You've probably heard of the Whitsundays - beautiful Australian tropical islands with white sandy beaches and coral reefs. Maybe you've been to a resort on one of the islands, or taken a flight or a cruise from Shute Harbour. All the year round, many visitors come from all over the world, as well as from all Australian states and territories to enjoy the beaches, the reefs, the fishing and many other pastimes. Whether it be to relax on the beach or to enjoy the adrenalin rush of sky-diving, the Whitsundays provide all this and more.

What happens, though, if you enjoy looking at that beautiful blue-green water, with islands, nearby and distant, across the Whitsunday Passage, but can't bear the thought of stepping on board a boat, much less getting into one of those tiny planes, or even worse - a helicopter! And the Great Barrier Reef is a 40km "voyage"....

Or maybe you've "Been there, done that", taken a couple of day cruises, and your budget is blowing out. What else is there to do?

All you really want to do is lie in the sun on a nice sandy beach and relax. Maybe you'll drop in to a hotel for a counter lunch, or in the evening, and visit a couple of nice spots for dinner. You may take a look around the shops, or try a few different beaches.

This was our situation when we arrived at Airlie Beach with our 5th wheel trailer, for a couple of weeks at a tourist park. There is a good selection of caravan parks with various levels of facilities. The major associations are well represented. Free stays are harder to come by in the area. We also had our Westie, Snowy, so we needed a place that allowed pets. We found a good place, as we usually do. We don't like leaving Snowy behind for day trips, another reason not to visit the Islands this time around. It turned out we found all we wanted, although it wasn't as we expected!

Our site was backing onto the small Whitsunday airport, with planes and helicopter flights to and from the islands, and for sky-diving, from early morning till dusk. Fortunately not at night! Having spent three years in the RAF back in the days of National Service, it was a familiar sound, and didn't disturb me at all, I heard no complaints from other visitors either.

The Town of Whitsunday includes Airlie Beach, Shute Harbour, and couple of other places, all in close proximity, so any park is handy for the island cruises and reef

excursions. There are lots of palm and other tropical trees including, in the location called Flametree, of course, flame trees, all around.