The Whitsundays are made up of 74 Island Wonders, in Queensland, Australia.
The World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Home to tens of thousands of species of brilliantly coloured fish, coral and other marine life the Great Barrier Reef is a spectacular underwater playground, and the Whitsundays lies in the very heart of the reef.
We took a 1 and half hour flight from Sydney to Proserpine. Shute harbour was were we were staying which was around an hour from the airport. The bus from the airport first stopped at Airlie beach were everyone got off. We thought we made a mistake in not staying at Airlie and choosing a more secluded place. But when we reached there it was amazing. Nice and quite with great views of the place from our room.
On reaching there we booked a trip to see the Great Barrier reef for the next morning.
The visit to the Great Barrier Reef was the most challenging as well the most memorable part of the trip. We started off from the Airlie Beach and it took us around 3 hours to reach the reef on a super fast ship. Once we reached, the view was spectacular, just in the middle of nowhere stood the largest reef in the world.
Snorkelling there was an amazing experience. Both are not very experienced swimmers still we braved to get into water. On the way back horrified to hear other travellers talking about the small reef shark that they saw.
The boat ride was eventful, a couple had to be airlifted back as they got sick till the time we reached there. Inspite of a very bumpy ride because of the bad weather we really had fun in the cruise. Good food, drinks and great views of the various secluded islands that we crossed.
The next day of our trip included exploring in an around Shute harbor and Airlie beach. Airlie beach provides good connectivity to all the exquisite islands around you intend to visit, hence preferred by many visitors for staying.
The trip ended with a trip to Hamilton Island on our last day of our visit. This small island will blow you off with its grandeur and picturesque location.
As soon as we landed on the island, the first thing we did was to get a golf cart to explore the island. The island had many beautiful lookouts and a beach, where we spent a good amount of time relaxing and rejuventing. Plenty of cafes overlooking the sea with good food options.
The island was small enough that by the end of the day we almost covered it twice on the buggie.
After spending one complete eventfull day at Hamilton island, it was time to head back.
Another 1 hour of boat ride and we were back to home for three days at Shute Harbour.
