Heaven on Earth

Today was the day we discovered paradise, real true paradise.

The Whitsundays seem to be a rite of passage for all backpackers in Australia. There are so many different tours offering different experiences for different lengths of time that you will not be stuck for choice. Whilst we were tempted by a two day/two night cruise, we decided we’d rather put our money towards a longer Fraser Island package and so chose a Whitsunday day trip. Our vessel of choice was the Camira and we were picked up bright and early from our hostel, taking us to the harbour, where the glorious purple catamaran awaited us. Whilst everyone was getting settled we raided the biscuit tray, stuffing ourselves on Nice biscuits.

We put to sail and took a leisurely two hours sailing through the Whitsunday islands. During this time the real breakfast was served, making us regret the biscuits. At eleven we anchored just off Whitehaven beach and were ferried ashore on a small inflatable. No words can describe the pure beauty of this incredible beach and even the pictures just don’t do justice. We felt like children; swimming (although trying to avoid the Mantra ray) and running around exploring the untouched pure white sands. The beach stretched on for kilometres and was deserted aside from the passengers of the Camira. We were so excited that both of us forgot to sunbathe, read our books or even apply suncream, which Alex’s back later complained severely about. The time passed way too quickly for our liking and we were practically dragged on the last shuttle to the Camira.

We only cheered on seeing the enormous BBQ spread for lunch. There was so much on offer that both of us crashed out after only our second helping. We had about an hour to digest this before we arrived next at Hook’s passage for some snorkelling. A humpback whale came very close by to us but swam away as we submerged ourselves. Sadly the underwater landscape was not as spectacular as the Great Barrier Reef but enjoyable nonetheless. After this we were then provided with even more food for afternoon tea. The cake was incredible and we had about twelve slices between us. Well and truly stuffed we lay back and enjoyed the return journey to the harbour.

Rex’s Rules of the Road

• Don’t be pressurised into overnight Whitsunday cruises unless you want to- day cruises can be pretty good.

• Stock up on inclusive food. We didn’t have to eat again for the rest of the day.

• Take a jumper, although it’s sunny the wind out at sea is chilling.

• Don’t be so stunned by Whitehaven that you neglect suncream otherwise that hole in the ozone layer will kick your ass.

• Check out Rach's reviews of Cruise Whitsundays and Whitehaven Beach.