大堡礁之星-哈密頓島

一।區位:

絕對位置:南緯-20°21′,東經-148°57′

相對位置:哈密頓島是由74個熱帶島嶼群組成之聖靈島中的一個大島，位於昆士蘭省東部海岸及大堡礁之間，享有澳洲「大堡礁之星」的美譽

二।特色:


Hamilton Island is the largest inhabited island of the Whitsunday Islands， a collection of wet drowned mountains situated close to the east coast of Queensland, Australia. Unlike most islands off the east coast of Australia, Hamilton Island is used almost exclusively for tourism. However the island is catering for a growing number of residents, both employees of the various businesses on the island and also those people choosing to retire and enjoy the lifestyle. The island is on long term lease from the Queensland government by the notable Oatley family. The Oatley's own and run Hamilton Island Enterprises which operates the majority of accommodation and businesses on the island.
Hamilton Island Airport is the only airport in the Whitsunday Islands that is big enough to cater for larger commercial aircraft. Hamilton Island is also catered for by several ferry services, which can only carry passengers. Mainland motor vehicles are prohibited on the island with the exception of tradespeople and transport needs are mostly served by a fleet of hundreds of golf buggies.
In late August the island plays host to its annual Hamilton Island Race Week yachting festival, in which more than 150 yachts from across Australia and New Zealand gather for a week of races around the islands. 'Whitehaven Day' is when the yachts descend upon the beautiful Whitehaven beach for the biggest beach party in the Southern Hemisphere [citation needed]. However this is only one of many festivals hosted on the island.
Visitors can catch glimpses of migrating whales as they make their way through the warm waters of the Whitsundays around July-September each year.

這座造型完美的心型環礁（Heart Shaped Reef）位在澳洲昆士蘭州名列世界自然遺產的大堡礁（Great Barrier Reef）中，可從聖靈降臨島嶼群（Whitsunday Group）中的哈密頓島（Hamilton Island）搭乘Fantasea遊艇，航行約1小時後抵達專屬水上平台——珊瑚礁世界（Reef Wrold），然後再乘坐直升機，大約飛行10分鐘，就能在蔚藍碧海中，見到這顆名副其實的「海洋之心」。

三।資料來源:
*詩影交響閱-http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/frank-blog/article?mid=1171&prev=1200&next=1159
*維基百科【英文版】.哈密頓島-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Island_(Queensland)