Cruising the Whitsundays in your own time, skippering your own (or rented) yacht, and going wherever and whenever you like, is one of those experiences that is not to be missed.
After attending a boat show up on the Gold Coast a couple of years back, I happened to pick up a brochure on cruising the Whitsundays, and just put it in my "show bag" and didn't think anything off it..... until I emptied it out the bag 6 months later and the brochure fell out.
A quick chat with Stephanie and the decision was made.
We put the word out, and we soon had two other couples that wanted to join us on this adventure.
We picked up the motor yacht at Airlie Beach. All three couples were experienced boaters so handling the boat and living on it for a week was quite easy. We had our meal plans organised and then went shopping at the local supermarket and liquor shop and purchased enough supplies for the week. We limited our fresh produce to 3 /4 days worth as we planned to stop at Hamilton Island for a day of sightseeing and to restock the boat with what we have run out of as well as milk, bread, fruit and Veg.
We did our homework well beforehand and utilised a book called "100 Magic Miles" which is the Whitsunday Islands bible with everything you need to know about the area - where to go, what to see, anchorage spots and pretty much everything you can think of.
I had a rough schedule of where we would go and on what days, but it was made quite flexible so that we had an option no matter what the weather did.
Our yacht was a Perry 445 Flybridge Power Catamaran. A comforable 4 cabin boat (sleeps 8) with 3 bathrooms and plenty of space. It also had a tender well as 3 kayaks onboard.
Leaving Airlie Beach, we headed out to Hook Island and passed Hayman Island on the way.
The sky was clear, the water a gorgeous blue and the seas were calm as could be. We could see the islands in the distance and we were excited.
We picked our anchoring spot and where we planned to stay the night. Our view was perfect and we settled in for the evening.
We were surprised by the friendly sealife
that came to vist us. We had schools of batfish and even turtles that swam up to us for a close look at who was visiting their territory!
The scenery is indescribable and the beauty amazing. As such, I will post minimal words and just show you with some photos.....
The batfish you see here just hung around the back of our boat hoping for a feed now and again.
However, the turtles were also more than happy to visit and seemed really curious to check us out.
There was plenty of snorkling to be had and if you are a person that likes bushwalking, there are plenty of trails on the islands to explore.
The cover photo of this blog entry, was taken at Hill Inlet Lookout.
Boasting some of the whitest sand in the world, Whitehaven is a must-visit at the Whitsundays. The best vantage point to see Whitehaven is on the other side of it at Hill Inlet. Park your tender at the beach and walk up the track to the vantage point. It is steep and will take 10-15 mins to get up there, but it's worth the effort.
There are just so many beautiful places to drop anchor and enjoy the surrounds and one week is just not enough.
The boat's tender is a great way to get to places to explore on foot or go to shore for a picnic and swim. There are so many wonderful spots to enjoy on the multitude of islands in the Whitsundays.
The boat we had was fitted out with full cooking facilities in the galley as well as a BBQ at the back in the cockpit area.
Platters are a great way to serve food, that way everyone can pick here and there while enjoying their favourite drink.
We found some great spots such as Nara Inlet, Macona Inlet, Butterfly Bay, Stonehaven Bay, Chance Bay, Langford Island as well as some other awesome spots on the southern side of Whitsunday Island with Hamilton Island on the other side of the passage.
Hamilton Island is certainly worth stopping at. You can restock the boat and there is a good supermarket there now (IGA) with plenty to offer. You can hire a golf cart and tour around the island - worthwhile as there are lots of vantage points that give great vies of the surrounding Islands. Have a swim at the beach, a meal at one of the restaurants, a swim in the pool, a drink at the bar or just grab some fish and chips or a burger and go back to your boat and chill out with other boaties. Hamilton Island Marina is a great spot to hang out and has all you need, including the IGA store.
The Hamilton Island pool is quite inviting. Our evening was spent on the boat however, just chilling out with friends. Our Perry 445 lights up quite nicely of an evening!
The friendly wildlife at the marina is always interested in a feed if offered. The Beach at Hamilton Island is a pretty place and popular with those staying on the island.
One of the views from Hamilton Island appears below.
Cruising around the Whitsundays is easy, and if the weather is kind to you, then the scenery will look even more spectacular! We had other people from other boats join us on ours for a drink and a chat. We even got up a bit of a sing-along!
The above photo was taken on our last evening. Absolute dead calm. It's one of those photos that made us all go WOW!
My advice to go and explore the area, find a place you love and soak it all up.
The Whitsundays will give you one of the most memorable adventures if you choose to do it on your own terms, at your own pace and if possible, experience it with good friends or family. We enjoyed it so much, that we did it twice.
If you do it, consider flying into Hamilton Island and then take the ferry (located right next to the airport) to Airlie Beach. It's the easiest way to do it and one single flight from most capital cities as opposed to flying to Brisbane then a second flight to Proserpine followed by transfers to Airlie Beach.
No matter how you do it, just do it!
Andrew & Stephanie
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