Sunday we took a leisurely 3 Island Beach cruise to Daydream Island, Hamilton Island, and Whitehaven Beach. We took a bus to Shute Harbour from which our FantaSea Cruise departed. Katie and I took a moment to pose by the sea horses.
Here's our massive cruise ship - a little different from the smaller, sportier speed boats to which we'd become accustomed.
Here's Katie and I at yet again another romantic spot - Lover's Cove at Daydream Island Resort & Spa. There was all kinds of coral and shells rather than sand on the 'beach'. When we disembarked the cruise ship, we saw a couple that had been on our ocean rafting tour who was staying on this island and this was the spot they recommended so we figured we better check it out.
We also made our way through the "Putt Your Way Around Australia" 19-hole mini golf course.
Katie pulls off the Titanic pose on 'Daydreamer'.
Katie's killing her imaginary opponent in this rousing game of chess.
The next stop of the day was Hamilton Island, the largest resort in the South Pacific. We splurged and hired a golf buggy to peruse the island at our leisure, crossing paths several times with the narrated, cheaper but seemingly boring bus tour.
Katie and I took turns driving around the massive island. We had just over an hour to take it all in.
A view from one of the lookouts at Hamilton Island.
A view to the other side from the same lookout on Hamilton Island.
A beach filled with sailboats, wind surfers, and sunbathers.
There's a closer view of some of the wind surfers.
After a hearty meat fest bbq buffet on the boat, we cruised to our final destination, Whitehaven Beach. We took this funny little transfer barge from the cruise ship into the shore. Whitehaven Beach is renowned as one of the top ten beaches in the world, located on Whitsunday Island, the largest island in the region. This portion of Whitehaven boasts 7 km of glistening white silica sand and crystal clear waters. As beautiful as it was, nothing compared to Hill Inlet from the day before.
Katie shows off her tan on the perty white sand at Whitehaven.
Oh yeah, me too! We cruised back to Shute Harbour, took the bus back to Airlie Beach, and camped out in our hotel for the evening, ordering one last round of cauliflower risotto and breathing in the relaxation of it all.
