Whitehaven Beach and Hamilton Island

[Sun 11/27 - Tue 11/29]

Dinner on the deck - 'take away' Indian food - was delicious. We finished getting organized and headed to bed for our early departure Monday morning. Up before 6, checked out of the hotel, and our taxi picked us up at 6:35am for the 5min drive to the marina and our half-day beach excursion to Whitehaven Beach with Cruise Whitsundays. We checked our bags through to Hamilton Island where we'll be staying the next couple nights, then boarded a large catamaran headed to the 'Most Beautiful Beach in Australia' (by some sources). It was densely overcast with rain likely and a chance of thunderstorms, so we adjusted our expectations accordingly. The cruise through the Whitsundays was beautiful, even with the cloud cover. It reminded us a little of the lush green San Juan Islands back home - only with turquoise water... and more humidity.

Not used to being up at 6am!

Cruise through the Whitsundays

Landing craft to shuttle people to the beach

Whitehaven Beach is known, among other things, for it's silica sand, which is crystal white, fine, soft and doesn't retain heat so you don't burn your feet on a sunny day. We had 2 hours to enjoy the nearly 4.5mile long beach. Our tour company had stand-up paddle boards available, so Karri and Victoria gave it a go in somewhat choppy water (and saw a blue-spotted stingray!), then the 3 of us went for a nice walk along the water. There are no crocodiles here, but this is Australia so there has to be some lethal creature lurking. Along the upper-eastern coast, from October to May, it's box jellyfish ("considered the most venomous marine animal" and you may "experience paralysis, cardiac arrest, and even death, all within a few minutes of being stung"), which are nearly invisible and like the warm water near the shore. The tour company gave us full-body 'stinger suits' to wear if we decided to go for a swim, but we opted to just briefly go in waist-deep. The clouds thinned a bit (it never rained!) and we had a few sun-breaks before the boat came to retrieve us and continue on our journey. 

A peek of blue sky

Back on the boat

It was a quick 20-minute ride to Hamilton Island where we hopped off, grabbed our bags and caught a free island shuttle for the short ride to the Reef View Hotel. Checked in, dropped our bags and immediately headed to the pool to cool off and relax for the afternoon. Around 4, Karri and I went for a walk to scout activities for the next day and pickup a few items at the store. Got back to the room, cleaned up and walked 10min to dinner at Manta Ray, a nice spot on the water.

View from our patio

Hamilton Island is a gorgeous spot and a popular tourist attraction. Walking home from dinner we agreed that if feels a little like a Disney property - very clean and orderly, nearly everyone drives around in rented golf carts (or 'buggies' - hundreds of them), most/all of the resorts and restaurants are run by the same company (you can charge most anything, anywhere to your room), and there is one, ubiquitous wifi signal at the hotels and the harbor/resort area - even at the beach. There also appears to be a ton of money here, as indicated by several very large homes built into the hillsides and the monstrous yachts that fill the harbor. 

Tuesday morning Karri walked to a bakery to grab us breakfast, then we packed up and headed out for a hike, hoping to experience the island beyond the resort. Karri had found some nearby trails and the concierge confirmed this would be a great hike. We walked 5 minutes from our hotel to a trailhead at the east end of Catseye Beach. There were 10-12 golf carts parked at the trailhead, but with several trail options we were optimistic it wouldn't be crowded. First we headed to Passage Peak - the tallest point on the island at 700ft. The well-maintained trail immediately started climbing and continued a slow-but-steady uphill for the first mile-plus. We passed a few groups coming down and soaked in some great views of the islands. It was 80+ degrees, at least 80% humidity, and the late-morning sun was hot. The last quarter mile or so was the steepest and I was dripping with sweat when we got to the top, but the view made it worth it.

Passage Peak (right of center) from our balcony

Passage Peak lookout

Hot but happy to be there

View looking east

Western view - our hotel is the tallest of the 3 white high-rises

From there we decided to continue a loop around the eastern portion of the island - the concierge had mentioned a couple of great lookouts, a secluded beach, and terrain unlike anywhere else on the island... just what we were looking for. The trail headed south, along the eastern edge of the island, to South East Head. We had the trail entirely to ourselves.

A mix of terrain

South East Head - a great spot for a chair

Not a bad view from the chair

We continued along the southern edge to Escape Beach. We passed a single hiker going the opposite direction, then arrived at a beautiful, secluded - and empty - beach. The concierge had assured us that box jellyfish season doesn't really start until late-December and that we'd be fine to go for a swim. We were so hot, it was never really a question that we'd take a quick dip.

Descent to Escape Beach

Could not wait to cool off in the water

Shaded but not very comfortable hammock

I got out of the water to grab my phone and take some pictures of Karri and Victoria swimming, but once I yelled 'shark' they wouldn't hold still for me to take a photo! I wasn't kidding about the shark either. From the shore we saw 1, then 2 or 3 more, small, blacktip reef sharks swimming within a few feet of the shore.

Blacktip Reef Shark - maybe 2-foot long

Looking for more sharks

Some dark clouds started rolling in so we decided to hit the trail and finish our loop - an up, then down stretch through dried out forest. Final tally just over 6 miles with lots of elevation change - a real challenge with the heat and humidity, but we all thoroughly enjoyed it. We were again hot, tired and exhausted when we got back to the hotel. Stopped in the room to clean up, headed down to the pool for a refreshing swim, then ordered over-priced-but-refreshing tropical drinks and lunch poolside. We all relaxed the rest of the afternoon - Karri napped briefly, Victoria finished her book and I worked on this post. 8pm dinner at Coca Chu - a resort-affiliated Thai restaurant - very good food.

Tomorrow is a travel day - shuttle to the harbor, boat back to Airlie Beach, shuttle to the airport, flight to Brisbane.