After the epic party that was Kristy & Peri’s wedding, Des and I headed off for a couple days of recovery on the Whitsunday Islands. These are just into the tropics along Australia’s east coast, and are absolutely beautiful. We went for a nice long bushwalk to the peak of the island (it doesn’t look that high, but in 40º heat, it’s a tough slog!), took a cruise to Whitehaven (quite well named – the beach is an ultra-fine white silica sand that makes a squeaking noise when you walk), and relaxed in paradise for a bit. Did a bit of snorkeling too…at the time, I thought it was pretty cool (we hadn’t been to the main body of the Great Barrier Reef yet).
Though worth it, it’s a bit of a pain to get here – the flight and ferry schedules are both infrequent and expensive. Airlie Beach is an alternative way to get there (we flew into Hamilton Island). Photos are here, and videos are here