Entries about hook island

Nestled in the heart of the Great Barrier reef, dotted with 74 tropical islands set amongst the azure waters of the Coral Sea is one of Australia's premier holiday destinations.

the Whitsundays is world-renowned for its spectacular coastline with a myriad of off-shore island and the surround tropical marine environment of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The majority of the Whitsunday Islands is designated National Park, leaving them uninhabited and in their purest natural state.

Whales visit the Whitsundays every year on their annual migration. From July to October Whales are a common sight frolicking amongst the islands.

I took a boat tour out to some of the local highlights, and included two dives around the islands.

We passed several other boats

as we headed away from the shore

It was the most overcast day of the week, but still a beautiful place!

Setting off from Hervey Bay, we passed some of the Whitsunday Islands

and were lucky enough to see a whale and calf

though maybe a little too close to this boat

and soon arrived at Tongue Bay where we moored the boat and walked up to the view point

over Whitehaven Beach

The crystal clear waters and pristine white silica sand of Whitehaven Beach stretch over 7km along Whitsunday Island, the largest of the 74 islands in the Whitsundays.

Whitehaven Beach has been voted the top beach in Australia and in the top 5 in the world.

At the northern end of the beach is Hill Inlet, a stunning cove where the tide shifts the sand and the water to create a beautiful, swirling fusion of colours. A short beautiful walk through the woodland and dry rainforest of Whitsunday Island leads to the famous Hill Inlet Lookout.

The Whitsunday island and coast all have fringing reefs - coral gardens very close to the shoreline with abundant marine life to explore.

Then we walked down onto Lookout Bay

where the water was warm and the sand so soft

you just had to be careful not to stand on a lurking stingray

The moody clouds gave contrast to the pristine white sand

and I couldn't' resist leaving a little note



Heading back through the national park, the beach on the other side of the inlet was thick with coral and shells

Back on the boat we set off for Hook Island, for some exploration under the surface

with my dive buddy Dean

The weather was poor and the current the strongest I've dived in,

but it's still a beautiful world down there, with colourful fish

Five Barred

Angelfish

a very large Grouper

and plenty of different types of coral

but I think this one was my favourite

and the fish obviously like them too

and one very large clam

There were some tight squeezes, through the over hanging coral

and one that got hold of my respirator, and made me panic a little, but I didn't let it go

and then, on the second dive, John decided to go under here

which I considered, but thought I might just go over the top instead!

this video shows us just floating along in the current

Maybe not the best weather for it, but I had a lot of fun!