The Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Australia, is a tropical, white sand UNESCO heritage paradise which draws people from around the globe 365 days a year. It’s a collection of islands off the coast of Airlie Beach town, mostly deserted except for a rich population of wildlife and gloriously untouched jungle, accessible only by air or sea. The wildlife thrives both above sea level and below, and the famous Great Barrier Reef extends down to it making it a fabulous scuba diving and snorkelling destination. The beaches are world class; Whitehaven Beach is repeatedly heralded as one of the Top 3 in the world, and its sand is so pure – 99% silica – that it was used to build the Hubble Space Telescope and it’s a criminal offence to remove it! All in all, the place is a dream and it’s always been one of mine to visit there…..
So recently when I was visiting Sydney in New South Wales (see my post here), having flown half way across the world, I thought another 1,200 miles wouldn’t hurt. You can reach the Islands through a short (circa. 1h 30) internal flight from Sydney up to Proserpine Airport. The view from the air is amazing and it really hammers home what a mere speck the inhabited areas of Australia within the sprawling wilderness of the land. The arrival to Proserpine is a bit of a shock – the airport is a tiny little operation nestled in lots of jungle and it really feels like the back of beyond! Airlie Beach is about 30 minutes drive from there and I headed there straight away to begin my adventure.
What an adventure indeed! My travelling companions and I had somewhat pushed the boat out for this part of the trip and the itinerary was insane. First up – a three day trip into the Whitsunday Islands with Red Cat Adventures, a local boat and tour operator, to stay on a deserted island resort, accessible only by speedboat or helicopter (!), and explore the area by boat and seaplane! The trip is called their ‘Ride to Paradise’ package, and lasts for 2 nights, 3 days, packed full of activities and exploration! It starts at about £330pp for the full trip, depending on the accomodation package.
The company is based in Airlie Beach which is the main coastal town for exploring the area. It’s a quaint little town with a few main streets, nestled right against the ocean affording some houses some amazing views. The main high street is lined with restaurants, bars and travel businesses, and can be quite lively in high season. We had some great meals there at Little Vegas and Coral Sea Resort (pictured below), which I’d recommend you hitting up if you’re spending time in there area.
After checking in at Red Cat Adventure HQ in Airlie Beach, we headed down to the marina to await our chariot. This arrived in a high powered rev of massive, multi million dollar, red speedboat captained by a young crew who would be our guides for the full three days. The boat was probably the most powerful speedboat I’ve ever been on and whizzed us out to sea with a high speed whip of salty ocean spray. Seeing the islands from the water was amazing and I was dying to reach ours and go exploring.
Approaching the Paradise Resort I wasn’t disappointed. The word resort is totally deceiving; it’s a collection of about 4 tropical huts on the land behind a remote, private beach and surrounded by palm trees and dense jungle. All very wild and exciting! We hopped off the boat and waded through the shallows with our bags, up to the main house. I was immediately surprised with how luxurious the place was – it was decorated to a high standard, with lots of art, and a beautiful swimming pool. There are canoes and paddle boards on offer for any guests to go exploring the bay too which was one of my favourite things to do in the early evenings after the days’ outings.
Accommodation wise there are several options – there are a number of shared rooms for circa. 6 people, or the swanky option which, of course, we went for. The Dream Villa (£429pp) is a private house set off away from the other buildings in total privacy. It’s beyond fabulous – there’s a massive double bed raised on a plinth in the room, free standing bath and rain shower surrounded with glass walls so that you can look out into the jungle as you lather up. All the fixings and products are great quality and I was immediately in love.
The first day we arrived in the early evening and so after unpacking headed straight to dinner, which is served as 2 courses, family style in the main house. The food was always pretty good – fresh fish with vegetables, thai green curry and pavlova. Alcohol is not provided but guests are welcome to bring their own. After a good feed we headed back to the luxury lodge to relax in splendour and have an embarrassingly early night (about 8.30pm!).
The next day we headed off bright and early to explore the Whitsunday Islands! The speedboat picked us up and whipped us out to sea, destination Whitehaven Beach! The ride itself was amazing and we saw lots of wildlife on the way. On arrival we hiked up through more jungle before arriving at the spectacular beach.
Now, excuse me in advance as I gush. Everything that people say about this place is true -it has got to be the best beach in the world! The sand is so white and fluffy that it’s comparable only to flour and the water is aquamarine blue. If you look at it from the air you can see this rainbow spectrum of different blues and greens played out in its shallows and it is very special indeed. We were there mid morning when the tide is going out which left lots of little shallow pools where baby sharks and sting rays love to inhabit – all are totally harmless (unless you want to be a moron and jump on them in which case you may find that stingrays can live up to their name!) and amazing to observe from close by.
After exploring the beach, a pleasant lunch of salads and sandwiches was served on the boat, and then we hit up several incredibly snorkelling spots around the islands where we went swimming amongst the coral and shoals of fish. All in all, an amazing day!
The next day, our last, we explored more of the Whitsunday’s wonders, including this amazing sand bar between two islands, where there were turtles and stingrays to see galore!
Our final Red Cat Adventures activity was the one that I was most excited for – a seaplane trip over the islands! This was operated by Air Whitsunday, out of another tiny little airport on the outskirts of Airlie Beach. This was incredible – once we got up into the air we got the most insane views of the whole region, including some stunning Great Barrier Reef coral formations, and Whitehaven Beach from a bird’s eye view! Our pilot did a water landing half way through to show us what it was like, which was a bit of a thrill but not at all scary.
So ended an incredible few days with Red Cat Adventures exploring the Whitsundays. I fell totally in love with the area and am already planning my trip back. When visiting I totally recommend following the same itinerary as I did because it was really very special, and at £429pp was not expensive. If you’re tight for time, Red Cat Adventures also offer a few different day trips, or overnight yachting trips. For the daredevil’s amongst you (of which I now count myself one), I’d also recommend doing a sky dive in the area. Of all the places in the world where you can do one, the Whitsundays has got to be the most beautiful and if there’s anything that can take the scream out of your lungs on a blind fall, it’ll be the views of the islands. Check out my next blog to see how I got on with this!
https://redcatadventures.com.au
