The Whitsundays

Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia
Thursday, January 9, 2014

It was another early rising and as we went to breakfast at 7am we were passed by the runners taking advantage of the slightly cooler morning to put miles under their belts. Mad fools. Still, the humidity was probably only 60% so they would return looking like a single grease spot as opposed to a double. This morning's vessel was called the Orca and we rushed upstairs to grab our favourite seats on top for the views, but under the awning for shade. We drew out of the harbour at 8.15 and were deposited on Whitehaven beach by 9am. You know how fond Peter is of beaches, he couldn't believe he was ankle deep in the dreaded sand so early in the morning. The unspoiled beach is part of The Whitehaven National Park and is over 7 kms long and has pure white fine sand. It is part of Whitsunday Island, which is the largest of the 74 Islands in the group. The bush grows right down to the beach, so there is plenty of natural shade to be had and when we arrived there was no one else there. That changed as the morning went on and by the time we departed at lunchtime it was busy with boats and people enjoying the surroundings.
Did you know that the beautiful fine white sand, so prized by us humans, is in fact parrot fish poo? No, I thought not! The parrot fish zealously guards it's patch of coral on the reef and harvests the algae growing on it for food. Almost inevitably small pieces of the limestone skeleton get broken off in the process and the fish grinds them down to fine particles that are excreted from it's other end. So, the next time you allow the sand to trickle through your fingers on a romantic beach somewhere, just remember where it came from. It only goes to prove that one man's rubbish is another man's treasure! The parrot fish also acts as the the car wash of the reef. It will remove parasites and algae from other resident fish, who will wait in line for their turn!
The sea was warm, clear and a beautiful pale turquoise, but the dreaded little stingers were around, so once more wetsuits were handed out as we left the boat, with strict instructions ringing in our ears to use them when swimming. Apparently if you are stung, you have 45 mins to obtain treatment before it's curtains. A salutary thought and so once more it was the struggle into the Spanx suits, made all the more tricky by sand everywhere. You can imagine PL cursing under his breath! But at least he got the thing on the right way round this time, apart from trying to put his legs in the sleeves! Picture the scene, beautiful natural beach stretching as far as the eye can see and all these black Lycra clad forms cavorting in the surf. Just to add to the effect, these suits had hoods. Umm.....even more fetching, particularly when you add a pair of goggles. That sea water stings you know. This is certainly not a photoshoot for the tourist brochures, unless it's of the kinky variety, but I think that should be leather not Lycra!! It was a glorious morning frolic and even Peter enjoyed it, which is unusual when it comes to beaches. Imagine though, taking the wet suit off again without getting it covered in sand. It proved impossible, so I then had to go down to the water to rinse them off, which rather defeated the object I thought. We hung them over a convenient tree branch to dry off and noticed a rustling in the undergrowth. To Peter's horror and my delight a 3ft monitor lizard slithered out on to a log and just sat there basking in the sun. He was a magnificent creature, completely unfazed by his audience and once I'd got my eye in there was another smaller version close by. I watched them for ages and have taken some photos that I will include, but I warn you, he is so well camouflaged you may struggle to spot him. The boat collected us about midday and we cruised back around the Whitsunday Islands, which are truly beautiful and we arrived back at the Marina in time for a late lunch.
We have booked our favourite Italian for supper tonight and I'm about to set to and sort out the cases ready to move on tomorrow morning. Our short, but stunning sojourn in the Whitsundays is all too quickly coming to a close. We catch the ferry to Airlie Beach on the mainland, collect a car and drive ourselves up the coast road to Cairns, staying at Townsville overnight. We are in the Cairns area for our last two weeks and plan to chill, so we at least come home part rested! See you later........as they say in these parts.Read more