Our trip to the Whitsunday Islands was not without problems: it started when our flight got diverted to a different airport due to bad weather (again!). Next, once on the ground, this bad weather made our trip less pleasant than it should have been. And, finally, on our day of departure it was sunny with clear blue skies. Yet, despite our lack of luck, we were still able to see what we came for: Whitsunday Islands.
Mackay
Typically, when visiting the Whitsundays, you’d arrive in Proserpine Airport and take a 40-minute bus ride to Airlie Beach, where most tours depart from. For us, unfortunately, things went a little different. It started when the pilot attempted to land at Proserpine, but had to make a go-around twice due to bad weather. At that point, fuel was running low so there was no time to try again, and we got diverted to nearby Mackay Airport. Strangely, another plane was able to land at Proserpine around the time we were supposed to arrive.
After arriving in Mackay, we learned that the airline would use buses to get us to Proserpine instead of refueling the plane and make another attempt at landing. This meant an even longer delay, plus a ninety-minute bus ride to Proserpine Airport. In the end, we made it to Airlie Beach six hours later than originally planned. Annoying, but not the end of the world since our tour would only depart the next day.
Whitsunday Islands
Just as the day of our arrival, on the day of the tour it was cloudy and rainy. The Whitsunday Islands are located about 15km off the coast of Queensland, and the speedboat took around 45 minutes to get to our first stop. The sea was bumpy, and the rain didn’t add to the comfort. Luckily, when we arrived at the first snorkeling spot at Border Island, it had stopped raining.
The Whitsundays are a protected area, and when snorkeling it became clear why: the reef is very much alive, and plenty of fish have made it their home. Protected by a stinger suit to avoid jellyfish, we were able to explore the reef for about half an hour before moving on to our second stop.
The second stop was at Hill Inlet, famous for its pictures of where the waves swirl the sand. Even though it was still rainy, we managed to get a fantastic view of the inlet from Tongue Point. We stayed here for about ten minutes, just enjoying the view, before heading down to the beach and walking back to boat.
Our last stop was at Whitehaven Beach, a 7-mile white-sand beach on the southeast corner of Whitsundays. We had lunch here, did some swimming, and enjoyed the views some more. It was towards the end of the afternoon, and clouds came rolling in again. Our guides decided it was time to head back to avoid even worse weather, but unfortunately they were a little too late. The entire journey back was miserable, with wind and rain causing us to be cold and wet. We were happy once we finally reached Airlie Beach again, and decided to spend another hour exploring the town itself.
Airlie Beach
The center of Airlie Beach is pretty straightforward; all shopping and restaurants are located on Shute Harbour Drive. We made a few pictures, checked out the Airlie Beach Lagoon, where kids and youth come together for a nice swim. We decided to have dinner at supposedly the best-rated restaurant in town, but were disappointed. We decided to head home early, take it easy, and get some sleep for our early morning departure.
Of course, on our day of departure the blue skies reappeared in Airlie Beach. Temperatures were in the 20s, and no rain in sight. Annoyed, we made our way back to the airport. It might not have been the best weekend to visit the Whitsundays, but that’s the gamble you take when you travel a different place almost every weekend. Still, in the end, Whitsundays is definitely worth the visit, even in rough conditions.
