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The shrieks of laughter coming from kids as they enjoy the brand new big, huge, mega Waterslide Park at BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach will be heard all over Australia. This exciting, diverse range of 13 colourful waterslides takes the resort to a whole new level of family entertainment.

Built especially for young families, the slides come off a two-metre-high platform and are linked by bridges and stairways. The area of the Waterslide Park is equivalent to an Olympic swimming pool and features vibrant slides in a rainbow of red, blue, yellow, orange and green colours. A massive tipping bucket sits at one end of the pool and there are fun smaller features for toddlers in the shape of a frog and octopus. Luxurious sun loungers will be positioned for parents to relax nearby while keeping one eye on their water babies.

The panels around the monster fun waterslides have been decorated with gorgeous artwork of ‘Gavin’, the resort frog mascot, enjoying Whitsunday activities. The frog can be found snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef, jet skiing, jumping on a fast boat to Whitehaven Beach, flying high above Heart Reef in a seaplane, hopping on a Segway tour along the bicentennial walkway, fishing, sailing, having a massage, crocodile sightseeing and enjoying a coffee at the Fat Frog Beach Café. There is colour and fun everywhere for young children to enjoy.

Owner Greg McKinnon says, “we really wanted to create something on a massive scale that would impress everyone and I think we have done that. The size, colour and choice of all the slides is fantastic and it is going to be the happiest place to be in the Whitsundays for every kid and probably their parents as well. It really is setting a new benchmark for Whitsunday family holiday entertainment and is one of the largest resort Waterslide Parks in Australia.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is an award-winning resort winning multiple Australian and Queensland Tourism awards. It is a favourite destination for many Australian families who return every year. The beauty of this new Waterslide Park facility is that there is no new additional charge for in-house guests. Ensuring optimal fun for all in-house guests, the Waterslide Park will only be accessible for guests staying in the resort.

Set amidst 26 acres of tropical gardens, the resort already has a 32 metre lagoon style pool with two waterslides and fountains, along with a host of other facilities including two giant jumping pillows, 18-hole mini golf, outdoor cinema, tennis court, pedal carts and much more. A wide range of accommodation from camping and caravan sites to luxury three-bedroom villas cater for all budgets and small to large family groups. Eight new studio villas have just been installed and are a perfect size for a family with two children.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort is ready to re-open on Tuesday, 18 April and jump straight back into fun-filled activities for the last week of the NSW school holidays.

The lagoon swimming pool is up and running, the weather has returned to normal gorgeous April conditions and Kid’s Club, a full Activity Guide, the Animal Park feeding and outdoor movies will all be operating from next Tuesday.

Owner Mr Greg McKinnon and his team of 34 staff have worked tirelessly to get the resort back to its former glory after Cyclone Debbie hit on 28 March. He said, “our beautiful tropical gardens were the worst hit from the massive winds and we have removed between 200-300 truckloads of vegetation from the site. Although it’s not quite the same, we certainly have a lot more sun coming in to the camping sites! Luckily it will all grow back.” Mr McKinnon said it was unfortunate that all the Easter school holiday bookings had to be cancelled but after nearly two weeks without power, the priority was to ensure that any safety issues were addressed and that the resort was fully operational before welcoming guests back.

It’s once again full-steam ahead for all the new developments at the resort. Construction has recommenced on the much anticipated 13 slide water park, one of Australia’s largest resort waterslide parks. The tiling has begun in bright colours to reflect the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef. Due to open for the June/July school holidays, this massive new activity will be a colourful and popular addition to the resort offering. Eight new Deluxe Studio cabins are also under construction and due to come online in the next few months. The resort’s 2000 Easter eggs, ordered for the cancelled Easter long weekend activities, have been donated to the Whitsunday Neighbourhood Centre, to distribute as a little token to local families doing it tough over Easter.

Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays rely on tourism and many tours, restaurants, accommodation and activities are already back up and operational. Greg said, “everyone in this town depends on tourism and we hope people will come back and visit us soon and support our recovery. Airlie Beach has taken a big hit but the community spirit and positivity has kept us all going. I think the Labour Day weekend is going to be one huge celebration for everyone in the Whitsundays and a sign that we are ‘Back in Business’.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with quality facilities and services, combined with genuinely friendly and helpful staff. Set amongst 26 tropical acres, the resort caters for a variety of budgets and tastes with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to designer decorated three bedroom condos. Located in Airlie Beach, the resort has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

The team from BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach was honoured to accept the silver award in the “Caravan and Holiday Park” category at the Australian Tourism Awards on Friday night.

Owners Greg and Naomi McKinnon were in Darwin to accept the award with other team members and operators from the Whitsundays. All State finalists and winners in this category of the Australian Tourism Awards were from the BIG4 Park franchise. Greg McKinnon said, “to be recognised nationally against so many other great parks is a big deal for us and gives us the daily motivation to keep at the top of our game.”

Mr McKinnon thanked staff saying, “our staff are passionate about our product and they help to give the resort its special atmosphere and bring return guests back year after year. We continually invest, enhance and upgrade facilities at our resort but we know it’s also the little things that count at the end of the day.”

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort believes the qualities that help make them one of the best in Australia include delivering superior customer service, constantly focussing on the guest experience, empowering their staff and maintaining quality throughout the resort. BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort has been in the McKinnon family for 24 years and they have taken it from a ½ star property to a multi-award winning one through hard work, commitment, investment and a passion for the product and the industry.

The latest exciting development is a mega Waterslide Park which is due to open in April 2017. Other recent additions include an Animal Park, The Palm House, Palm Gardens and Palm Pavilion conference and wedding venues, more designer-decorated villas and the fun retro, beach culture Kombi van for party and event transport.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with quality facilities and services, combined with genuinely friendly and helpful staff. Set amongst 26 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds the resort caters for a variety of budgets and tastes with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to designer decorated three bedroom condos. Located in Airlie Beach, the resort has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, the Whitsunday Islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach has received the highest state award in the “Caravan and Holiday Parks” category at the Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane on Friday 11 November.

Privately owned by the McKinnon family, the park has grown and evolved over the past 23 years and is now recognised as a premium Whitsunday holiday resort. Continual reinvestment in the product has seen the development of luxury, designer-decorated condos, the multi-purpose Palm House function venue, the groovy Airlie Beach Kombis service, the establishment of an Animal Park and exciting plans for a massive water park in 2017.

Mr Greg McKinnon for the McKinnon family said, “the tourism industry in the Whitsundays has been bouncing back in the past couple of years and the past year has been better than ever. Due to increased occupancy we will be adding more new cabins and campsites and a 13-slide waterpark will be installed in the first quarter of 2017. The exciting element for us is that we continue to add new aspects to our business and we cater for a much broader range of visitors including wedding parties, school and business groups and multi-generation family holiday-makers.”

“The Queensland Tourism Awards celebrate the very best Queensland has to offer and we are proud to be a part of this industry and delivering a fantastic Australian tourism product. We extend our congratulations to all the other nominees, finalists and winners who put in the hard yards every day”, said Greg McKinnon.

The many elements which combine to make up this award winning resort include consistent quality service, a concerted customer focus, continual innovation and a commitment to delivering a traditional Australian family holiday experience.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort offers a relaxed, family friendly environment with an extensive range of quality facilities and services, gorgeous cabins and happy, helpful staff. Set amongst 10 hectares of beautifully landscaped tropical gardens, the resort caters for a variety of budgets with a wide range of accommodation options from camping and caravanning sites to luxury, three-bedroom condos. The resort is located in Airlie Beach and has easy access to the Great Barrier Reef, Whitehaven Beach, 74 Whitsunday islands and a vast array of trips, water activities and truly memorable Australian holiday adventures.