Australia

Great Barrier Reef Islands

Tropical North Islands

Tropical North Queensland offers great variety to the island hopper looking for their own special part of the Reef. Check out some of these (we can book stays at any of these):

A Jewel in the Coral Sea - Lizard Island

Lizard Island is Australia's most northern island resort and one of the world's most exclusive. The Island has excellent beaches, and clear water ideal for swimming and snorkelling. Most of Lizard Island, which covers about 1012 hectares, is national park.

There are plenty of bushwalks and wildlife. There are lush rainforests and wildflowers and of course powder white beaches and the vivid coral gardens of the sea. Snorkelling and scuba diving around the Island is fantastic.The Cod Hole on the outer reef is considered one of the world's most spectacular diving sites.

Game fishermen come to Lizard from all over the world, especially from August to November, in search of the biggest game fish of all - the Black Marlin.

Bedarra Island

Bedarra Island is very exclusive, very luxurious and very beautiful. In setting out to describe Bedarra you need a compendium of superlatives. Most of the time you'll think you have the whole island to yourself because there's only 32 guests at any one time in the resort on Bedarra.The island also features a fantastic variety of plant and animal life. Walking from one end of the island to the other, a good stroll of about 1.6 kilometres is particularly rewarding. There's fishing, water sports, or go exploring in a small dighy. If you feel the need for a little more activity, a motorised catamaran will take you to nearby Dunk Island, where you'll have more sporting facilities at your disposal. Take a trip to Beaver Cay and go snorkelling on the Reef

Orpheus Island

Orpheus Island is about 80 kilometres north of Townsville. Most of the 1300 ha granite island is national park. It is bordered by a number of sheltered bays with spectacular fringing reefs. Most of the Island is dry woodland but there are a few patches of rainforest in sheltered locations. The whole Island was declared a national park in 1979 and there is a marine research station at Pioneer Bay, which gives you an indication of the importance of the area. The fringing reefs on the north-east and north-west are great for snorkelling and diving. The Island boasts 1100 species of fish, 340 species of coral, playful dolphins, and in season offers the exhilarating experience of sighting families of humpback whales. Take a boat trip from Zoe Bay at Hinchinbrook Island, or explore the uninhabited islands of the Palm Island Group. The wide variety of vegetation includes rainforest, eucalypts and wild orchids. There's more than 50 species of birds and giant turtles regularly on the beaches.

The Resort does not cater for children under 15 years of age or daytrippers. Most watersports are included in the tariff.

Tropical Escape - Hinchinbrook Island

Hinchinbrook Island is Australia's largest island national park. It is uninhabited except for the award winning environmentally friendly Hinchinbrook Island Resort at Cape Richards. The Island abounds in flora, fauna, palm-fringed beaches, mangrove waterways and rugged granite crags.Hinchinbrook is the perfect place to restore body, mind and spirit. This is the Island to choose if you want peace, beauty and tranquillity. Hinchinbrook is a bushwalker's paradise. Teeming with wildlife, a jagged chain of mountains forms the backbone of the Island. You'll see rainforests of Milky Pine, Palm Figs, and vines, with more than 66 species of birds, 22 species of butterflies, 29 species of mangroves and many varieties of fish and crustaceans.

Dunk Island

Dunk Island is probably the best known of Australia's tropic isles. Dunk is part of the Family Group of Islands and is one of the most tropical on the Great Barrier Reef in terms of its vegetation.Dunk Island is about 160 kilometres north of Townsville and 120 kilometres south of Cairns. A birdwatcher's paradise, Dunk is also the home of the stunning Ulysses Butterfly which is the island's symbol.

The Dunk Island Resort is one of the largest developments on any of the islands and it is heavily promoted and very popular with southern visitors and overseas tourists. Most of the island however is national park. It offers a variety of activities and experiences and just about every watersport under the sun, a dense rainforest home to over a hundred species of birds, a bush farm and a kids club.

At Beaver Cay you can snorkel or view coral gardens and marine life from a glass-bottomed boat or semi-submersible craft. The scuba diving is fantastic. The fishing around the island is great, charter a boat to catch the big ones. Spanish Mackerel and Barracuda are plentiful as are Coral Trout, Sweet Lip and Trevally.

Whitsundays and Southern Reef Islands

The 600 islands scattered between the Reef and mainland are made up of three types – sand islands, continental islands and coral cays. Heron Island and Lady Elliot Island are both coral cays – true coral islands that allows you to swim straight off the beach over living coral, multi-colored fish and marine life on the Great Barrier Reef. These islands also offer some of the best reef diving in the world. Heron and Lady Elliot also play host to a variety of wildlife including nesting turtles and migrating seabirds.

As the largest inhabited island in the Whitsundays, Hamilton Island is the only island with an airport catering for direct commercial and charter flights. Hamilton Island is accessible via Qantas Airlines, which offers flights from Sydney,Melbourne, Brisbane and Cairns, with connections from other major capital cities. By boat, Fantasea Cruises operate six services a day from Shute Harbour.

Hamilton Island offers its guests a very extensive range of over 40 activities on a daily basis. These include Great Barrier Reef cruises, waterskiing, windsurfing, catamaran and yacht sailing, tennis, gymnasium, game fishing, nature walks, whale watching, (mid July to September), scenic flights, safari tours or simply just relaxing by one of the six resort pools.

Brampton Island is famous as an international tourist resort and is also an important national park. It has an abundance of native bush and bird life, seen from a variety of safe walking tracks which cross the Island. There is a lookout with panoramic views over the Whitsundays and six secluded sandy beaches. The Island Resort has first class facilities including swimming pools, tennis courts and a golf course.

Explore the Island's many secrets on nearly 11 kilometres of walking tracks. The Island has an abundancy of wildlife including cockatoos and grey kangaroos. Then at low tide stroll across the sea itself, reef walking to Carlisle Island. The colours of the soft coral will astonish you and the reefs at Oyster and Dinghy Bays are perfect for snorkelling as well.

The Resort also has a new attraction - a Snorkel Adventure Trail. The aim is to guide guests to the most interesting parts of the coral reef just off the main beach. Highlights include a fish cleaning station, a soft coral forest and clownfish darting in and out of the anemones.

Daydream Island is the closest of the Whitsunday Islands to Shute Harbour, lying just 5 kilometres from the mainland. The island features one of the oldest Whitsunday resorts which has recently been refurbished. Just one kilometre long and half a kilometre wide, Daydream is always popular with day visitors as it is only a short ride from the mainland.Of its three beaches, one is fringed by outcrops of coral and colourful fishlife. The centre and highest point of the island is a small but dense jungle of tropical vegetation inhabited by parrots and tiny sunbirds.

There's snorkelling along beaches, sailboarding, jet-skiing, parasailing, coral viewing and reef fishing on the island. Play tennis, volleyball, badminton or croquet, learn to dive or try sea kayaking.

Multi award winning Hayman is recognised as one of the top destinations in the world, attracting discerning guests seeking a unique and special resort experience. Hayman presents a magnificent private island five star resort complemented by a warm and sincere community of Hayman employees. Hayman features an impressive infrastructure and an immense diversity of flora and fauna in the most beautiful surrounds.

The Hayman Marine Centre, which incorporates a PADI-accredited dive facility, operates watersports and Reef activities with Hayman branded Launches, seaplanes and helicopters transporting guests to Reef and beach locations. The Hayman Activities Centre operates the island based sport facilities and The Retreat, a wellness concept salon, provides relaxation therapies and health treatments. For the romantic, the Stella Maris Chapel is the perfect setting for a wedding, renewal of vows or christening.

South Molle Island is the largest of the North, Mid and South Molle Island Group and the only one with a resort. Located eight kilometres north-east of Shute Harbour, South Molle is a very picturesque, hilly continental island with undulating grasslands, lush pockets of rainforest, secluded bays and fringing reefs. The Island's greatest asset is the white sand beach and pale blue waters. The Resort provides almost everything and there are optional island hopping and Barrier Reef tours available.

On land you can enjoy golf, day and night tennis, a workout in the gym or one of the many watersports.

Heron Island is a true coral cay right on the Great Barrier Reef. Heron has a range of accommodation options to suit most tastes and budgets and maintains harmony with its natural environment.

Heron Island is rated as one of the most beautiful diving locations in the world. A guided reef tour will reveal all the secrets of the reef - the eighth wonder of the world. Guests can sip on a cocktail in the lounge while observing migrating whales (seasonally). The island also has a Marine Research Station to visit. Unlike other resorts, there is no need for long boat trips to the reefs. On Heron you can walk straight from the shimmering, white sands onto the reef itself where the waters are bursting with coral and fish. Dive courses available on the island include PADI Open Water Certificate and Night Dives.

Lady Elliot Island is the most southerly island within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, making it the closest reef island to all southern capitals. The island lies 80 kilometres north east of Bundaberg. Lady Elliot Island is a popular destination for families and leisure groups with an interest in the Great Barrier Reef.

Accommodation ranges from beachfront suites overlooking a coral lagoon to tent cabins. Turtle nesting and hatching occur seasonally in front of Island Suites. An abundance of nature including nesting seabirds and humpback whales, also seasonal, brings nature to your doorstep. Lady Elliot Island's natural beauty and unique environment has earned its place as part of a World Heritage listed area. Guided nature and reef walks allows you to explore the island, while snorkelling, diving and glass bottom boat tours let you discover the magic of the sea. Scuba divers may come face to face with a manta ray or moray eel and snorkellers can see the giant rainbow coloured parrot fish or the beautiful coral trout.