During my stay at Airlie Beach, I caught a boat out to the nearby Whitsunday Islands, spectacular islands that rise up out of the Great Barrier Reef (the GBR parallels most of the Queensland coast). First stop was Hayman Island, a glorious little tropical paradise. I thought that perhaps readers might think I was exaggerating when I described the cascades of bougainvillea as being as big as houses, so here is photographic evidence.
Waltzing Australia 