Whitsundays Highlights

26/9/2025

ITIKI at Langford Reef

We spent just on three months in the Whitsundays and as you can see from our NFL track we made several loops around the major islands of the Whitsundays, using Airlie Beach as a base and catching up with friends, old and new, and welcoming our final guests on board ITIKI. It was a great time to relax and enjoy the area with no time pressures and no great distances to travel. We also used the opportunity to get some regular maintenance and outstanding works done and generally peace out. Here are some of the highlights of our time here.

Our route around The Whitsundays

Hidden Gem

It might not have the white sand beaches and palm trees, but Macona Inlet, on the southern end of Hook Island is a magical anchorage. It is a long, fjordlike bay surrounded by high, rocky cliffs and lined with mangroves - great for exploring in the dinghy or SUPs. With two distinct anchorages and several small beaches, which all but disappear at high tide, so be quick if you want a swim! Turtles, rays and dolphins frequent the bay and possibly sharks as well. Great protection from the SE trade winds. We stopped here a couple of times and would definitely recommend it. Very peaceful and good protection from SE winds.

Special & SPiritual

The bay to the west of Macona, is much better known and frequented, and also very beautiful. What makes Nara Inlet so special is the historical site including cave paintings left by the ngaro peoples, the local sea peoples and traditional owners. Its a short walk up hill from the tiny landing point on the rocky shore and the visit is well presented with interpretive information and voice recordings from descendants of the ngaro tribe. Its a bit challenging to anchor the dinghy here at high tide, so its good to have someone drop you off to visit the cave.

Underwater Life

Keef at the Reef

When conditions permit we love to jump in the water and check out what is happening below the surface. The Whitsundays and Barrier Reef are renown for the abundance of underwater life. The long reef off Chalkies Beach, is definitely worth a visit. We picked up a mooring here and took the dinghy to the southern end, swimming north back towards the boat. The bays at the top of Hook Island, such as Butterfly Bay and Manta Ray Bay were also well worthwhile and are popular favourites when it comes to searching for nemo, with pretty good coral and varied sea life. Our most adventurous trip was getting out to Bait Reef, which is 17nm NE of Hook island, offshore on the Barrier Reef. As there is no protection from wind or swell here, so its best to go in very calm conditions. If you get lucky its well worth a visit. The coral is in excellent condition and whale spotting is almost guaranteed in July and August.
As anywhere the underwater experience really depends on the weather conditions which can determines the visibility and comfort factor when snorkelling. One really pleasant surprise was a spot we had not been to before and not even considered for snorkelling, but it proved quite interesting. Cairn Beach is the starting point for the challenging Whitsunday Cairn walk, and while we were not up for that, we had perfectly calm conditions to explore the long and colourful coral reef that extends from the beach a long way south. We picked up a free mooring buoy, and in perfect and calm conditions I jumped off ITIKI and swam over to the reef, while Keith took the SUP. It was so super calm and he could see the reef clearly from the board. What a lovely surprise location this one was!

I need protection!

SV Serenity Now in Cid Harbour anchorage

The prevailing trade winds come from the South East and during our time in the area we regularly had forecasts of 20+kts from this direction. So when the going gets tough, everyone gets going...to Cid Harbour! There are no mooring buoys here but plenty of room to anchor and great holding in sticky mud. There is excellent wind and swell protection, and with no high cliffs around, no katabatics. You will arrive to find dozens of boats here if a big blow is forecast but fear not, there is always enough space for more! Yes we did spend quite a few days and nights here and (sometimes) in good company.
Ashore you can access the Whitsunday Peak walk, which is not for the faint hearted or unfit (ie us). Otherwise there is a lovely and less challenging walk from Sawmill Beach to Dugong Beach, where there is a camping area. Great to stretch those legs when you have been hunkering down listening to the howling of the wind in the rigging. The only downside is that there is no swimming, after several shark attacks in this area some warning buoys and signs have been added to the anchorage. Keith bravely went exploring on the SUP and can confirm the presence of "noahs" in the area!

Instagrammable

A handsome couple at beautiful Hill Inlet

Not sure if Insta is still a thing, but its hard to beat Hill Inlet / Whitehaven Beach for world class, stunning scenery and the "money shot" of selfies. The picture postcard perfect shifting sands of Hill Inlet are best appreciated from the lookout above the bay, which can be easily accessed when anchored at Tongue Bay, to the NW. Its best spend the night there and to head ashore early-ish before the tourist hoards start arriving, so you dont have random backpackers in your selfies. From the lookout you can walk down to the northern end of Whitehaven Beach and check out the rays sunbathing in the shallows of Hill Inlet, and even take a dip with them. The brave, and shallow drafted, may even want to take the big boat up the inlet (at high tide) and spend the night tucked in close to shore. We visited this lovely location at least three times and it is a must to enjoy, especially with your visitors. As always check the tides before you go ashore at Tongue Bay and position your dinghy accordingly, or better still take the SUPs.

Beautiful Beaches

The Smallest Beach, Hayman Island

Well of course Whitehaven Beach has to be the pick! Consistently voted top beach in Australia, its unique, pure white silica sand is just amazing to walk on and the water is crystal clear. It is a very popular spot with day trippers at the southern end of the anchorage, and the beach fills up pretty quickly during the day. Its easy to find space further along the shore though, and swim, SUP or dinghy to the beach for a walk. There are a couple of paths through the forest to overgrown lookouts if you fancy it, but we prefer to stick to strolling along the sand. Watch out for the helicopters landing along the middle of the beach and wave to the many sightseeing flights passing overhead! We visited Whitehaven several times and each time is different. On a calm day it is absolute heaven.

Across from Whitehaven is Chalkies Beach, on Haslewood Island, another long stretch of sand, but strangely, given its proximity, just regular sand and not the silica of Whitehaven. A dozen or so mooring buoys stretch out along the shore, just outside the fringing reef, which is well worth a look. Its nice to start at the southern end when the tide is ebbing north and follow the reef along with the current.

Special mention: For something truly unique a visit to the smallest beach in the Whitsundays is a must. We picked up a mooring at Blue Pearl Bay on Hayman Island and took the SUPs to the northern tip of the island, carefully manoeuvring between the rocks and the surge onto the 2 meter wide, corally "beach". Its about a 50m walk across from the west to the eastern side of the "spit", where there is at least a bit of sand!

Of course the disappearing beach, off Langford reef is also quite unique! See next section

Nailing the Drone Shot

Sandspit at Langford Reef

Between Stonehaven and Hayman is Langford Island, a tiny pimple of land with a large reef stretching out to the south and south east of it, that all but dries at low tide. A long sandspit on the NE of the reef is walkable at low tide but completely disappears at high tide. It looks spectacular from the air, and the resorts sometimes drop guests off by helicopter for a picnic. We dinghied ashore here walking up to the small lookout to check out the view, as well as the unique Whitsunday Bottle Tree.
Its also a popular spot with charter boats and with limited buoys (and a 2 hour limit) you need to time your arrival with the tides. Nearby Black Island and Stonehaven are popular alternatives, and most folk just stop for a couple of hours before moving on to their next destination.

Wildlife Encounters

Pod passing the Bait reef entrance

We encountered a wonderful array of bird and sealife in the Whitsundays. We regularly spotted turtles in the anchorages, raising their heads to look around before spotting a camera and making a swift exit into the depths. The mangroves provide a protected habitat for several different types of rays, including the cow-tail ray, that we had not seen before. It's definitely aptly named! We had pods of dolphins come and check us out, sometimes swimming along with us for a while, and sometimes not the least bit interested. It was wonderful to see a pair of them fishing together in Macona Inlet, with one animal herding the fish towards the others waiting mouth! The sea eagles and ospreys are always lovely to see on the wing, and they regularly make their nests on the channel markers which guide us through the reefs and shallows. While on a buoy at Langford we had two lovely batfish putting on a display, dancing in the water off the back of the transom. It was also a real treat to spot a dugong off the beach at Cape Upstart on our way back from Maggie, the first I have ever seen in the wild. Sorry no camera ready for that one. And of course, the majestic animal that we all love seeing, the humpback whales! Wow there were so many of them and numerous encounters. We had to dodge a pod of them just out side Bait Reef as we were leaving, had to hold back to let them pass the exit channel! We also saw mothers feeding their young and plenty of tail and fin slapping. They were generally on the move, initially heading north but later in our stay we were starting to see them head south.

A path less travelled

The advantage of a long stay in the area is that you get to go to places a little off the beaten track. Border island is one such spot we had not been to but were able to stay and play, while the charter boats came and went on their way to somewhere else. The island is quite small but there is a lovely walk up over the ridge with spectacular views southwards to Haslewood Island and beyond. Cateran Bay is lovely, and nicely protected bay so well worth a stop.

Anchoring the dinghy out, ITIKI is even further away

Haslewood Island is best known for Chalkies Beach on its western side, which is directly opposite Whitehaven Beach. As we had a bit of time we decided to stop at Windy Bay on the North East of the island, a lovely bay with a couple of beaches, where we had been for a picnic many years ago when Keith was working on Hamilton Island. The Commodore had borrowed the start boat of the Cruising Yacht Club of Hamilton Island for the day trip and we had lovely weather, anchoring in the wide bay and climbing off to swim ashore. As we were relaxing in the shade of our little beach tent and enjoying a cold beer, we looked out to see our little boat high and dry! Ooops, too late to move her. Needless to say we spent a little longer here than we expected to that day... I seem to remember running out of fuel just as we got into Dent Passage as well, and having to be rescued! Fortunately no such dramas this time around. Anchored a fair way out and took the dinghy ashore for a walk on the beach, check out the local rays before a quick swim and sundowners aboard.

The Mainland

Great to catch up with my school friend Rebecca

Now that we are based in Tasmania, we have gotten used to calling the rest of Australia The Mainland". From the lovely Whitsunday Islands we made several forays across from the islands to The Mainland. The most memorable was a short hop from Airlie up to Cape Gloucester, with the added bonus that an "old" school friend of mine was staying at Monte's resort with a bunch of her friends. Monte's is a low key resort with a bar and restaurant that is sometimes open, but is also home to the Shag Islet Yacht Club, a bunch of reprobates that meet annually at the resort for fun and festivities. We were too early for the event but enjoyed an evening ashore and BBQ and bonfire, and a few ales, with a lovely bunch of people. The beaches here are really lovely and well protected from the south, and the sunset was incredible. We enjoyed stopping at Jonah Bay on the way back, another superb beach, and protected anchorage, only reachable by boat.

We used Airlie Beach as our base and it is very handy for provisioning, grooming, getting work done and of course catching up with friends. A big shout out to Nick and Suzie, good friends and our "bridal party" who fed us delicious meals (especially "road slam" - aka Roast Lamb), took us shopping and out to lunches and dinners and generally looked after us when we in town.

Abandoned Resorts

Balancing Rock

Queensland is littered with abandoned resorts, relics of a bygone, pre-AirBnB era, when it wasn't cheaper to fly to Bali. We motored past Lindeman, formerly the Club Med, where we had once played golf and enjoyed lunch. Sadly it is now quite derelict and overgrown, unlikely it will ever be recovered. South Molle was once a popular spot at the cheaper end of the market, but the buildings are now completely in ruins and ready for a bulldozer. Strangely however there is an amazingly engineered and fairly new looking wharf, with a lifting section on the end. There is a caretaker living on the island and the grounds and walking trails are well maintained. It can be a rolly anchorage if the wind is much above 15kts, but in calm conditions it is really pleasant. We enjoyed the walk up to Balancing Rock, which gives some lovely views southward. It was a treat to have a pod of dolphins show up and cruise around the bay too.

Hammo revisted

With Keith having spent 9 years living and working on Hamilton Island we were really looking forward to seeing how it had changed since he left, and of course catching up with friends who are still living and working up this way. We had drinks with (and delivered honey to) Jon and Liz Hickling (former caretakers of the private end of Dent Island, and Percy Islands), had a lovely lunch at The Beach Club with Laurelle, now Executive Concierge to the stars, and enjoyed buzzing around the island on a borrowed buggy, checking out our old haunts and new resorts.

Party Time at Hammo Race Week

Above: Anna in the kitchen cooking up a storm

It was indeed an honour, and a whole lot of fun, to have the opportunity for team ITIKI to take on the role of "support vessel" for Team Dufour and The Yacht Sales Co (TYSCo) at the iconic Hamilton Island Race Week. We had a week in the fabulous marina, got to enjoy some colourful and competitive racing from the comfort of our cockpit, sipping bubbly (thanks Rohan!). We were treated to some wonderful catering by former white boat chef extraordinaire Anna Wallace, at the crew base @ The Edge Penthouse overlooking Dent Passage. A great spot to "debrief" after the days activities, sharing tall tales with Team Dufour, and TYSCo family.

Race week marked the end of our planned time in the Whitsundays as we had planned to head south as soon as it was over. After all its a long way back to Surges Bay! Well as we well know plans are written in sand at low tide, so on Sunday we headed over to Stonehaven to meet a potential buyer for ITIKI, with Pete from TYSCo. And the rest, as they say, is history...

Farewell ITIKI, thanks for the wonderful memories

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