After an early morning briefing at Shute Harbour (where we would depart the mainland) we had one day to prepare for our week long trip. During our briefing we spoke about certain sections of trip that would get hairy such as some of the open water crossings that were exposed to the easterly swells coming off the Great Barrier Reef. We discussed the wind forecasts for the week and different options of where to kayak based on those and we also looked at tide times and how they affected the currents around the islands. It was a lot to take in so we took the marine maps with us for our last day on the mainland to look over and try to come up with a few game plans of where we might head. It was a busy day but by the end of it we had packed all of our food and gear and organized into two loads, one of which we would leave behind with a water taxi service to drop off at an island mid-week for us to pick up so that we could save on weight at the beginning of our trip. In addition to all this we also had to bring all of our water with us, because the islands have no fresh water on them.
Early the next morning we left Shute Harbour with our tandem sea kayak strapped to the roof of the Skamper – a water taxi service boat. We were getting dropped off at Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island where we would have a day to relax and enjoy the beach and also to get a bit of time in our kayak before we headed up north. We lucked out that evening as we were one of only three couples staying at Whitehaven beach which is usually home to about 30 campers during the high season.
After a nice tow all the way to the northern end of Whitehaven Beach (it’s pretty far, about a 2.5 hour paddle) they untied the rope threw us some more fruit and we were off headed towards Tongue Point for lunch! Before we landed on Tongue Point beach we watched a bunch of stingrays swim through the shallows and under the kayak. Tongue Point had a stunning walk and a few placards describing the geological and historical significance of the islands.
We did some snorkelling at a beach with a small reef near Dugong Beach. It was decent but the highlight was actually running into a sea turtle that was about 3 feet away when we noticed each other. We both took a quick second to react and although I wanted to look at him he had other plans and jetted as quickly as we had run into each other. On our last day we were tired and relieved that we had decided to arrange for the water taxi to pick us up at Dugong rather than try to brave the open water crossing back to the mainland (a 6 hour paddle in about a 2 meter swell). Overall we loved the trip and would certainly do it again. Its such an amazing way to get around and although its slow its incredibly rewarding. By taking our time we were able to see a huge variety of marine life and scenery on a schedule that we set entirely ourselves. It doesn’t get much better than that!