Whitsunday Islands
This was more like guided vacation than travel. My work department has an annual trip — lots of details aside — 25 coworkers flew from Sydney to Hamilton Island, Queensland to spend four days on four yachts.
I was a little worried that it would be uncomfortable with coworkers (some very senior) and extremely worried that I would be too motion sick. I purchased bagfuls of ginger chews and motion sickness medicine for preparation!
The yachts/catamarans/idk boats were luxurious! Each boat was equipped to take 4–8 ish, but often no one opted to share beds. I slept in the little net area in the front that people called a hammock. This was a time I slept in a hammock in my room in Sydney, so I felt right at home. And there is always something a bit romantic and dreamy about sleeping outside (on purpose)!
My boat was (subjectively, but like, objectively) the best! It wasn’t the largest one so we didn’t have to host many too-late-night gatherings but we had the most food, too. I didn’t think I would be drinking in my nearly disability level nausea so I contributed nothing, but the conditions turned out so calm that I forgot I was even on a boat!
We got off on random islands to relax, hike, snorkel, and go for a swim. I got to try steering the boat and call myself captain! We played card games and did planking competitions. It was grand.
The highlight though was Whitsunday island. We took the little dinghy and started for Whitehaven beach. Many of my coworkers had been there before so they knew what to expect, and they told me that this beach would change my life. Hahah, ok sure. I had travelled enough and seen enough gorgeous beaches, but even without, I am difficult to impress so I doubted it.
Bloody hell, I was impressed. The water. Oh my goodness the water. The sands! Oh good heavens, the sand! Even from afar, you see the shining, perfect, white sands and know it is obviously a beautiful beach, made even better by the lack of a huge crowd.
But once we were close to hop off the dinghy, I was shocked. The beach extended for many meters, since the beach had an ever so slight decline. The sand was clear, white, and so soft. The water glittered. My life was changed.
The water is so clear that you can easily spot stingrays hidden under the sand.
You can climb up to the top of the island where you can see all of this beauty at once from above. This, too, was breathtaking.
The snorkeling on this trip was disappointing, and I still haven’t scuba dived in the great ocean reef, but this is worth visiting. I don’t know how you normally get here without a fancy catamaran that you rent for multiple days.. But honestly not a bad idea.
