June 19th, 2019
Happy Birthday Bro! Today we had our day excursion through the Whitsunday islands (and in case anyone is wondering, I did not experience any type of runners high on my jog this morning so it’s back to the usual drudgery of that routine).
We went to the marina and got our tickets and wetsuits. Our day included a fast boat ride through some of the Whitsunday islands (which is a compilation of 74 islands off Australia’s East Coast). These islands were another discovery from good ole’ Captain Cook. The boat we went on was a fast, little jet/pontoon type boat and they said the best seats in the house were on top of the inflatable pontoon rim. Brendan and I grabbed a seat on top and were shown how to hold onto the strap once we got going. The boat ride to the islands was an unexpected adventure in itself.
The captain drove fast, and did donuts in the water, big S turns, and figure 8’s. I found myself holding onto that one strap for dear life thinking “I can’t believe they let people sit up here”. We also went fast over big waves in the open water. I wasn’t afraid I would die if I went overboard, but knew it would be highly embarrassing if I did so. I really held on tight. On our way we stopped to watch a manta ray feeding near some cliffs. I learned a manta ray was closer to a shark than a stingray, something I did not know before.
After an exhilarating hour or so riding, we reached the main Whitsunday Island. From there we did a short hike through the bush and came to amazing lookouts over one of the most highly rated beaches in the world, Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday.
This beach supposedly has the finest sand in the world as it is over 98% silica sand (not quite sure what that means but it felt like powdered sugar when you picked it up). The other remarkable thing about this sand is it never gets hot. It was cool to the touch even being in the hot sun all day. After taking many pictures and staring in awe at the crystal-clear turquoise waters and white sand we made our way down to the beach. It was like being in a pool with a cushy, soft bottom. The shallow water was so gentle and beautiful. It was the nicest beach we had ever been to (until now, a beach we visited in Panama was ranked as the nicest one I have been to). I still think I will rate the beach in Panama as my ‘favorite’ beach thus far because of how easy it was to get to, yet no one was there. This Whitehaven beach was the nicest yet, but very expensive to get to, making it not very accessible. Since it is a protected marine reserve, companies have to get permits to be able to take people to this beach meaning you have to hire someone to get out here. Then you will always be with other tourists. Although I will say, it didn’t feel overly crowded because it was so big. You could easily walk to little coves on the beach where no one else was.
After playing in the water and sand, we got back on the boat and went to a snorkel spot. This was our first introduction to the Great Barrier Reef. We snorkeled at a spot on the inner reef which was nice. We got to swim with a sea turtle for a while, but it was not the best snorkeling we have ever done. It did get us pretty excited for the upcoming two-day scuba dive adventure we booked on the outer reef.
After snorkeling, we went back to the southern part of Whitehaven beach for a buffet lunch the tour company provided, and a couple hours of beach time. We laid in the soft sand and waded around in the pristine waters.
When it was time to leave, we took another route back so we could see different islands of the Whitsundays. It was another fast and big wave adventure which I chose to sit on a regular seat this time so I could spend more energy looking for whales than holding on. Brendan of course took his seat on the side of the boat and refused to hold onto the safety strap as demonstrated. I tried to ignore and not worry that he had it loosely in his fingers as we went over big waves and fast turns. We made it back to the marina and said goodbye to some of the new friends we had met that day. We decided to drive a little more North before we stopped at another free campsite. It was a beautiful day and the beauty of Whitehaven beach is something I will never forget.