11/8/2019: Whitehaven Beach, Whitsundays, Queensland, Australia

We're in the Whitsundays, a group of islands about 20 miles off the Queensland coast and they're simply stunning! Peaks of the mainland mountain range that became islands when sea levels rose, they are rugged, heavily vegetated and with divine white sand beaches. Throw in wall to wall blue skies and temperatures in the mid-twenties and spectacular sunsets, then life's good!

The largest island is called Whitsunday Island, home to Whitehaven Beach, one of Australia's best beaches and we have to see it's probably one of the nicest beaches we have ever seen in all our travels. At least a couple of miles long of the finest white sand (apparently it's 98% silica) it actually squeaks when you walk on it. A trail runs from the southern end over to Chance Bay and we risked the venomous spiders and posionous snakes of the Australian bush to walk over this morning … with no sightings of either thank goodness!  We did however see a Monitor Lizard looking rather like a spikeless iguana, various butterflies, a snake and lots of birds.

The waters surrounding the islands are reef-laden and a lovely turquoise, requiring careful navigation. Being inside the outer reef, they are reasonably calm and a haven for breeding humpback whales. On our journey up the day before yesterday they were very much in evidence, regularly breaching, slapping the water with their flippers to attract attention before diving deep with the tail flukes being the last sight. It's such a privilege to be able to see these magnificent mammals frolicing unthreatened by man.