Whitsunday Islands
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Whitsunday Islands - an archipelago consisting of 74 islands of different sizes near the coast of Queensland, a part of the Great Barrier Reef. The name of the archipelago can be translated as "Island of the Holy Trinity." A total of 8 islands are inhabited the entire archipelago.

Whitsunday - one of the most popular holiday destinations in Australia. Most of the island's national parks and reserves, and the main attractions for tourists - snorkeling and diving at coral reefs, pristine beaches, particularly the beach Whitehaven (Whitehaven Beach) on the Whitsunday Islands, and the purest aquamarine water. Whitehaven white beach stretches for 7 km. It was his most often portrayed in tourist brochures devoted to Australia, and show commercials. Each year the island is visited by over half a million tourists.

Name the islands gave James Cook sailed past June 4, 1770. He was struck by the beauty of this place and decided to name the island in honor of the day, in which he saw them. Cook thought it was Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter. Later it turned out that the calendar Cook was wrong, and June 4, 1770 there was the Day of the Holy Trinity. However, the name is already well established for the islands.

Around the island is always full of luxury yachts, which sail "rich and famous" from all over Australia. And those who are still saving up for his own boat, here take one of the many ferries leaving from the town of Airlie.

Before tourism became the main source of income for the local population on the island's logging - and these are involved in both the aboriginal population of the islands, and later appeared "white" settlers. Today, from this industry has disappeared (except for the old dam, which was used by the sawmill in Sawmill Bay on Whitsunday Island).

On the island can be reached by plane, which takes off from the mainland town of Proserpine airport and lands on Hamilton Island. And from there - by boat on any of the dozens of islands.

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Whitsunday Islands