As we sat in the cockpit enjoying breakfast off of Whitehaven Beach we were surprised to look up and see a seaplane landing within a few meters of our boat! The day trippers to Whitehaven arrived early, and so not long after we decided it was time to pull up our anchor and head off around Whitsunday Island.
Upon leaving Whitehaven Beach we immediately made our way through the narrow Solway passage between Whitsunday and Haslewood islands. Once through the narrow opening we hoisted the sails and prepared to make our way around towards Hamilton Island.
As we rounded Whitsunday Island, we passed by Chance Bay where we had been snorkeling the day before. The quiet bay was a contrast to the bustle of Hamilton Island that lay ahead. The majority of the islands in the Whitsunday chain are part of the National Park, but there are a couple that are privately owned and have been developed for tourism, such as Hamilton Island. We made our way towards the Fitzalan Passage that runs between Hamilton and Whitsunday Island, knowing that we were approaching one of the busier areas we were surprised to see a group of whales whilst scanning the horizon for boats.
We think we counted around four large whales playing together in a group. As we sailed past, we had a great view of them as they splashed around in the water.
We left the whales playing, and prepared to deal with a behemoth of a different nature that we could already see looming on the horizon. In addition to the small boats coming and going from Hamilton Island, just ahead, moored in the main channel was a large cruise ship!
The photo above, taken as we sailed by, doesn’t do justice to the size of the boat moored among the islands. A constant stream of launches shuttled passengers from the main ship to the shore. Passing the cruise ship we also spotted a couple of planes coming into land on Hamilton Island, providing quite a contrast to the quiet bays we had been visiting.
We made our way through Fitzalan Passage and gradually the number of other vessels, and people started to thin and we could once again enjoy the views of the islands and start to hear the wind in the sails again.
We continued to weave our way between the islands in this area, heading for an area called Cid Harbour; one of the few areas considered to be an all-weather safe anchorage as it is so well protected.
As we sailed through Hunt Channel past the various inlets and coves it was easy to see why this would be a good place to ride out a storm. We found a quiet spot to anchor in Sawmill Bay and settled into the cockpit for a late lunch.
After lunch we packed our rucksack and headed ashore to climb Whitsunday Peak. At 437 metres (about 1,500 feet), Whitsunday Peak is one of the highest points in the area. The steady climb through the forest meant that we had no sense of where we were, but eventually we came out of the trees and were rewarded with almost 360 degree views.
From the peak we were able to trace our journey, looking out towards Whitsunday Beach (the white in the photo above), and then on around past Hamilton Island towards the inlets of Hunt Channel below.
We could also look down on Sawmill Beach far below us, where we had started our hike. When the light was just right we could just about make out the shape of our boat anchored off the coast.
The journey back to the boat was much quicker as we descended through the forest and took the dinghy back to the boat. We returned in time to enjoy a well earned dinner as the sun set over the ocean.