74 Whitsunday Islands & Nearby Reefs © Lonely Planet Publications
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© Lonely Planet Publications Tiger 0 8 km Reef 0 4 miles Whitsunday Islands & Nearby Reefs not for navigation Jacqueline 149o30'E Reef Kangaroo Reef CORAL SEA Elizabeth Ellen Reef Reef Eulalie Reef Cobham Reef Wallaby Reef Gould Reef Kennedy o Martin 19 30'S Reef Reef Seagull Reef Net Reef Knuckle Reef 19-199 17 16 Oublier Fairey Reef Reef Line Reef Black Reef 15 Hardy Reef Bait Reef Hook Reef 14 Black Reef East Reef 13 Depth 12 19-138 0-10m 10-20m 20-30m 30m+ Rattray Island (NP) 20oS Eshelby Island 11 Hayman Island 10 George Point Armit Island (NP) Hook Island (NP) Double Cone Island (NP) W Grassy Island (NP) h 9 i t Grimston Point s Border Island (NP) u n d Whitsunday a Island (NP) Whitsunday Pioneer y Molle Group Bay Islands P Edward Island (NP) (NP) a Cannonvale s s Airlie a To Bowen Beach g Haslewood Island (NP) e Dent Perseverance Island (NP) Island 1 Conway Range National Park Hamilton Island Pine Island (NP) Pentecost Island (NP) Proserpine Long Island (NP) Maher Island (NP) Lindeman Island (NP) Mansell Island (NP) Round Head Lindeman 20o30'S Shaw Island (NP) Group Repulse Keyser Island (NP) Bay Cape Conway Thomas Island (NP) C um be rl Repulse Group an National Park d Ch Anchor Islands (NP) a nn e o To Mackay 149oE l 149 30'E 74 Whitsunday Islands & Nearby Reefs Dive Sites Aerial view of the magnificent Whitehaven Beach in the the principle departure point for dive Whitsunday Islands cruises to the Whitsunday Islands and Photo: Manfred Gottschalk nearby mid-shelf to outer Great Barrier Reef. On the resort islands, which range from backpacker-style hostels to five- star hotels, there are ample resort-style activities including golf, hiking, tennis, windsurfing and dining. Resort and mainland dive centres provide diver training facilities and trips. Specialised dive boats offer live-aboard dive cruises to many of the mid-shelf and some outer-reef dive sites, while day dives to the islands and reef are also available. You may wish to charter an aircraft and fly between sites! You can dive the local island fring- ing reefs or the GBR proper – between 65km (40 miles) and 140km (85 miles) east of Airlie Beach – which has a superb range of dive sites. Humpback whales pass through in winter and other reef life is rich and diverse. Reef structures are excellent with great walls, caverns, overhangs, coral gardens and lagoons. More than 100 continental islands Strong currents from the big tides make up the Whitsundays, including are not a problem, as dive operators the Cumberland Group and the coast know where to go, regardless of the from Mackay to Bowen. The Whitsun- conditions. days appeared as islands when the seas rose after the last ice age, drowning the Whitsunday Islands & valleys between the islands. This area is Nearby Reefs Dive Sites now a tourism hot spot for sailing, island hopping, holidaying and scuba diving. Island dive sites are generally at the northern end of the Whitsunday Group SNORKELING GOOD NOVICE INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED and can be quite spectacular when the 9 BORDER ISLAND – CATARAN BAY •• tides and weather are favourable; how- 10 HOOK ISLAND MANTA RAY BAY •• ever, it is the nearby areas of the mid- 11 HAYMAN ISLAND – BLUE PEARL BAY •• shelf and outer Great Barrier Reef (GBR) 12 BAIT REEF – STEPPING STONES • that offer the best local sites. 13 SVANE’S REEF – HELL DRIFT •• Accommodations and primary exit 14 LITTLE BLACK REEF – LAGOON •• points to the Coral Sea and Whitsunday 15 HARDY REEF – FANTASEA DRIFT •• Islands are at Airlie Beach and Shute Har- 16 KNUCKLE REEF – WALKING STICK •• bour. Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach is 17 JUST MAGIC ON REEF 19-119 • 75.