Today is our day on the boat amoung the Whitsundays Islands. It was a good sign to wake up to sunshine and blue skies. However we had to be ready by 8:15 so we were on a new thing – a schedule.
I have to admit that this park is very picturesque although with 4 weeks of rain there does seem to be a bit of mud around. However, that does not detract from the landscaping.
At 8:20 the van arrived to pick us up and take us to the pier. This van goes around to all the campsites and resorts according to who has booked and who has not. We found that the van was a bit oldish and it did not sound like it would get up the hills at times, but it was successful. The cruise was on the boat called Whitehaven Xpress and there would be 20 of us on this cruise today. The boat was very comfortable, although at full throttle a bit noisey.
We left the harbour and I was very impressed with the number and range of boats docked. I suspect there are some wealthy people living here or lots of tour/cruising boats. (I suspect both.) We opted to take a one day cruise rather than the 2 or 3 days cruise to the Great Barrier Reef since at the time of booking we were not sure of the weather. As mentioned it had been raining every day for the past 4 weeks. As it turns out today was the first clear day and the first day this entire week the cruise actually went out.
We left the harbour behind by traveling through water that was the most beautiful color – kind of aqua. As we traveled out to make our way through the 74 islands in the Whitsundays Islands group we were impressed with the variety and sizes of land masses. What was very interesting is most of the islands are well treed. However, not all islands have a fresh water source.
Our first stop was the “Lookout” on Whitsunday Island. We had to take a passage between Hook Island and Whitsunday Island and approach on the ocean side. The Lookout is a trail up the panhandle that leads to Tongue Point. At the height of land on the panhandle we moved to the other side of the panhandle to look out over Whitehaven Beach in the far distance. Below is the Lookout Beach which is accessible from this same trail, however we did not go down to the beach. If you look at the pictures you will see an inlet to your right. This is called Hill Inlet and goes across the island almost cutting the island in two. It is sourced by a spring.
After we returned to the boat we carried on around Tongue Point and across the bay to Whitehaven Beach which is also on Whitsunday Island. This beach is a definite "must-see" in the Whitsundays. The crystal clear aqua waters and pristine silica sand of Whitehaven stretch over seven kilometres along Whitsunday Island. It has been recognized as one the top 10 beaches in the world. Of course when we arrived to the beach we had a couple of options – swim to shore or take the dingy. Swimming is very appealing except for the realization that this is the stingies season (the Bluebottle jellyfish). No problem we can use the stingy suites which will protect you should you encounter a jellyfish. These suits are actually very comfortable after you get them on. However the concept that one size fits all should be examined as demonstrated by one of the guests on the trip.
A benefit of this suit that appealed to both Wes and I was that it made the concern about sunscreen go away. You are virtually totally covered and we are thinking that it is a good plan for beach days. Hard to tan perhaps; but even harder to burn.
Our time on the beach was wonderful. We spent most of our time floating around in the water in full sun staying very comfortable. I did step onto shore to take some pictures and visit with our co-travelers. While we were doing this the guys from the cruise ship were setting up and BBQ an authentic Australian beach Barbie. This was definitely one of the highlights since they served steak, sausage, fish, hamburgers, Australian fresh vegies and Australian fresh fruit.
After lunch we went back into the water to watch all the schools of fish in the area. The one that was easily noticed was the one I called the Zebra fish (no idea of real name). I had some fun with my camera taking some interesting pictures through the water.
When one of the guys threw fish food into the water the fish attacked the food like piranhas with an immediate appearance of a large group of fish fighting, pushing and snapping the food. Another fish we saw was one that was almost completely transparent. This school of fish could not be photographed but we enjoyed watching them swim around.
Fish was not only the wildlife we saw while stopped for lunch.
We finally had to quit this beach and head out again to head to a snorkelling beach. I did not have an underwater camera so I was not able to take pictures of the fish or the coral in the water but what an incredible experience. I have snorkelled before but this was a first for Wes. He had a blast. I have spent time on the internet to see if I could find pictures of some of the fish we swam. These are only a few and the largest fish is not shown. It was about 3 feet long.
The coral in places looked like twisted branches stacked up and there was no way to see through them. Other times of coral reminded me of a mushroom cap upside down. Colors were incredible and everything seemed vivid. This truly was one of the best experiences we have had on this trip to this point. I could go on and on but if you have already snorkelled in a coral reef area you know and if not, then words can not do justice.
When we left this beach we headed back to the harbour and home spotting a dolphn on the way.
The bird feeder at the campsite was busy and I was able to enjoy taking some pictures of the colourful birds.
What is even more amazing the weather has been beautiful all day and even though it is hot and muggy we are not feeling like we are suffering. This is the topics after all.
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