February 20, 2024 Whitsunday Islands, Australia Day 61 of 138

 Today we are in Whitsunday Islands. There are islands everywhere, I have never seen so many islands, with desolate beaches. I don't see any roads on many of the islands, so many are uninhabited. A couple that were pointed out used to have resorts on them, but cyclone Debbie in 2017 came through and wiped them out, and they have investors who have purchased the land, but nothing has been built on the sites. We are also in the area of the Great Barrier Reef, but more on that tomorrow. Today we sailed around the two larger islands. Below is our catamaran that will take us on a tour. Shortly after leaving the ship there was a loud bump. The captain was talking to us and said "what the hell"! He came out of the wheelhouse and said he needed to check to see what we hit or if anything was damaged. When he came back, he said we were safe to continue on, but might have to go slower. Oh dear, this may be an expensive outing for them. We made the rest of the trip fine.

Above was the busiest port we saw on these. islands. This is their yacht club, and the bottom building is the Yacht clubhouse. This island was started by someone who sold a lot to George Harrison, other rich and famous have followed. We understand that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey will be spending some time here after her concert in Sydney. 

Notice the white sand beach.

Once again I am struggling with placing my pictures where I want them. Here was the welcome site to see our home away from home waiting for us. The next picture is our crew ready to welcome us back on board. We feel very safe getting on and off the ship as they have crew assisting or ready to assist us all the way off the boat and up the stairs

This is the only island that has its own airport. The planes flew right over our head, and two different planes came in the short time we were in the area.

It seems the big question when we return is what is to eat? We were assured they were holding lunch for us. Whew, it is always a question of when and what will we have to eat and drink next. LOL Food and drink is not a shortage on this trip.