Australia - Whitsundays

725 miles north of Brisbane (more or less the distance from Lands End to John O'Groats!) we finally made it up to the Whitsunday's and Airlie Beach. We decided the best way to explore this area was to spend it on a sailing boat (one of our favorite ways to travel since we did it in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand). So we booked 2 nights, and 3 days on ex-racer yacht Silent Night.

Our home for the next few days

There were only 10 of us on board plus the skipper and help, and Chris and I had two bunks in the main area of the cabin. We set off with the sun shining over the bay towards the islands where we would be exploring over the coming days.

It was an 'easy sail' as there was no need to tack to our first stop for a snorkel at Blue Pearl Bay, and on an ex-racer we flew across the water arriving there in no time at all, spotting a little whale and turtle on route.

Getting in the festive spirit

The coral was spectacular, with bright blues, oranges and reds standing out in the clear blue sea. It was Jules' first time snorkeling and she couldn't hide her delight as the beautiful vivid coloured fish swam over and around her in shoals and coming up to get a closer look.

We then motored around to Stonehaven Bay where we dropped anchor and enjoyed sunset with nachos and a dinner of roast chicken (it's amazing what you can cook on a boat!)

Sitting back for sunset

After a good but warm nights sleep, we awoke to breakfast on board as we motored to our next snorkel stop at Luncheon Bay. This was definitely one of the best spots as there were so many brightly coloured fish darting around the water, getting so close you could have touched them if they'd stayed still long enough!

Sexy stinger suits!

We then hoisted the sails and basked in the sunshine on deck as we headed to Tongue Bay, just over the headland of the infamous Whitehaven Beach. We anchored for lunch and saw so many turtles coming up for air in the bay before being dropped onto the Island to walk over to Whitehaven.

The Whitehaven lookout is where you get the views and the stunning shades of turquoise swirling in the seas.

Swirling shades of turquoise waters

We had a 3 hours stop so were able to venture down to the beach, walk on the silica sand, which is just so soft it melts between your toes and in our stinger suits have a swim in the beautifully calm waters. 

We walked over an outcrop of rocks to find a small bay which enjoyed the same sand and waters but was a lot more private and felt like a beach. 

Our secret spot

The famous spot for photos is actually an inlet and whilst beautiful to look at, it actually felt too vast and exposed for a beach on which to relax and sunbathe, so we were glad to find our little beach round the corner with some shade to enjoy the fact we had finally reached what we had driven all those miles to see. 

Whitehaven beach

Once back on Silent Night we sailed over to the Nara Inlet where we anchored for the night, sleeping soundly after a dinner of lasagne and a few beers! 

Our final morning was spent sailing back to Airlie Beach with one final snorkel stop at on route, which sadly was very windy and the waves were big making snorkeling more of a challenge! However it did make for a fun and fast sail back, with the boat high up on its keel.

If you ever visit the Whitsundays we would highly recommend exploring the area on a sailing boat, it is a fabulous way to travel!