Sept 20 ... Airlie Beach

We had an early start this morning as we had a pick-up at 8.15 for our trip out to Whitehaven Beach. We had booked on the Whitehaven Xpress, @$150 ea, which left the harbour at 9am. Our tour included three stops: the first was at Hill Inlet Lookout for the scenic views over Whitehaven Bay; the second was at Whitehaven Beach for a swim and lunch; and the third was at Mantaray Bay for snorkeling and coral viewing.

On our way

Our route

We headed off for Whitsunday Island, the biggest island of the Whitsunday Group. This was named by Captain Cook when he sailed through the area in 1770. He passed these islands the Sunday after Easter which, in the Bible, is called Whitsunday. The next lot of settlers were after the hoop pines that grow on the islands. They were followed by Italian cane growers and the population has grown ever since.

Blue blue water

Our boat

Our boat had 45 on board and 3 crew who all did a great job during the day. After about 1.5 hours of weaving around islands, we came to Hill Inlet. We were tendered to shore over coral and the occasional turtle, before we had a short bush walk through shady trees up to Tongue Point. From here we had wonderful views over the bay and down to Whitehaven Beach. The water was a myriad of blues and the sand, mostly silica, pure white. We were told that this bay formed part of the rim of an ancient volcano and that some parts of the caldera were still exceptionally deep.

Tongue Point

Whitehaven Bay

We were at Tongue Point on the low tide which is apparently the best time to see the bay, and it certainly was an excellent way to have our first views of the area.
From here we boated down to the southern end of Whitehaven Beach and on the way we were served freshly brewed coffee with biscuits. With the exception of a few islands that are privately owned, the Whitsunday Group is a National Park with no fishing allowed in the area.

The beach was beautiful with trees right down to the sand and crystal clear water. There were lots of people about but it was definitely not crowded. Fortunately, the water temperature was just over 22 degrees because once it hits 23, tourists have to wear stinger suits to be able to swim, so September is definitely the best time to visit. We had plenty of time at the beach, managing two swims and a good sunbake. The crew also prepared a delicious lunch of barbequed meats with fresh salads, breads and fruit. The only small disappointment was that you had to buy all your drinks, but there was stacks of food and everyone was allowed to eat as much as they wanted. The crew even fended off the overly friendly goannas while we ate.

Beautiful water

Whitehaven Bay

White sand

Around 3pm we were back on the water and off to Mantaray Bay for some snorkeling. On the way we passed an island where there was a family of sea eagles. The crew whistled them up and they flew in to be rewarded with a little food. They were certainly some of the biggest birds of this kind I have seen.

Sea Eagle

After this the crew powered the boat up and we were flying along. There was always something to look at, different islands or other sailing boats, and we got to Mantaray Bay around 4pm. By then the water was pretty cold but Garry braved it and spent most of the allotted hour snorkeling. I was just happy to sit in the glass bottomed boat.

Garry said he saw plenty of fish including Angel and Parrot Fish. We both noticed that there was a lot of broken coral across the seabed,  possibly from previous storms and cyclones. The natural colour of most of the coral in the Bay is iridescent blue but a lot of it now appears white. We were told that this is due to a bacteria which grows on the coral and covers up the colour. It is thought this bacterial growth is caused by the agricultural run-off into the Bay and the rising temperature of the water. Fortunately, there was still plenty to see ... large patches of the blue, some brain coral, some bomies and lots of other coral forms.

Garry snorkeling

Mantaray Bay

With most people on the boat feeling very cold, we headed for home, but the thrills were not over yet. Firstly we saw a large pod of dolphins and then a whale breached right in front of the boat. There were actually two whales and they breached another three times before they dove down not to be seen again. It was a spectacular sight and a real highlight of the day.
On the way home we had a nice cheese platter to nibble and we got back to Airlie around 5.30.
 It had been an excellent day with perfect weather and we felt very fortunate to have seen Whitehaven at its very best.

Airlie Beach

The township of Airlie is really struggling in todays economic climate. It's economy is based 100% on tourism and the town is full of restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, tourist agents and resorts. All of the services and other shops have moved out to Cannonvale, about 5 kms west. I can not imagine there ever being enough tourists to fill this place. Even though it is school holidays, the caravan park is less than a third full, so it is really quiet. Not a good sign for the people who live here.