The Whitsundays

After flying back to Hervey Bay from Lady Elliot Island we decided to do the epic drive to Airlie Beach all in one day. We left at noon and pulled in to our YHA at close to 11pm. It was a loooong day of travel, but the Whitsundays was on my "Must See" list and it was on the way to Cairns from where we are departing. Funny, we don't think twice about driving to Halifax or Florida, but Australia just doesn't share that culture of binge driving. In fact, there are road signs everywhere warning of the dangers of driving fatigued. Good policy!

The next day we had the chore of selecting which tour company we would go with to make our journey through the islands. I really wanted to go to Whitehaven Beach which is supposed to be one of the nicest in the world. (Have I mentioned the Kiwi and Aussie propensity to claim to be the World's Best pretty much everything? In this case, I think others agreed.). Well, the problem with taking a boat tour is that Brody isn't big on boats, or more specifically going over waves in boats. So, we settled on a mid-sized, fast boat with an interior cabin that would take us from place to place in a hurry and stopped at Whitehaven. There were literally dozens to choose from, but the YHA receptionist suggested the one we went on would be best.

My knees at Whitehaven

 

So, the next morning a bus picked us up along with our fellow passengers and we headed off on our adventure. The boat was crewed by Captain Dan (the owner), Cozzie, and Asher. Cozzie and Asher were both clowns with a bordering-on-offensive Aussie sense of humour, but they seemed to have our safety and enjoyment at top of mind -- always a good thing! The boat was fast and powerful and the waves were pretty massive. I was so glad that we didn't choose either the leisurely sailboat or the white water rafting type of boat. Brody would have died!

 

A friendly goanna

Our first stop was Mantaray Bay for snorkelling. We've been spoiled at Lady Elliot, so we thought the snorkeling was "just OK", though other passengers loved it. The issue wasn't just less-than-abundant and less diverse number of fish than we saw at LEI, but something much worse! Tropical North Queensland is home to some nasty stinging, and potentially lethal, jellyfish! Although they told us the jellyfish die at colder than 26C and the water was now 24C, we weren't about to take a chance. So, our only option was to wear stinger suits, which are rather like morph suits. You will see no photos.

 

From there, we hopped back in the boat and travelled to another island for a bush walk. It was a pretty easy hike up to the summit of the island from where we saw the stunning swirling sands. There are multiple pictures in my movie. It was exceptionally beautiful, as you can see.

The Swirling Sands

 

The third and final stop was Whitehaven Beach, which did not disappoint. There were several yachts and a couple tour boats in the bay, but the beach was far from crowded. The sand was pure soft silica, like flour, and the squeak-factor was high! We had time to explore, chill, and have a great Aussie-style barbecue before heading back to Airlie Beach just at sunset. It really was a lovely, relaxing day!