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About Long Island
Click here for a list of Long Island Resorts
Description of the island: A narrow island which is 9km long and 2 km wide although at points (like Fish Bay and Palm Bay) the distance between the western and eastern shores is probably no more than 200-300 metres.
Location: In the heart of the Whitsundays approximately 20 minutes from both Shute Harbour and Hamilton Island
Originally Port Molle, unromantically renamed by explorer Matthew Flinders, Long Island is just that - 11kms long and no more than 1.5km wide.
Palm and Happy Bay are the nearest safe anchorages to Shute Harbour and therefore a popular spot for yachties. The newest addition to the Whitsundays islands resorts is Paradise Bay. Recently revitalised, Paradise Bay, on the southern tip of Long Island, is a unique 'no phone/TV zone for the ultimate back to nature holiday.
On Long Island there are 20km of bushwalking tracks which are considered by many to be some of the prettiest in the Whitsunday Island group.
Quiet and interesting island close to the mainland in the Whitsunday group.
Geologically the Whitsunday Islands are all drowned mountains. Prior to the last Ice Age they were connected to the mainland and would have all been prominent mountains in the area. The melting of the polar caps drowned the valleys between the mountains creating a network of 74 islands of which only 7 have resort facilities. Beyond the resorts the whole area is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the uninhabited islands are all controlled by National Parks and Wildlife.
The first European to explore the area was Captain James Cook who travelled through the area on his journey up the eastern coast of Australia in 1770. He passed through Whitsunday passage, a narrow channel which lies between the mainland coast, South Molle and Daydream Islands to the west and Dent, Whitsunday, Hook and Hayman Islands to the east, on Sunday 4 June which happened to be Whit Sunday (the seventh Sunday after easter) - hence the name of the area.
Long Island, with the exception of Whitsunday Wilderness Lodge, is regarded as a budget destination. It has a number of resorts which promote themselves as 'getting away from it all' locations. For example the Palm Bay Resort proudly announces 'you won't find loud bands, large groups of people or discotheques.' Located in a tropical wilderness it promotes its smallness and its secluded location as its major attractions. Equally Whitsunday Wilderness Lodge boasts that it is the most secluded resort in the Whitsundays.
The Crocodile Club (previously known as Whitsunday 100 and Contiki Resort) is a far cry from the old (and wild) 18-35 year olds resorts which were famous for their all night dance parties.
The National Park areas of the island have graded walking trails to facilitate easy access to the more remote areas of the island.
There is a nice myth (maybe it is fact) about a sunken Spanish galleon off the coast of Long Island. The sternpost and prow of an old timber ship has reputedly been sighted off the coast of the island and this has given rise to speculation. The legend has been further fuelled by stories of an Aboriginal tale about the crew of a ship being wrecked near the island and a local farmer claiming that he had found coins washed up on a beach.