The Whitsundays were supposed to be a trip filled with snorkeling, diving, island hopping, and relaxation. Thanks to Cyclone Marcia, they did not go quite as planned.
We had a long day of driving ahead of us to make it to Airlie Beach which would be our jumping point to the islands. After our visit to the turtle rookery we stayed the night nearby, then set out towards Airlie the next morning on a nine hour drive. It was definitely the most boring part of the road trip and we powered through it with as few stops as possible. We passed by thousands of acres of cattle farms, sugarcane fields, and numerous (non significant) National Parks and State Forests. The highlight of the drive were the hundreds of Aussie driving signs peppering the side of the highway encouraging you to stay awake, “Don’t Drive Drowsy or Die,” or admitting how boring the drive is with ones like, “Dad, are we there yet?’ and “No kids, we’re not almost there.”
We managed to dodge hitting any kangaroos, which was a big concern on this stretch of road (similar to hitting a deer on the roads of Michigan) and arrived to Airlie Beach just after dark and checked into our ‘holiday park’ cabin. In Australia and NZ there are a lot of holiday parks, which are similar to campgrounds in the U.S. but with dorm beds available and basic cabins for 2-6 people. We found one for a good price outside the main beach area and were happy because it had a small kitchen where we could cook dinner. We would be heading out the next day on a Tall Ship cruise boat into the Coral Sea, sailing around the famous Whitsunday Islands for four days, three nights.
The Whitsunday Islands are one of Australia’s top attractions; known for their beautiful blue and indigo waters, white sand beaches, mountainous landscapes and secluded bays. There are over 74 islands in this archipelago area, which are sheltered by the Great Barrier Reef so the waters tend to be calmer and perfect for sailing. You can do day trips to this area but the best way to really see it is to head out on one of the multiple day sailing tours that leave from Airlie beach. We were incredibly excited, but a little concerned about the weather.
We heard that there was a cyclone north of us near the Great Barrier Reef, and hoped it wouldn’t make it too close to us. The weather in Airlie Beach was a struggle from the start, with heavy rains the night we arrived, and into the entire next day. We had time to kill before boarding the boat, but we weren’t able to enjoy the beach at all because of the rain, so we found the nearest coffee shop. Luckily when it was time to board the boat the rain let up for a bit.
Our boat was called the Solway Lass and looked like a giant pirate ship. She was a beautiful old sailboat, with seven massive sails and a historic past. The boat was made in 1902 as a cargo shipping boat, but ended up fighting in both world wars and was taken over by the Germans several times. Post WWII Solway Lass served as a cargo vessel, then in 1983 she was purchased and rebuilt to become one of Sydney harbor’s Tall Ship re-enactment vessels. Solway Lass ended up being purchased and redone in 1998 by Southern Cross Sailing Adventures, to become the only authentic Tall Ship to sail the Whitsundays.
There were thirty of us aboard the vessel. We boarded the ship in the evening, and set sail right away. Our first stop was to head to a small inlet area off one of the islands about three hours from Airlie beach. Then we’d anchor there for the evening and be closer to the activities we were doing the next day. Once aboard, we met the crew and went through various different safety and boat briefings. We were shown to our cabin on the bottom floor, and then got to know everyone. For a big ship the quarters were definitely tight, but luckily we had AC and had managed to get a private room (even if it was only a foot bigger then our double bed). There were showers, but we could only use three minutes of water per day.
Once we set sail, we all hung out together in the main area of the boat and found the saloon, score! It was a lot of fun getting to know everyone. Most of the people on the boat were about our age (plus or minus) and almost everyone was friendly. We learned that the English, Germans, and other European countries like Austria dominated our boat. We were the only Americans, which wasn’t incredibly surprising. It took us about three hours before we anchored, and the seas were rough for our first night (the rain had started again too). We were all pretty surprised at the intensity of the winds and waves. We were tossing about as we got to know each other (drinks in hand) on the main deck of the boat. A few people got seasick. We realized that it would likely be a bumpy and wet few days. Thank gosh I brought some Dramamine (sea sick meds) with me- I needed it every day to survive on the boat!
The next morning we woke up bright and early and had some breakfast, then set sail toward the beautiful Whitehaven Beach. Whitehaven Beach is well known for its seven-kilometer stretch of pure white sand. The sand is made of 98% pure silica, and is said to be some of the whitest sand in the world. The beach is also rated as one of the top beaches in the world. We had seen tons of beautiful photos of this place and had high expectations. We weren’t sure it could live up to them but were excited nonetheless. Our boat arrived in the cove of Tongue Bay, which is on the opposite side of the Whitehaven Island from Whitehaven beach. You have to do a 15min bush walk to the other side before you see the pure white sand. Our whole group walked together over to the beach, and had two hours to swim and enjoy the beach.
It was definitely spectacular! We arrived at high tide so the beach felt much smaller than it actually was, but the sand was some of the whitest we’ve seen. It was really congested with people when we first arrived, but the other boats left soon after we arrived, leaving our group alone on the beach, which made it relaxing. The summer is marine stinger season in this part of Australia, so we could swim in the ocean but had to wear a stinger suit to protect us from the tiny little jellyfish. Apparently they are smaller than your thumbnail and their sting can be deadly. We didn’t take any chances with that and always wore our stinger suits (but they were annoying!). The tide kept lowering as we sat on the beach and by the time we left the beach had almost doubled in size.
Once our time ended on the beach, we all gathered together and hiked up to the scenic overlook point, which was the best view of the entire beach. You could see all the spectacular varying colors of oceans greens and blues, amongst the extreme white sand. The colors appeared to be swirling and made the scene look like something fake or computer animated. Our high expectations had been met.
That evening we put up all the sails on the ship and did some sailing! It was a lot of fun, and got us moving pretty quickly. We had an amazing sunset on the ocean, and the weather held up well for us that night. It was definitely the best day.
We woke up the next morning to the sound of pouring rain, and that was pretty much how the day went. We were informed that Cyclone Marcia had passed by us, but that another cyclone was heading our direction and no one knew where it would actually hit yet. That said, the water was too rough to snorkel, and our diving was cancelled because the visibility would be too poor. We were told we had to head back to Airlie beach and that our trip might potentially be cancelled!
It was a pretty big bummer, and slightly alarming too. A cyclone is heading our way? What is a cyclone anyway? Side note-we learned that cyclones are the same thing as a hurricane, but they swirl in the opposite direction and are common in the southern hemisphere. After hearing all this I was more than happy to head back to the marina. We couldn’t really do much on the boat anyway and the waves were getting insanely rough. Even though I had taken my seasick pills, I was definitely feeling woozy. For a good hour or so I was definitely head down on the deck waiting to be in calmer waters.
We did manage to use the pirate rope swing on our trip though and it was awesome! It was a huge sailor’s rope attached to the main sail. You go up to thehead of the boat, and fly off the boat into the water fifteen feet below while holding onto the swing. Like Tarzan, but ending in the ocean. Josh loved it, but I was really nervous about doing it at first. Once I saw everyone make it alive I decided I had to man-up and go for it, so I took a couple turns. It was so much fun! It was cool watching everyone too. Some people got so good they could do backflips on their way into the water. Others weren’t so fortunate and ended up doing some pretty painful back and belly flops!
Our last night on the boat was dubbed the ‘Cyclone Party’ night. We were docked in Airlie’s marina and basically just drank and played cards all night on the boat. Some pirate costumes were unveiled and it got a little silly. Ironically it didn’t really rain that night, and the winds were the calmest they had been on the whole trip! It was a good night and we all got a few free drinks, which made it even more fun.
We woke up on our last day to find out that Cyclone Marcia had passed southeast of us, and the seas should be calm again. So we headed back out for the day to snorkel. I’m sure you can guess, snorkeling didn’t workout this day either. The water was still way too churned up to see anything. So we just played on the rope swing and did a small bushwalk, then headed back home.
Our sailboat experience was definitely one of those memorable experiences that will always stand out in our minds. It didn’t go exactly according to plan. Luckily the crew of Solway Lass was positive and fun, and improvised, as they needed to. They managed to salvage as much of our trip as was possible and still be safe. We loved being pirates for a few days, but were quite happy to get back on solid ground and head further north, where it was now cyclone free.
Love all of these photos! Looks like a blast!