 Hardy Reef, Great Barrier Reef / Whitehaven Beach |
 Wade ashore on a postcard-perfect beach, crunchy coral sand between your toes. Your sailing ketch bobs at anchor in the cove. Hawksbill turtles break the surface, bobbing up for air. Brightly-striped angelfish and butterfly fish dart about within the shallows, nipping in and out of corals, blue-tongued clams and gently waving anemones. At night the Milky Way gleams so richly it looks positively creamy.
The Whitsunday Passage runs through a chain of islands in the Coral Sea, best reached from Brisbane. Fringed with luridly-coloured coral reefs, these are drowned mountains clothed with dense forest. Back in the city, my mind’s eye lingers on the area’s natural beauty and the abundant animal and marine life.
Pleasant surprises await anyone who hasn’t been here before: the quality and diversity of the resorts and the islands’ accessibility. Fleets of bare boat charter yachts, kayaks and ketches, windjammers and even retired maxi racers await your pleasure.
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