Airlie Beach

Go Wild Camping In The Whistsundays!

It's safe to say nearly all the adventurous spirits out there have dreamed of spending the night on a deserted island as a child. What better place to make that dream into a reality than the beautiful Whitsunday islands of tropical North Queensland! You can spend your days exploring the uninhabited beaches, climbing to the island peaks, or exploring the marine life dwelling on the fringing coral reefs.

As the Whitsunday Islands are a national park there are many designated campgrounds for adventurers to explore. There are over 15 sites in total located on a number of islands throughout the Whitsunday islands National park and the Molle Group national park. The Molle Group is a small cluster of islands located between Airlie Beach on the mainland and Whitsunday Island. In the Whitsunday Group there are sites on Whitsunday Island, Hook Island as well as Henning Island. Throughout the Molle Group the sites are located on North Molle, South Molle, Planton Island, Denman Island, Tancred Island and Long Island. Sites are very low cost at less than $7.00 a day with family passes available. You will need to book, though it's simple and easy to do. You can book online through https://qpws.usedirect.com/qpws/ , call 13 QGOV, or book over the counter at the local national parks office in Airlie Beach.

Getting to the camp grounds is as simple as arranging  your home for the night, jumping aboard your boat and setting off on an adventure. However if you don't have your own vessel you can still join in the fun by utilising the Whitsunday Islands water taxi. The water taxi known as Scamper is a high speed 10m barge that can carry over 30 people and luggage. Scamper is built tough and specially designed for the job, it is incredibly maneuverable, it has a very shallow draft, and has a boarding/loading ramp on the bow meaning you and your gear can be dropped right on the shore!

Campsites throughout the national parks are quite simple in design to minimise the impact on the local areas. The campgrounds typically have tenting areas and toilet facilities (non flush), many locations also having picnic tables or eating areas. You will need to bring everything you want with you including fresh water, as there is no fresh water available on the islands. If you are short on supplies there are several well stocked camping and outdoors stores located in Airlie Beach. For those who are on holidays and aren't looking to overstock with too much equipment you are able to hire camping kits through the water taxi service Scamper. Remember when leaving your island getaway to take everything with you as there are no rubbish facilities at the campgrounds.

The range of campgrounds available means there is something to suit everyone, whether you dream of lazing the sands of Whitehaven beach or want to explore the beautiful waters just moments from your campsite. For those looking to soak up the sunshine on a beautiful beach locations such as the South Whitehaven campsite are perfect with the extraordinary silica sands right at your doorstep. Destinations such as the campsite further North at Crayfish Bay is just steps from beautiful fringing reef and is well suited to the aqua explorers. However if exploring the land and taking a hike, locations such as the camp grounds on South Molle Island and Cairn Beach on Whitsunday Island offer awesome hiking opportunities.

As you can see no matter where you go adventure is waiting! Explore the many unique areas spread across the tropical islands. Go on, let your inner child out and go wild in the Whitsundays!