Day 61 – Whitsunday Islands

The Whitsunday Islands lie off the coast of Queensland and comprise of 74 islands. They were named by Captain Cook who sailed his ship HMB Endeavour around the islands on Whitsun (3June) 1770. The traditional owners of the area are the Ngaro and Gia peoples. Hamilton Island is the largest inhabited island and a well developed, but tasteful tourist haven, whilst Whitsunday Island, which we visited today, is the largest of the islands but has no resident population. Home to the world famous Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island is reached by sea only, with most visitors arriving by local ferry as day trippers, although there are a couple of basic campsites. The ferry ride from Airlie Beach, where Queen Anne dropped anchor, took around one hour and 20 minutes to Whitehaven Beach where we dropped anchor and were transferred to the shore by way of small landing craft. Once ashore, we were firmly advised that we should not enter the water under any circumstances until we had clad ourselves in ‘stinger suits’, a sort of lycra wetsuit that covers you from your neck to your feet. These are required because it is stinger season and ‘stinger’ is the colloquial term for the Irukandji jellyfish, a very tiny translucent box jellyfish that is one of the most venomous in the world. They are virtually impossible to see but if you get stung by one you can expect 20 to 30 minutes of mild skin irritation and not much else before all hell is unleashed with the onset of excruciating cramps all over your body, severe pain in your back and your kidneys, extreme burning sensations of the skin and face, a blinding headache, agitation, profuse sweating and sickness, then heart failure and respiratory collapse, before finally death usually provides a happy release in untreated cases! Luckily the immediate treatment involves the liberal application of the humble malt vinegar, swiftly followed by urgent transfer to the nearest hospital where the victim can expect to take many weeks to recuperate. Blimey!

In spite of these dire warnings, virtually everyone on the beach was soon bobbing about in the crystal clear water, largely protected by the slightly cumbersome but apparently very effective stinger suits. After a thoroughly enjoyable lunch back on the boat we set off for a leisurely cruise around the north of Whitsunday Island and back to our ship where we arrived at about 4 o’clock.

Today has definitely been one of our favourite days of the whole trip. The Whitsunday islands are truly stunning and, unlike many other so-called paradise islands, they are genuinely pristine, uncrowded, unpolluted and unspoilt. An absolute joy.