On the map of Australia in the upper left corner, Karratha is almost
directly across from the Whitsundays, on the west coast
After spending the night in Brisbane, we boarded our early morning flight to Proserpine, home of the Whitsunday Coast Airport. Airlie Beach, our base in the Whitsundays, was another hour away by bus, but we had an entertaining bus driver and it passed quickly. I had stayed in Airlie Beach before, but in a youth hostel. This time around, we were staying at the lovely Airlie Beach Hotel right on the Esplanade. Our ship didn't sail until the next day at 7pm, so we had a day and a half to walk around and get acquainted with the 'drinking town with a sailing problem'. I remembered there was a terrific boardwalk from Airlie Beach to Cannonvale Beach, about 7km return. We walked past Abel Point Marina, where our ship the Solway Lass was docked, and ended up at Cannonvale Beach at low tide. I ran most of the boardwalk the following morning, as it hugs the ocean most of the way and you can't beat the scenery. We also took a bus to Shute Harbour, which also has beautiful views of the Whitsundays. It's a gorgeous part of the world and I'm lucky to have visited it twice.
Abel Point Marina
Abel Point Marina at sunset
Shute Harbour the next morning
Shute Harbour
The Solway Lass in its berth
At 6:30pm on Tuesday, we got on a bus near our hotel with close to 30 other travellers for the short drive down to the marina. We then boarded our home for the next three days, the Solway Lass (www.solwaylass.com). After being introduced to our crew of five and given a tour of the tall ship, we settled in for the evening. We were sailing for a couple of hours before anchoring for the night. While the weather had been mostly good during the day, the wind had definitely picked up now that it was dark and the sea was choppy. While I don't usually get seasick, I was glad I had bought some ginger tablets that afternoon. They would definitely come in handy over the next few days! We anchored for the night in Macona Inlet at Hook Island around ten, had some delicious, made from scratch vegetable soup by chef Eddie and headed to our cabins and bed.
We awoke to more wind and some rain. With temperatures in the mid to high twenties, hardly any wind and less tourists, July is supposed to be the perfect time to sail the Whitsundays. However, the forecast for July 9-12 was showers with patches of sunshine and that's exactly what we got. Breakfast was at seven and then we took off for Whitsunday Island and the world famous Whitehaven Beach. That morning's sail was the roughest I have ever experienced. Our ship was listing up to 33 degrees to either side and several waves broke over the sides and soaked the deck. I normally don't get seasick (one of the only times I can remember is crossing from Melbourne to Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania on the Bass Strait~ that was so long and awful, when I was done touring Tasmania I chose to fly back to Melbourne from Launceston instead) and while I didn't throw up like some others on board, I did feel absolutely nauseous and couldn't wait to set foot back on land. This trip couldn't be over soon enough. After ~3 hours, we anchored in Tongue Bay and had lunch. I managed to choke a bit of food down before we took the tender out to Whitsunday Island. After a short hike, we arrived at Whitehaven Beach.
Whitehaven Beach was awarded two Travellers' Choice Beach Awards by TripAdvisor in 2013: No.1 beach in Australia and No.3 beach in the world. It is definitely one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been on and on this particular afternoon we had it all to ourselves. It was a bit cool and quite windy, but the sun had come out and it wasn't raining, so that was a plus. We walked along the the length, taking photos while other people in our group donned stinger suits (to protect themselves from jellyfish stings) and went for a dip. We had been warned not to take any of the sand from Whitehaven Beach as the fine was very steep (steeper than if you were found carrying cocaine!). It's 98% silica and since none of the local rocks contain silica, it's thought that it was brought to the beach by prevailing sea currents over millions of years. The bus driver had also mentioned that NASA used it in the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope. It is very fine sand, a danger to cameras and other electronics~ could be why my first digital camera's shutter needs a flick to open after I visited in 2009. No mishaps this year though!
Whitehaven Beach was awarded two Travellers' Choice Beach Awards by TripAdvisor in 2013: No.1 beach in Australia and No.3 beach in the world. It is definitely one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been on and on this particular afternoon we had it all to ourselves. It was a bit cool and quite windy, but the sun had come out and it wasn't raining, so that was a plus. We walked along the the length, taking photos while other people in our group donned stinger suits (to protect themselves from jellyfish stings) and went for a dip. We had been warned not to take any of the sand from Whitehaven Beach as the fine was very steep (steeper than if you were found carrying cocaine!). It's 98% silica and since none of the local rocks contain silica, it's thought that it was brought to the beach by prevailing sea currents over millions of years. The bus driver had also mentioned that NASA used it in the creation of the Hubble Space Telescope. It is very fine sand, a danger to cameras and other electronics~ could be why my first digital camera's shutter needs a flick to open after I visited in 2009. No mishaps this year though!
The waves were a little too quick for me...
Mom and Dad on Whitehaven
We met up with Brandon, our barman on the ship and our guide for the afternoon, and the rest of the group to hike up to the view point. Hill Inlet is different every day and I wish I had photos of when I was up there 4 years ago (they're on my older laptop) to compare. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time before we had to return to the boat, so we quickly snapped a few shots (I think Dad got better ones with his DSLR) and made our way back down. I wasn't too eager to get back on and sail to our next anchorage (I still felt a little queasy and the tender only held ~10 people), so I stayed on the beach looking at the coral that had washed up (the entire beach was made up of bleached coral). Brandon and the tender returned for the final trip and we said goodbye to Whitsunday Island.
The view of Hill Inlet
Another view of Hill Inlet
Coral
We had a much gentler sail on our return to Hook Island. It was still a bit rough (especially considering that the waters around the Whitsundays are usually as flat as glass), but it was much more manageable. We overnighted in Nara Inlet, just to the west of Macona Inlet, where we had anchored the night before. While waiting for our dinner, some dolphins were playing around the ship; they seemed to like the light from the torches/flashlights. Dinner was Thai green curry chicken~ it was quite amazing what Eddie could cook up for 30+ people in a galley only slightly larger than my bathroom. He had Emma, a Canadian(!) volunteer, help him with cutting up veg and cleaning up, but he did the bulk of it himself and it was always high quality. Well done, Eddie!
The next day, after an early breakfast on the deck, we headed north to Hayman Island, which houses a 5 star luxury resort currently undergoing a $40 million revamp. Rates in the off-season start at $590 and go to $8000 (for a 3 bedroom owner's penthouse) per night. Not quite in my price range, which is why I was sharing a ver small cabin with my parents. There was room for a double bed with a single bunk on top and about 2m x 0.5m space in front of the beds. The Solway Lass anchored in Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman's northwest side and Braydon, one of the deckhands, make several trips with the tender to drop us off on the island. Mom and I put on our stinger suits (very attractive!) and our masks and snorkels, and waded into the ocean. Close to shore there wasn't much sea life or coral, but the further out we ventured, the more we saw. Every time I go snorkelling I wish I knew what I was looking at. We saw lots of fish, many of them multi-coloured, quite a few clams (some were very big and their 'lips' were a bright blue or purple) and lots of different kinds of coral. No underwater camera this time, so I just tried to absorb as much as I could. It was amazing to see the variety of sea life~ there were so many fish and they came in all different kinds of colours and patterns. So happy Mom got to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef, it really is an extraordinary experience. Reluctantly we joined Dad in the tender and returned to the ship. It was time for lunch.
That afternoon we sailed around Hayman and headed to Maureen's Cove, on the north side of Hook Island. Here we had another opportunity to snorkel and I jumped at the chance. This time we had to get in the water from the tender, and the water was cold! The coral here was more colourful than it had been near Hayman (green! blue! purple! pink!), and there were more kinds of fish here as well. The wind had picked up, but as long as you kept your face in the water, it was fine. Mom and Dad stayed in the glass bottom boat and got to see the reef from above. They saw a sea turtle, which I missed, but I had swam with one last time I had been to the Great Barrier Reef. After being pulled back into the tender, we returned to the ship, where some of our group were using the rope swing. Everyone was in a great mood after having had such a successful day on the reef and we had a great sail to our last night's anchorage in Baird Point on Hook Island.
On our last day at sea, the wind conditions were just right and the crew opened all the sails. We had had had some of the sails open on some of the other days, but today all the sails were open. They enlisted some of the passengers to help, and I got to hoist one of the sails (possibly the jib? I can't remember...) while Brandon yelled at me to "HEAVE!" and to "Put (my) back into it, sailor!" Nothing like a little encouragement... We sailed to South Molle Island to hike Spion Kop Track, a lovely hike through eucalypt forest, rainforest and open grassland. We had great views of the islands around South Molle, including Hook, Whitsunday and Hamilton. We had done a more difficult hike 4 years ago to an amazing viewpoint overlooking the Solway Lass in an inlet, but this walk had great views all around, especially from the platform at the end. The rain held off while we were on the island and the sun even came out for awhile. Back on board the ship, we prepared for the journey home.
That afternoon we sailed around Hayman and headed to Maureen's Cove, on the north side of Hook Island. Here we had another opportunity to snorkel and I jumped at the chance. This time we had to get in the water from the tender, and the water was cold! The coral here was more colourful than it had been near Hayman (green! blue! purple! pink!), and there were more kinds of fish here as well. The wind had picked up, but as long as you kept your face in the water, it was fine. Mom and Dad stayed in the glass bottom boat and got to see the reef from above. They saw a sea turtle, which I missed, but I had swam with one last time I had been to the Great Barrier Reef. After being pulled back into the tender, we returned to the ship, where some of our group were using the rope swing. Everyone was in a great mood after having had such a successful day on the reef and we had a great sail to our last night's anchorage in Baird Point on Hook Island.
On our last day at sea, the wind conditions were just right and the crew opened all the sails. We had had had some of the sails open on some of the other days, but today all the sails were open. They enlisted some of the passengers to help, and I got to hoist one of the sails (possibly the jib? I can't remember...) while Brandon yelled at me to "HEAVE!" and to "Put (my) back into it, sailor!" Nothing like a little encouragement... We sailed to South Molle Island to hike Spion Kop Track, a lovely hike through eucalypt forest, rainforest and open grassland. We had great views of the islands around South Molle, including Hook, Whitsunday and Hamilton. We had done a more difficult hike 4 years ago to an amazing viewpoint overlooking the Solway Lass in an inlet, but this walk had great views all around, especially from the platform at the end. The rain held off while we were on the island and the sun even came out for awhile. Back on board the ship, we prepared for the journey home.
Some of the steps on our walk
The Solway Lass is the one closest to the centre, with the dark hull
Some of the 74 islands of the Whitsundays
One of my favourite flowers, a hibiscus
Grass trees!
Being a sailor is a lot of work!
Brandon and Braydon taking down one of the sails.
Watching the crew take down the sails was quite the show. Wearing harnesses that hooked into the rigging, the climbed up the ladders and balanced on ropes while folding the sails neatly and tying them up . This was made a bit more difficult due to the wind and rain, but they worked quickly and efficiently, and they received a round of applause once they were done. After another couple of hours of sailing, we were back at Airlie Beach. Our captain, Reese, had the onerous task of backing the ship into its berth. After saying goodbye to our new friends, who came from Holland, Norway, Wales, Byron Bay, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Canada (Ontario), and to the crew, we returned to our hotel to shower (only 2 minute showers were allowed on the ship and mine was lukewarm at best) and pack. Part two of our holiday was over and it was time to prepare for the second half. We would be flying to Melbourne in the morning, the starting point of our road trip. Great Ocean Road, here we come!
What a trip! Hill Inlet doesn't look real, too beautiful. I'm sorry you got sick on the boat, but it is yet another experience that most of us won't have :) 33 degree list is pretty substantial! The grass trees are fascinating as well. I love your photos, Amanda! Thank you so much for sharing :)
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