We went to paradise and back.
After a couple of days in Airlie Beach, we took a trip to the Whitsunday, a group of islands sitting on the Great Barrier Reef. After an hour boat trip, we reached Whitsunday Island, home of the famous Whitehaven Beach, a seven-kilometre-long beach of pure-white silicon sand. The sand was so thin it looked like flour or clear dust and the light was blinding us.
We put our stinger suits on (even paradise has predators) and went for a swim in crystal-clear water. Close to the shore, fishes were swimming in the shallow waves with us.
We had lunch on the beach, observed by a bunch of curious iguanas—I had never seen iguanas that big, even in Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica.
After rinsing off the sand, we jumped on the boat again to go snorkelling on coral reefs off the island. It was like entering a new world under water. The sea had seemed muddy from the boat but once in the water, with our mask on, everything was crystal clear. Corals were everywhere, just a meter below us. Some looked like mouths breathing, some were like lungs, others looked like little white bones lost at the bottom of the sea. As for fishes… it was like being in an aquarium! Colourful clown fishes and a bunch or other little creatures were staring at us, probably as fascinated by humans as we were by marine life.
We eventually surfaced again and swam back to the boat as thunder was roaring in the sky. Suddenly, the world at sea turned black and white and huge drops of water rippled in dark green water. We were already wet from the swim and it wasn’t cold, yet the thunderstorm that followed us to mainland was impressive. When it rains in the tropics, it pours!
Merry Christmas guys, we are somewhere “in a walkabout”!
Oh what a beautiful place Zhu! What is a stinger suit exactly? btw, you look hot and have you changed your hair? haha..
Lucky you! Merry tropical Christmas 😉
Wow, what an adventure. I love reading about the tropics as I’m shivering. Nice series of photos. You can really jump! I love the last photo, the colors and the hint of menacing weather.
Hi Zhu! That looks AMAZING!!
I just dropped by to wish you a very merry Holiday Season and all the best for a Sublime 2011!
From Gledwood in London Town
XX
What gorgeous pictures! Happy Holidays to you and Feng!
I love the white sand beach with shallow water. That reminds me while I was in Tahiti~~
the last photo is amazing..
So a stinger suit is pretty much a full body suit? Interesting. And I can see that you now have a rather pronounced tan!
@Priyank – Nah, haven’t changed my hair, although I’m turning a bit blond because of the sun and it’s messy because of the beach 😆 A stinger suit is basically like a neoprene suit, you know, the kind surfers’ wear.
@Cynthia – Thank you! Merry Parisian Xmas to you 😉
@Yogi – I really can NT jump actually, this was pure luck and good timing! 😆
@Gledwood – Thank you London Boy! I wish you all the best.
@Soleil – Thank you! I with you… good health and a French trip 😉
@micki – Oh, you’ve been to Tahiti? I bet the scenery is quite amazing there!
@chinmai – Thank you! Good timing on the boat I guess.
@Linguist-in-Waiting – Yes, that’s it, just a thin suit so that if you touch a stinger, your skin won’t be directly in contact with it. I do tan easily 😉