Stretching through the sapphire blue waters of Australia's Queensland coastline for over 2300kms, The Great Barrier Reef is the most extensive coral reef system in the world. In close proximity to the Reef are the Whitsunday Islands, a group of 74 islands, the largest of which is Hamilton Island.

Geologically Hamilton Island as part of the Whitsunday Islands is a drowned mountain... Prior to the last Ice Age the Whitsundays were connected to the mainland and would have all been prominent mountains in the area. The melting of the polar caps drowned the valleys between the mountains creating a network of 74 islands. 7 of these islands now have resort facilities, the largest being the Hamilton Island Resort... Beyond the resorts the whole area is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the uninhabited islands are all controlled by the Australian National Parks and Wildlife.

The late Captain James Cook travelled through the area on his journey up the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. He passed through Whitsunday Passage on Sunday 4th June which happened to be White Sunday (the seventh Sunday after Easter) hence the name of the area.

Location
Hamilton Island is just 16kms off the coast, south east of Shute Harbour between the Queensland coast and the Great Barrier Reef... It is the largest inhabited island in the Whitsunday’s, positioned nearly half way along the Queensland coast between the cities of Brisbane and Cairns.

Distances

• This is the best way to experience the Great Barrier Reef and the beautiful Whitsunday’s Islands... Tours leave from Hamilton Island daily to the Great Barrier Reef and to famous Whitehaven Beach. Sailing trips, sea kayaking tours and private dinghy hire available for island exploring.
• Amazing choice of activities. Hamilton Island has 20 km of scenic walking trails, try ten restaurants, six pools and 40 different activities on and off the island.
• Accommodation to suit everyone. Spacious hotel rooms, luxurious beachfront rooms, private bungalows, self-catering apartments and villas.
• Quick and easy to get to. Direct flights to Hamilton Island from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Cairns.
• Warm weather. Hamilton Island lies on the same latitude as Honolulu in the northern hemisphere and Mauritius in the south with a year-round average temperature of 27.4o Celsius.