Our drive to the Whitsundays started a little after the sun
went down, prime kangaroo killing time.
The first thing we did was buy a coffee and some energy drinks to whip
the two of us out of our Fraser-Island-induced comas. Jared stayed up with me to help keep me
awake, and most of the time, our tired/energized cycles were opposite which
worked out really well, until the end when the two of us would potentially have
sold off our firstborns to just pull over for a few hours of shut eye. The drive was easily the most excruciating
drive I’ve done, and I actually had to either stick my head out the window or
slap myself around a few times to keep my eyelids from involuntarily closing. This was also the drive we had been warned
against when we picked up the car.
Thankfully, I didn’t hit any kangaroos, but did see a lot of roadside
casualties. Anyway, hours and hours and
hours later, we finally pulled in to the parking lot of Shute Harbour, paid a
retarded amount of money to park the car and got in about two hours of sleep
before we had to wake up for our water taxi.
Despite the fact that we could have justifiably been at each other’s throat, we were actually quite energized and upbeat. We packed a small bag to bring with us, and left everything else in the car. Heck, we were lying on a pretty deserted beach for the next two days, so all we really needed were bathing suits and sunblock!! The water taxi company provided us with 10 liters of water and some general island information. It took about an hour to an hour and a half to get to Whitsunday Island on the water taxi, where we were camping on Whitehaven beach, apparently one of the top 10 beaches in the world, according to…well, technically Jared, but he found it in a book or something…I dunno, I just do what I’m told ;) I had heard that it was on several must see beach lists. There were two camping areas, one for groups (of which there was one) and one for individuals (of which there was only us!!). We got to pick a prime location right in front of the water, with nothing but a view of the sand and surf in front of us.
Since we were a bit tuckered out, we changed into our swimmers and took a nice morning nap on the beach. When we woke up, it was just about lunch time. We packed up an MRE lunch of space chicken and space mayo, some tortillas, peanut butter, crackers, and Zapplesauce….yes it’s called Zapplesauce, because again, this is not normal people food; it’s apparently loaded up with some 36 letter science word to boost energy and maintain a Marine’s life force, potentially even promoting the growth of a third arm so as to be more productive, who knows? Needless to say, I wasn’t going to die of starvation. We decided to take a stroll down to the end of the beach, and find a nice shady spot along the way to grab lunch. The walk would probably take around 45 minutes, so we lubed up with sun block, grabbed our lunch and a bottle of water and set off. The walk was really lovely, and the beach was totally deserted as we walked farther from our camp ground. Jared and I both agreed that this was the nicest beach we had ever seen. The sand was pure white, and so fine it was almost like dust. The water was perfect; absolutely clear and light blue. We walked and walked, and it was really nice to be on a completely deserted, absolutely stunningly, drop-dead-gorgeous beach…get the picture? However, the beach is way longer than it looks from one end. About 45 minutes into the walk, we were only about half way down the beach and running a bit low on water. But we pressed on, because we wanted to see the inlet at the end. Jared had heard about a great lookout point across the inlet where the classic pictures of Whitehaven Beach are taken, the ones you see on Google if you google “Whitehaven Beach”. We reached the inlet at about 2:30pm, about an hour and 15-20 minutes after starting. We could see a lot of people on the other side of the inlet, where the lookout hike was (mind you all these people had taken a boat there). We tried for about 45 minutes to make it across the inlet; the main problem being that we couldn't just swim normally, we had to be able to transport Jared’s nice camera across, which would have been completely achievable if not for the really strong current from the inlet into the ocean. I am very tentative when it comes to ocean water. I do not like to screw around with the sea; I am fully aware it will chew me up and probably never spit me out, so I was not a fan of the cross. Jared tried at first to just go across with his hands up, while I stood watching. Then I had the genius idea that because there is generally more blubber on me than him, I might be more buoyant, at which time I, who am not that confident in my swimming when in the ocean, attempted the cross. I couldn’t make it the entire way with my hands up, and got pulled pretty far into the ocean, before finally just turning and booking it to the other side before getting sucked out too far. So, I did make it across the inlet, but had no camera, so just ended up walking back up the inlet and swimming back to Jared. Several days later, by the way, I told another backpacker about this attempt and was informed that apparently, that inlet is swarming with stingrays…which might have explained why everyone on the opposite side of the inlet was watching our progress so intently. Anyway, our first attempt at crossing the inlet failed, but, undeterred, we decided to give it another go the next day, and to bring the GoPro instead, also thinking that maybe we didn’t show up at low tide. Anyway, we started the long, beautiful walk back to the other end of the beach. By the time we got back to our campsite, we were really thirsty, very burnt, and had sore feet from walking so long barefoot. The 45 minute walk ended up being a 4 hour walk, but an amazing walk none-the-less. Chef Jared started prepping dinner, as the sun was heading out over the hills, and there was zero electricity. We decided dinner was an Asian Beef MRE. As we got all the fixings together, the bugs came out to play. They have teeeeenie tiny, gnat-like bigs, about the size of a freckle, but painful when they bite. We scrambled to gather up everything and took refuge and our dinner in the tent. The sun went down completely at about 7pm, at which time, we had no problem reading a little and calling it a night, as we had only gotten the two hour sleep the night before.
We slept pretty darn well, we say “for camping”, because we never sleep as well when we camp, understandably so. I woke up for a few minutes around sunrise, and lifted my head to see the colors in the sky changing over the white sand and sea water…AMAZING!!!! Then went back to bed for an hour or so more. I think we had planned on taking a jog along the beach that morning, but for whatever reason (it doesn’t take much for me), we opted against it. I took an early morning dip in the water to wake myself up, we had some coffee and breakfast (all MRE style), and decided to attempt to find a good viewpoint again, this time better prepared. We set out on our morning walk, and it was lovely; no one around and beautiful scenery. We had heard of a secret walk close to the inlet from the day before; it was “secret” basically just because some resourceful hikers, potentially also unable to cross the inlet, ventured into the national park and created their own path. As the entire island is a national park, we weren’t really supposed to hike off designated tracks, but a woman working for the water taxi company told us she had just heard about it the day before (basically, she told us not to attempt the inlet and when we did not look deterred, she told us about this other track). We were told to look for “two sticks” sticking out of the ground…super specific, but in the end, we found it! The path had definitely been hiked by a few people, mostly very easy to follow and only about 20 minutes all the way to the top. Along the way, there were two small lookouts, which revealed really amazing views, BUT the pièce de résistance was the top. Oh.my.God. Honestly, I can’t even explain it well enough, and the pictures, though STUNNINGGGGG never really do a view justice (but check them out anyway). We got to see the inlet all the way through the island over to the ocean on the other side. The water is so clear and blue that you can see the white sand all the way through, and the tides have formed a continuous S-shape pattern in the sand, snaking its way between the hilltops on either side before meeting the ocean again. We discussed this spot's beauty in comparison to some of the other places and we easily decided it’s a top 5 view, if not the best view, maybe Lake Tekapo from New Zealand, but the two are neck and neck. Either way, check it out people! We sat on our big rock overlooking the most freaking gorgeous view EVER and had some of our super-human snacks, Jared took his photos, while I just gawked. After a while, we had to go back down or we would roast, 50 SPF and all, since we had already created a good base roast the day before. I literally almost started crying when I had to go, I’m not making this up. When we got back down to the sand, we decided to actually forego crossing the inlet, as we liked our pictures more than the traditional. So, if Jared hasn’t posted the pictures yet, and you’ve googled Whitehaven beach, come back and look ours (so much better ;)!!). Anyway, we walked back across the beach to our camp site, along the way kinda chatting about how life FREAKING ROCKSSSS!!! We are so happy with the decision that we made about 2+ years ago. This is the exact life that we’ve wanted for ourselves. Of course we miss everyone back home, but the experiences we’ve had top anything we could have imagined.
We’ve taken procrastination of real life and responsibility and made a lifestyle out of it, but more than that, we are so happy and blessed by our families to be able to enjoy this experience. Anyway, I gush.
We made it back to camp in the early afternoon, and had some MRE lunch, then lied in the shade for an hour or two and napped/read, occasionally took a quick dip. Jealous yet? COME VISIT!!!!! :D As the sun went down, Jared prepped our dinner, which we decided to take a bit earlier to avoid the crazy gnats. We had reserved the best dinner for that night; we had southwest style beef with corn and peppers…MRE style. After dinner, we closed up shop. The birds had apparently figured out that we kept our food in the brown plastic bags, so we had to bring everything into the tent with us. We went to bed nice and early that night, in order to wake up and prep to leave.
The next morning, I woke up a bit earlier than Jared (which is always good on moving day, cuz I’m generally a bit slower). I was able to relax and get some breakfast ready for us, take a nice dip in the ocean and lounge for a bit, before having to pack up all the gear. The water taxi returned to pick us up at about 9:30am, and we headed back to Shute Harbour, incredibly satisfied.
Despite the fact that we could have justifiably been at each other’s throat, we were actually quite energized and upbeat. We packed a small bag to bring with us, and left everything else in the car. Heck, we were lying on a pretty deserted beach for the next two days, so all we really needed were bathing suits and sunblock!! The water taxi company provided us with 10 liters of water and some general island information. It took about an hour to an hour and a half to get to Whitsunday Island on the water taxi, where we were camping on Whitehaven beach, apparently one of the top 10 beaches in the world, according to…well, technically Jared, but he found it in a book or something…I dunno, I just do what I’m told ;) I had heard that it was on several must see beach lists. There were two camping areas, one for groups (of which there was one) and one for individuals (of which there was only us!!). We got to pick a prime location right in front of the water, with nothing but a view of the sand and surf in front of us.
Since we were a bit tuckered out, we changed into our swimmers and took a nice morning nap on the beach. When we woke up, it was just about lunch time. We packed up an MRE lunch of space chicken and space mayo, some tortillas, peanut butter, crackers, and Zapplesauce….yes it’s called Zapplesauce, because again, this is not normal people food; it’s apparently loaded up with some 36 letter science word to boost energy and maintain a Marine’s life force, potentially even promoting the growth of a third arm so as to be more productive, who knows? Needless to say, I wasn’t going to die of starvation. We decided to take a stroll down to the end of the beach, and find a nice shady spot along the way to grab lunch. The walk would probably take around 45 minutes, so we lubed up with sun block, grabbed our lunch and a bottle of water and set off. The walk was really lovely, and the beach was totally deserted as we walked farther from our camp ground. Jared and I both agreed that this was the nicest beach we had ever seen. The sand was pure white, and so fine it was almost like dust. The water was perfect; absolutely clear and light blue. We walked and walked, and it was really nice to be on a completely deserted, absolutely stunningly, drop-dead-gorgeous beach…get the picture? However, the beach is way longer than it looks from one end. About 45 minutes into the walk, we were only about half way down the beach and running a bit low on water. But we pressed on, because we wanted to see the inlet at the end. Jared had heard about a great lookout point across the inlet where the classic pictures of Whitehaven Beach are taken, the ones you see on Google if you google “Whitehaven Beach”. We reached the inlet at about 2:30pm, about an hour and 15-20 minutes after starting. We could see a lot of people on the other side of the inlet, where the lookout hike was (mind you all these people had taken a boat there). We tried for about 45 minutes to make it across the inlet; the main problem being that we couldn't just swim normally, we had to be able to transport Jared’s nice camera across, which would have been completely achievable if not for the really strong current from the inlet into the ocean. I am very tentative when it comes to ocean water. I do not like to screw around with the sea; I am fully aware it will chew me up and probably never spit me out, so I was not a fan of the cross. Jared tried at first to just go across with his hands up, while I stood watching. Then I had the genius idea that because there is generally more blubber on me than him, I might be more buoyant, at which time I, who am not that confident in my swimming when in the ocean, attempted the cross. I couldn’t make it the entire way with my hands up, and got pulled pretty far into the ocean, before finally just turning and booking it to the other side before getting sucked out too far. So, I did make it across the inlet, but had no camera, so just ended up walking back up the inlet and swimming back to Jared. Several days later, by the way, I told another backpacker about this attempt and was informed that apparently, that inlet is swarming with stingrays…which might have explained why everyone on the opposite side of the inlet was watching our progress so intently. Anyway, our first attempt at crossing the inlet failed, but, undeterred, we decided to give it another go the next day, and to bring the GoPro instead, also thinking that maybe we didn’t show up at low tide. Anyway, we started the long, beautiful walk back to the other end of the beach. By the time we got back to our campsite, we were really thirsty, very burnt, and had sore feet from walking so long barefoot. The 45 minute walk ended up being a 4 hour walk, but an amazing walk none-the-less. Chef Jared started prepping dinner, as the sun was heading out over the hills, and there was zero electricity. We decided dinner was an Asian Beef MRE. As we got all the fixings together, the bugs came out to play. They have teeeeenie tiny, gnat-like bigs, about the size of a freckle, but painful when they bite. We scrambled to gather up everything and took refuge and our dinner in the tent. The sun went down completely at about 7pm, at which time, we had no problem reading a little and calling it a night, as we had only gotten the two hour sleep the night before.
We slept pretty darn well, we say “for camping”, because we never sleep as well when we camp, understandably so. I woke up for a few minutes around sunrise, and lifted my head to see the colors in the sky changing over the white sand and sea water…AMAZING!!!! Then went back to bed for an hour or so more. I think we had planned on taking a jog along the beach that morning, but for whatever reason (it doesn’t take much for me), we opted against it. I took an early morning dip in the water to wake myself up, we had some coffee and breakfast (all MRE style), and decided to attempt to find a good viewpoint again, this time better prepared. We set out on our morning walk, and it was lovely; no one around and beautiful scenery. We had heard of a secret walk close to the inlet from the day before; it was “secret” basically just because some resourceful hikers, potentially also unable to cross the inlet, ventured into the national park and created their own path. As the entire island is a national park, we weren’t really supposed to hike off designated tracks, but a woman working for the water taxi company told us she had just heard about it the day before (basically, she told us not to attempt the inlet and when we did not look deterred, she told us about this other track). We were told to look for “two sticks” sticking out of the ground…super specific, but in the end, we found it! The path had definitely been hiked by a few people, mostly very easy to follow and only about 20 minutes all the way to the top. Along the way, there were two small lookouts, which revealed really amazing views, BUT the pièce de résistance was the top. Oh.my.God. Honestly, I can’t even explain it well enough, and the pictures, though STUNNINGGGGG never really do a view justice (but check them out anyway). We got to see the inlet all the way through the island over to the ocean on the other side. The water is so clear and blue that you can see the white sand all the way through, and the tides have formed a continuous S-shape pattern in the sand, snaking its way between the hilltops on either side before meeting the ocean again. We discussed this spot's beauty in comparison to some of the other places and we easily decided it’s a top 5 view, if not the best view, maybe Lake Tekapo from New Zealand, but the two are neck and neck. Either way, check it out people! We sat on our big rock overlooking the most freaking gorgeous view EVER and had some of our super-human snacks, Jared took his photos, while I just gawked. After a while, we had to go back down or we would roast, 50 SPF and all, since we had already created a good base roast the day before. I literally almost started crying when I had to go, I’m not making this up. When we got back down to the sand, we decided to actually forego crossing the inlet, as we liked our pictures more than the traditional. So, if Jared hasn’t posted the pictures yet, and you’ve googled Whitehaven beach, come back and look ours (so much better ;)!!). Anyway, we walked back across the beach to our camp site, along the way kinda chatting about how life FREAKING ROCKSSSS!!! We are so happy with the decision that we made about 2+ years ago. This is the exact life that we’ve wanted for ourselves. Of course we miss everyone back home, but the experiences we’ve had top anything we could have imagined.
We’ve taken procrastination of real life and responsibility and made a lifestyle out of it, but more than that, we are so happy and blessed by our families to be able to enjoy this experience. Anyway, I gush.
We made it back to camp in the early afternoon, and had some MRE lunch, then lied in the shade for an hour or two and napped/read, occasionally took a quick dip. Jealous yet? COME VISIT!!!!! :D As the sun went down, Jared prepped our dinner, which we decided to take a bit earlier to avoid the crazy gnats. We had reserved the best dinner for that night; we had southwest style beef with corn and peppers…MRE style. After dinner, we closed up shop. The birds had apparently figured out that we kept our food in the brown plastic bags, so we had to bring everything into the tent with us. We went to bed nice and early that night, in order to wake up and prep to leave.
The next morning, I woke up a bit earlier than Jared (which is always good on moving day, cuz I’m generally a bit slower). I was able to relax and get some breakfast ready for us, take a nice dip in the ocean and lounge for a bit, before having to pack up all the gear. The water taxi returned to pick us up at about 9:30am, and we headed back to Shute Harbour, incredibly satisfied.
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