Whitsunday Islands Attractions

Daydream Island, also known as West Molle, is the smallest island in the Whitsunday group, with an area of only 10ha. It is covered with dense rain forest vegetation, with hills up to 50m high.

There is a resort complex on the island.

The island features watersports, coral viewing and reef fishing.

A popular excursion is through the hills in the north of Hamilton Island to the fauna park on the coast. Apart from the descendants of the goats, which in the past were left on the island to provide subsistence for shipwrecked mariners, and of the red deer which were formerly raised here the animals are mainly indigenous species - kangaroos, koalas, dingoes, crocodiles, Tasmanian devils and many brightly colored lorikeets and white and yellow cockatoos. The cockatoos have almost become the island's heraldic emblem, and it is because of them that the flower tubs on the balconies of houses have to be protected by wire netting. The two trained dolphins in a large pool are a very popular attraction. It is planned to construct a large walk-through oceanarium in the harbor area which will allow visitors to get a close-up view of the marvelous underwater world of the coral reefs.

There are pleasant walks on the island through almost unspoiled natural surroundings, with steep-sided hills, the highest of which is Passage Peak (230m), with magnificent panoramic views from the top. For those who would find the ascent in the tropical sun too strenuous there is the One Tree Hill Lookout on the way to the fauna park, from which there are fine views over the island and Catseye Bay.

Near this viewpoint is a small white church in Queensland style, All Saints, to which many young couples, particularly from Japan, come to be married; and indeed the island as a whole is a favorite with young Japanese honeymooners.

Opposite the little church is the Motorcycle Museum, housing the large collection assembled by Keith Williams, who started life as a designer of motorcycle racecourses.

Hayman Island offers a wide range of water sports and charming excursions to the outer reef. There are beautiful walking trails through the forest to the Whitsunday Lookout and Cook's Lookout. A number of tiny uninhabited islets off the main island can be reached on foot at low tide.

Although it has an area of only 6 sq.km, Hamilton is the island in the Whitsunday group best equipped to cater for tourists, with 2500 beds in apartment complexes and two high-rise hotels. In addition there are many day trippers to the island during the holiday season.

Hamilton's excellent communications also contribute to its popularity as a holiday area. Its airport has a runway which can take large jet aircraft, in contrast to the other holiday islands whose airstrips are suitable only for light aircraft. There are flights to Hamilton Island from all the Australian capitals (Ansett and Eastwest Airlines). Negotiations are in progress on landing rights for direct flights from New Zealand, Tokyo and Singapore, and the island may one day have an international airport.

Hamilton Island is also easily accessible by sea. There are regular services by fast catamarans from Shute Harbor on the mainland; the crossing takes 30 minutes.

This continental island (i.e. an island on the continental shelf), the most northerly of the inhabited islands in the Whitsunday group, has an area of 4 sq.km, with hills rising to 250m. Hayman was one of the first islands on the reef to be developed for tourism (from 1935 onwards), originally for fishing holidays. The American writer Zane Gray, who was a keen fisherman, helped to make the island known. In 1950 an attractive hotel was built on Hayman, and in 1985 this was enlarged and remodeled, at great expense, as a highly exclusive and luxurious resort complex set in a magically beautiful landscape.

Hook Island is a continental island, with an area of 53 sq.km, hills rising to 454m and beautiful beaches. There are safe anchorages in two long fjord-like inlets on the south coast, Nara and Macona Inlets.

There are camping grounds on Macona Inlet and elsewhere in the National Park (Stonehaven, Butterfly Bay). At the southeastern tip of the island is a modest resort complex, with an underwater observatory.

Lindeman Island, with an area of 8 sq.km and hills rising to 210 m, is popular with families, since it offers a great variety of activities for children, including an adventure playground. Unlike some of the other islands (e.g. Hamilton), it is not overcrowded, being too remote for day trips and cruises. It has facilities for many kinds of sport, particularly water sports, and also has a beautiful golf course. There are 20km of walking trails, all starting from the small island airstrip. The island has a varied flora and fauna and a butterfly valley. From the top of Mount Oldfield there are magnificent views. Excursions to the neighboring islands of Seaforth and Shaw.

Long Island, also known as Molle Island, has an area of 12 sq.km and hills rising to 270m. This long, narrow island lying close to the coast is separated from the mainland only by a narrow channel (strong currents). There are 13km of walking trails. The beaches on the west coast are sandy, on the east coast rocky.

An old holiday village dating from the 1930s has been redeveloped as three comfortable resort complexes known as Kontiki, Palm Bay and Paradise Bay.

In picturesque Catseye Bay with its marvelously beautiful beach is a modern resort complex (children welcome). On the slopes above the water are a white villa belonging to Keith Williams, one of the 'discoverers' of the island as a holiday resort, a Polynesian-style house which can be rented and the former holiday home of ex-Beatle George Harrison. Beyond a hill is the harbor area, with shops, boutiques, restaurants, a night club and a supermarket, all designed in typical Queensland style.

South Molle is a continental island with an area of 4 sq.km and hills rising to 198m. Much of its area has been declared a national park, and the vegetation has now recovered from earlier over-grazing. It has long beaches of sand and coral and a number of short walking trails. The island lies in the middle of the Whitsunday group, of which there are fine views from Mount Jeffreys, Spion Knob and the Balancing Rock. It was named after George Molle, governor of New South Wales (1815). The island is covered by forest in the north, round the resort complex, and in the extreme south; the center is largely covered by grassland. It is home to many species of birds. There are facilities for many types of sport, diving instruction and a variety of other leisure activities. The island is well suited for family holidays with children.

Hamilton Island offers opportunities for every conceivable form of sport. On the main island there are tennis and squash courts, a fitness center and facilities for all kinds of water sports (swimming, water-skiing, wind-surfing, parasailing). Visitors can hire small dinghies, sailing boats, large yachts, with or without crew, and catamarans, and they can learn to dive. The spacious marina has moorings for 400 boats and yachts.

Whitsunday Island, the uninhabited main island in the group (area 109 sq.km), is separated from Hook Island by a narrow channel. It has good beaches and diving grounds, a network of walking trails and a notably rich flora and fauna.