Wow. The Whitsunday Islands are beyond amazing. Located off the coast of Airlie Beach, a sleepy coastal town that’s growing up pretty quickly, the islands are comprised of 74 protected small to quite large outcroppings, all of which were connected to the mainland during the last ice age. Captain James Cook named them when, in June of 1770, he first spied them on Whit Sunday, a religious holiday in the UK following Easter. Captain Cook went everywhere, literally, in the world. A brave man and crew, no doubt incentivized by the riches and surprises awaiting them in places near and far. Our departure point for the Whitsundays at Airlie Beach’s port:

Whitsunday Island, the archipelago’s namesake, was my destination yesterday. The entire island is a national park, forever wild and protected. Whitehaven Beach, seven incredible kilometers in length along on its east coast, is reported to have the purest white sand in the world, rumored at 99.8% silica. Its texture is so powdery fine that it remains completely cool underfoot, even on blazingly hot days, because its stark white color reflects so much light and heat and because there are virtually no spaces between its fine grains to trap hot air and burn your feet. Net result – a delight to walk on all day.

We snorkeled all morning along a completely deserted beach among the Great Barrier Reef’s coral and fish. Fortunately, the Reef is doing well here compared to some other areas affected by warming sea temperatures. The colors were startling. Swimming among the teeming marine life and vivid colors made for a great experience.

A surprise – me in front of the lens, at my sister Lisa’s urging. Total chill zone, with our boat anchored just off the beach before a great hike and lunch. The boats we rode in for 60 nautical miles during the day’s excursion ripped along at 50 mph, accelerating super fast and maneuvering crazy well. They’re 38′ rigid pontoons with twin 250 outboards at $500K a copy. Whoa – nice toys.

Life is often incredibly serendipitous. The photo I chose as the banner image on my blog’s home page, having no idea exactly where it was in Australia, was where we ended up yesterday – Hill Inlet on Whitsunday Island. Here’s one of my images of it, with a 35′ or so sailboat riding the tide in for scale. Amazing coincidence, considering that I wasn’t even looking for it. Our guides said that it’s the third most photographed site in Australia. Time to find the other two now…

One of our guides insisted on taking my photograph overlooking Hill Inlet. Being there and on Whitsunday Island was truly sublime. I really didn’t want to leave late in the day, but duty (cold beers and live music overlooking the port in Aerlie Beach) called.

Back in port after a rollicking return voyage around and through the Whitsundays. The kids running the tour and our three boats – and they were in their early 20’s – were really adept at going super fast, pulling wicked turns very close to each other at warp speed and in general having a complete blast. A perfect ending to a great day.

A couple of early and very preliminary observations on Australia so far – this place is frickin’ big. Really big. I’ve traveled 800 km during the past four days, through impossibly green mountains, blue seas and white beaches, and barely scratched its surface. Spectacular landscapes just keep coming right at you, in rapid succession, with a wonderful tendency to overwhelm your senses. Fine with me – bring it all on. Also, the people here are just fantastic. Everyone I’ve met, and I’ve met loads of folks, couldn’t be friendlier or more accommodating. People really enjoy every minute of each day here. Overall, a great start to the trip. Off for some great hiking and beaches near Mackay, today’s destination.