Whitsunday Islands, Whitehaven Beach
Awake and packed by 7:00 AM with a dirty chai latte in hand. Left my bags with the Magnums hostel reception and walked 20 minutes to Abell Point Marina to meet up with my tour to the islands, SV Whitehaven. And I saw my Danish friend, Mark, waiting for the boat as well. I met him on the overnight bus from Rainbow Beach, just like my friend Jacob. There's 15 of us in total, plus the captain Dave and our cook, Reuben. We loaded onto the sailboat and off we went. Reuben got everyone together to play a name game, and after we enjoyed some lunch! I have been very fortunate to have loads of options for my vegan meals. Today I enjoyed a big salad with beets (beets are very popular here in Aus).
The water is crystal clear blue, just like the sky. We have beautiful weather for the next two days of sailing, so beautiful that it isn't even windy enough to put the sails up. Smooth sailing at its finest! There are 74 islands in the Whitsundays region, but only 5-6 have people living on them. Hamilton Island and Whitehaven are the two most popular. Another island, Hayman, is one of the most expensive in the world. It costs $25-30,000 USD per night with a 4 night minimum, crazy! Katy Perry has stayed there as well as Johnny Depp. There is actually a scene in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie that was filmed on the Whitsunday Islands. Apparently the workers on Hayman Island have underground tunnels where they work and only come up to serve the food or clean the rooms. There is no interaction between guests and workers.
Whitsunday Islands are known for the white sand, which is 99.5% silica sand and is so fine that it doesn't heat up from the sun! The minute I stepped onto the boat, I knew I made the right decision in doing this tour. SV Whitehaven is the best tour and allows for the most time in the water. It was a super relaxing ride to Whitehaven Beach, tanning on the deck and making new friends. We saw dolphins right away, about 4 of them, riding in our wake and swimming alongside the boat. It was gorgeous, and if that wasn't enough, we saw a sea turtle swimming by. There are 7 different species of sea turtles in the world and 6 are here in the Whitsundays. And the islands also have lemon sharks along with heaps of humpback whales.
We arrived to Whitehaven Beach, road the dingy in, walked thru a bit of a forest to arrive at a lookout point and holy WOW- the most beautiful sight I have ever seen! The water is teal, aqua, navy, green, and the sand is pure white. The contrast is incredible and the tide was low so we could see loads of stingrays in the water. After taking our photos, we went down to the lagoon for a swim. The water was fresh, the sand an exfoliant, and the sun so warm. I was awestruck. Gratitude gratitude gratitude. & BLESSED! We went walking to find a spot on the beach, and proceeded to lay in the sunshine for 3 hours, relaxing. Reuben is from New Zealand and just moved to Airlie Beach about 2 weeks ago. Today is his first solo sail ride with us and he was telling me all about how he got here. His stories included his friend, Nate, who just so happened to appear shortly after. Nate is a tour guide as well for a diving tour. He sat with us and we enjoyed some laughs as we shared stories and got to know each other.
Eventually, we made our way back thru the forest, onto the dingy, and loaded on the SV Whitehaven sailboat to watch the sunset with some snacks. I think my jaw literally dropped as we gazed at the sea watching the colors of the sun reflect orange and yellow hues onto the sea. I began chatting an Aussie girl, Carla, and once we realized she is a Pisces and me a Virgo, we hit it off immediately. MY GIRL! She braided my hair, rubbed my shoulders, and had me laughing my bum off into the night. We anchored down and the rest of the evening consisted of relaxing, sipping, and eating some Thai green curry. And after dinner, it was stargazing time. The moon was half and bright, shining its light onto the water, and the stars lit up the whole sky. We spotted many constellation and more shooting stars. Dave gave us a chat on the fish in the sea, and I learned that barnacles have the biggest penis to body ratio, HA! It's kind of a crazy concept but it was epic learning about and laughing over.
Nate came over on his dingy and joined us for some beers on the boat. He even bribed me with one to help Reuben with the dishes, which if you know me, then you know it wasn't much to ask since I thoroughly enjoy cleaning. Eventually, we began to wind-down for the night, and 7 of us laid down some yoga mats, gathered some blankets, and slept beneath the stars. I actually awoke around 3:00 AM and the sky was even more full of visible stars since the light from the moon had gone down. I am simply awestruck by the beauty all around me.
