The Whitsunday area lies south of Townsville and includes the Whitsunday Islands located between the coast and the Great Barrier Reef, Whitsunday City, a group of towns on the coast, and the very beautiful hinterland with the Clarke Range. Lively beach towns, beautiful islands and a fascinating tropical hinterland make it a prime destination in Australia, without the massive overdevelopment of the Gold Coast or (partly) the Sunshine Coast. The Whitsunday Islands National Park protects most, but not all of the Whitsunday Islands, which are of volcaning origin.