Proserpine

Home to Whitsunday Coast Airport, one of two airports in the Whitsundays (Hamilton Island is the other), Proserpine is the first mainland port of call for Whitsundays visitors arriving by air.

Lining the banks of the Proserpine River, Proserpine is the sort of town that just gets on with business. Which in this part of Queensland is mostly sugar cane farming, though it also does a significant trade with road tripping grey nomads.

Locals still offer a friendly hello to strangers in Main Street, shopkeepers offer a smile as though they mean it and there’s always good value pub grub on the menu at art deco Prince of Wales Hotel.

Top things to do: 

• Colour Me Crazy is a quirky gift shop that will appeal to your inner hippy.
• Pop into Proserpine Museum to learn about Sidney Cotton, local boy turned aviator, aerial photographer and spy who some say was the inspiration behind James Bond.
• Spot crocs on the banks of the Proserpine River. 
• Go fishing on Lake Proserpine in search of the iconic barramundi.