Gypsy Cruising

12 July

Shaw Island to Whitehaven Beach (Whitsunday Island)

There is probably no place on the entire Queensland coast as iconic as Whitehaven Beach.  It appears on holiday brochures, billboards and TV advertisements as one of the biggest drawcards of the entire state.  To be fair, this attention is deserved.  Its magic comes from a combination of its perfect white sand, its considerable length and gently curving shape, the spectacle of other islands dotted about in the distance and the tall peaks of Whitsunday Island towering over it all.  And the brilliant sparkling turquoise water everywhere.  This is where we’re headed today.

It would have been fun to have landed at Lindeman Island on the way, to check out another of Queensland’s abandoned island holiday resorts.  However we don’t really want to spend the time and Lindeman doesn’t present us with that great an anchorage anyway, so we simply motor past it and take some photos.

The Lindeman Island resort - closed but looking in rather good condition from this distance

Approaching the southern end of Whitsunday Island - Pentecost Island coming up on our port side

Pentecost Island - majestic

Our first stop is Chalkies Beach for a bit of snorkelling.  This proves to be disappointing in relation to the coral but still provided a good swim.  We headed over to our overnight anchorage at Whitehaven Beach where the rest of the cruising fleet were anchored after they’d spent last night at Thomas Island.  Unfortunately, the Riviera convention has also moved up to Whitehaven and, combined with day trippers ferried in from Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island, it’s busy both ashore and on the water.  Well, it’s a long beach and we can simply move away from the crowds.

Whitehaven Beach seen from our luncheon anchorage at Chalkies