Glorious Whitsunday Islands...

Like the Great Barrier Reef itself, the 74 islands making up the Whitsundays were discovered and named for the western world by Captain Cook. After running into some dead ends he found a safe passage through the islands shortly after celebrating Whit. 

We stayed in Airlie Beach, which has a reputation as a backpackers resort where young people find all sorts of interesting ways of entertaining themselves. But the young people we saw were pretty well behaved and we were staying a bit of of town, well away from the club all nighters.  

There are also a string of marinas along the shore, home to some pretty fancy yachts, and where there are marinas, there are nice bars and restaurants, so there was no need to go hungry or thirsty. All in all very much like Portland except for thirty degree temperatures and ninety per cent humidity.

A number of operators offer Whitsunday cruises and we chose Whitehaven Xpress. Leaving one of the aforementioned marinas, we rounded the point and headed south, captain Shane picking his way between the rocks and the islands. We passed Hamilton island, which seems to have been sacrificed to the tourism trade in a deal to preserve the other islands. Hamilton has luxury resorts, a golf course and even an international airport while most other islands have at little more development than a camping ground and a bush toilet. 

First stop was the seven kilometres of Whitehaven beach, famous for its soft white sand. The colour comes from its high silica content which has other interesting properties. No matter how hot the sun, the sand remains cool and comfortable to walk on barefoot. It is also the material used by jewellers to polish rings, and a quick rub with the sand made our wedding rings sparkle almost like new.

This corner of paradise has one drawback. The invisible Irukandji  jellyfish has a sting which can kill in minutes, so we weren't allowed in the water without a fetching black head to toe stinger suit. Once we'd struggled into these we had a nice cooling swim in the sea while the crew prepared a BBQ for lunch.

Eating lunch in the shade we were joined by a number of lace monitor lizards, of which the biggest was nearly four feet long from tongue to tail, harmless but just looking for an easy feed.

We got back on the boat and headed up to Hook inlet, where we were given a guided walk to a ridge overlooking the shore with great views of the sand, the sea and some of the other islands. 

Then further north to a tranquil little bay off Hook island, sheltered from the wind, no waves or current, perfect for snorkelling. And for me to enjoy it, it has to be perfect. But unlike my swim off the dive boat, I was completely at ease and enjoyed every minute of it, seeing all kinds of colourful, albeit nameless to me, fish. 

The final thrill of the day was seeing a flash of a marine animal leaping out of the water on our way back to port. I thought it was a dolphin but our experienced guide said it was a dugong so I'm happy to take his word for it.