Kayak the Whitsundays August 2024

We head out for the day on a mission to explore Whitsunday Island and its closest neighbour, Haslewood – home to gorgeous Chalkie’s Beach and a brand new walking trail.

Chalkie’s looks pretty similar to Whitehaven, but that’s where the comparison ends. There’s a fringing coral reef to snorkel, fish to eyeball and maybe even a few turtles to befriend. Our challenge for the day is getting safely across the Whitsunday Passage – a narrow tidal channel that runs between the islands, affectionately referred to as The Washing Machine by the locals.

We head back to Whitehaven Beach for our second night under canvas.

Overnight: Camping at Whitehaven Beach campground

After a hearty breakfast, we hit the water ready for the first big day of our expedition. Heading north we paddle along Whitehaven Beach, and head into Hill Inlet to explore the shallow, sheltered waters taking stingrays and turtles by surprise.

After a swim and explore we climb to the viewpoint to look back down Whitehaven where we started the day. It’s then back into our boats for the long paddle around Tongue Point, up the eastern side of Whitsunday Island, and into Cairn Campsite, where we end our day.

Overnight: Camping at Cairn Campground

One of our traditions at Best Life Adventures is witnessing the sunrise from a summit. Today is the day. We start the 300m ascent under headtorch from Whitsunday Island’s most northerly beach—up to a ridge covered with giant grass trees. It’s steep and challenging, but there’s an amazing view of the islands from the top.

After breakfast, we break camp, load the kayaks, before crossing Hook Passage to start the paddle around Hook Island. We’re into the open ocean here, so the swell picks up and hopefully the last of the season’s whales will pull alongside and say “hi”.

Our lunch location feels a million miles from the tourist world of the Whitsundays, with expansive views of nothingness north and south, driftwood to clamber over and just the sound of the ocean to enjoy.

Late in the afternoon, we pull into a sheltered beach on the northern side of Hook Island to build our camp.

Overnight: Camping at Maureen’s Cove campground

We head west from our overnight campground for a day on the water. We’ll circumnavigate Hayman Island, stop at Blue Pearl Bay, swim with the maori wrasse and manta rays, before turning south towards our destination Bali Hai and Langford Spit, where lunch is served on the beach.

Overnight: Just you wait and see…

Who knows what you’ll get up to today?

One of the best parts of this Best Life expedition is you don’t find out about the last 24 hours until it’s happening. Prepare for a seriously, epic adventure into the unknown – all you need to do is sit back and soak it up.

Oh, and bring a Black Tie or Cocktail dress you don’t mind getting wet – is your mind boggling yet?

Overnight: the same as the night before – a mystery!

We wrap up the week back where we started, with our drop-off at Coral Sea Marina (formerly known as Abel Point) around 10:00.