A 3-island Tour

Last Tuesday morning this is where we were...

...Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, off Airlie Beach. It is know to be the most beautiful beach in Australia and one of the best in the world. The white sand has only ever been taken off the island once, for NASA when they were making a new telescope. It is a heritage listed place and I can certainly see why...

I actually never thought I would see the day when we would visit this beach I have only ever dreamt of visiting. But dreams do come true.

There were many tours of the Whitsunday islands to choose from, but our choice was made a little easier when this tour boat included a visit to Whitehaven Beach, Daydream Island AND had a buffet lunch on board. So a day trip on the Voyager was it...

All seemed fine when we boarded with not a lot of people on board, which was good. (Maybe 50 of us). Monet was pretty excited with the prospect of going to the beach on a boat, until we hit some awfully rough 'open seas', just pass Hamilton Island. My poor little baby was sea sick - right over my pants and my hands. It was okay that it was Monet's *spew* as I couldn't have handled anyone elses over me. Even the boat crew said it was pretty rough so its a wonder that I didn't 'spew' either - but I know to watch the horizon line when I feel sea sick (which is practically every time I set foot on a boat!)

All was fine when we exited the front of the boat to the Island. It was jaw-dropping amazing. Anyone who has been there will say the same as I. It did help that the day was *stunning* - blue skies, warm sun all falling on white, white sand and crystal clear ocean waters. Simply beautiful.

The water was a little on the cooler side when you entered, but within moments it felt lovely.

It was wonderful to spend roughly one and a half to two hours there. It was enough time to soak in the atmosphere of the beauty of this little pocket of Australia. I have never seen such clear water in all of my life - so amazing. It certainly was paradise.

Monet enjoyed her time on the beach making friends with 'Sarah', the professional photographer who was on the tour with us. She was actually meant to be taking photos of everyone on the trip, but she spent half the time taking photos of Monet (and Lyndon and I! - who would've thought!) and playing with her. I liked that!! When Sarah went back to her 'work', she left Monet with beach equipment to play with and 'funny' big glasses...

By the time we re boarded the vessel we had built up a bit of an appetite. The buffet lunch of cold cuts and salads and buffet rolls went down a treat.

About 40 minutes later we arrived at Hook Island, where they have an old underwater Observatory. So many beautiful coloured fish to be spotted. SO amazing. (Don't forget, the Whitsunday's are part of the Great Barrier Reef...) And guess what I spotted in the Observatory? A clown fish. A real-life Nemo. I was excited anyway...

Hook Island is very under developed and I hope it stays that way. It has a backpackers on it, with a big rustic bar/shop/cafe attached, all looking out onto the tropical waters. It was lovely. A lot of people in our group went snorkeling, just off the coral beach and said there were so many fish. Lyndon and I opted for a couple of Coronas instead (the water was too cool here) and Monet had an ice cream cone.

After our hour stop over at Hook, our next stop was Daydream Island.

We had flirted with the idea of staying here, instead of Airlie Beach, but figured that we were better off at Airlie. Daydream was great and very beautiful and had everything you'd expect of an island resort. Beautiful people, golden sands, pools, bar, little shops, water sports, playground, the world's largest outdoor aquarium...

We arrived back at Airlie Beach at around five in the afternoon. We had a wonderful day, bar the bit when Monnie was sea sick. (And she still points to the brochure and says she was sick on "That boat" as "it was too rough"...)

Well that's it dear readers. My 'holiday' posts have come to a close. I hope you enjoyed my tour of parts of Eastern Australia. I enjoyed sharing it with you. Regular posting will commence again soon... Enjoy your day. *smile*