles about bareboat charters covers all the details anyone needs to know who is thinking of chartering a bareboat.
Your bareboat hire usually commences at noon, but before then you'll be given a bareboat briefing that will involve you being shown the boats gear and taught the basics of the radio, anchoring and sailing. If you're not confident at that point you can hire a skipper for a period, although most people don't. Yacht charter operators usually require a $1500 - $2000 bond payable on arrival and this is refunded after the boat is returned undamaged. Bedding is supplied. Most companies have a minimum hire of five days and the daily rate drops considerably if you hire for 10 days or more... you can checkout the wide range of bareboats available in the Whitsundays yacht charter directory  |
