Hey, There's Hamilton Island

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is without doubt one of the country's most visited destinations, and the place new visitors to Australia plan to go to.

But the Reef is all of 2000 kilometres long stretching from the Torres Strait in the north all the way down to the south of the Tropic of Capricorn. So there's always the question of where to start and where to go.

There's Cairns, of course, the generally accepted gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. And you can go to Green Island from there.

And on the Tropic of Capricorn, there's Heron Island, another of Queensland's resort islands on the Reef.

In fact, there are quite a number of Queensland coastal towns which are jump-off points to the Reef, like Airlie Beach south of Bowen where you can catch a ferry to the Whitsunday Islands.

And, hey, there's Hamilton Island, one of the most acccessible resort islands in the Whitsunday group.

• Find Suitable Accommodation on Hamilton Island

Photo: Arriving by ferry on Hamilton Island © Tourism Queensland