The Whitsundays is situated in tropical north Queensland and is only a one and a half-hour flight north of Brisbane. Located centrally on the Great Barrier Reef. The region encompasses Laguna Quays Resort in the South and Bowen to the North, including Proserpine, Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour and of course the 74 tropical islands the Whitsundays are renowned for.

Getting to the Whitsundays is no problem. There are two main airports, Proserpine and Hamilton Island, with regular flights with Ansett Australia, Qantas and Flight West from Brisbane, Cairns and Sydney. There is fast, comfortable coach and rail access. Should you be driving the roads leading into the Whitsundays are excellent and the scenery is fantastic.

The tropical city of Mackay is the 'sugar capital' of Australia. Mackay is a prosperous city from its sugar and mining industries. Mackay's proximity to the rainforest and the reef make it a very popular holiday destination, and yet this is an area, which has not been overdeveloped. Following the heritage walk will show the visitor the main highlights of the city and display its history. 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 is the mainland centre of the Whitsundays, along with Shute Harbour just 10 minutes away. These two towns provide water access to the islands of the Whitsunday passage. This is also an extremely popular place to learn to dive.

Brampton Island is an 8 square kilometres of mountainous island, only 32km from Mackay harbour. It is a national park and wildlife sanctuary with lush forests, palm trees and fine white beaches. The island is surrounded by coral reefs.

Hamilton Island, Characterised by high-rise hotels, Hamilton Island has an international airport and is the most heavily developed island in the Whitsundays. It has a range of entertainment including parasailing, scuba diving, cruising and helicopter joy flights. There are squash courts, shops, nine restaurants, take-away’s and a supermarket. Day-trippers can use all the resort facilities.

Daydream Island is the closest island resort to Shute Harbour, it has a very good swimming pool and mainly caters for families. Day-trippers are allowed and can use all the non-powered water activities and tennis courts.

Lindeman Island is one of the most southerly of the Whitsunday group, 67 kilometres north of Mackay. Lindeman Island is 20 square kilometres in area, and more than 90% National Park. The island offers great views across the Whitsunday passage from Mt Oldfield and is noted for its birds and butterflies and walking tracks.
Hayman Island is another of the islands found in the Whitsundays. There are no day-trippers on Hayman Island as it is a very exclusive and upmarket resort. It is the most northerly of the Whitsunday Islands and has many facilities and activities available.

Whitsunday Island has no resort on it, however it is the largest of the Whitsunday group. Whitehaven Beach, 6 kilometres long, is on the southeast coast and is the longest and finest beach imaginable. There are National Park camping areas at Whitehaven Beach and some good snorkelling sites at its southern end.

Long Island is 8km from Shute Harbour and 43 kilometres from Proserpine. Long Island offers excellent walking tracks through the rainforest for great views of the surrounding islands. There is over 2000 acres of National Park and palm fringed beaches.

Orpheus Island is covered with lush green palms and sandy bays. This unspoilt wilderness is softened by the graceful curve of seven beaches of soft white sand and a dark green centre of National Park.

Dunk Island is a tropical island with lush rainforests. It is a tropical island with a real working dairy farm and an artist’s colony. It’s a place of contrast, where getting back to nature is so simple.

The seasonal changes in Queensland are not really the destinct changes of summer and winter. The changes in Queensland are generally the hotter the climate the wetter it is or the cooler the climate the dryer it is.

In the northern parts of the state the hot/wet season is between November and May, particularly in January, Feburary and March where daily temperatures reach around 35C to 40C. This time of the year is also the time for cyclones and flooding with Cairns getting around 1300mm of rain during this period. In the southern parts of the state Brisbane and other major cities average around 450mm of rain in the hot/wet season with temperatures rarely droping into the 20C's.

In the cool/dry season the state still has relatively warm temperatures compared to the rest of Australia during the months of June to October. Temperatures hardly drop below 20C and the nights are still warm as well unless you are in the inland/outback regions of the state where it can be cold during the nights.