Early 7.30am starton the 18th as a long trip up to Airlie Beach. Stopped briefly at roadside stations at Bororen and Marlborough but a long 10+ hour slog before arriving just before dark at Coral Point Lodge overlooking Shute Harbour.Claims for the best views in the Whitsundays from all rooms in the lodgeare not exaggerated. This morning was fine but still windy so the only option really was to take the 2 island discovery cruise with FantaSea. The sea was quite choppy during the 30 min trip out to Hamilton Island but weather was warm and increasingly sunny so a couple of red faces at the end of the day for Jon and Chris, despite plenty of factor 15. Hamilton is one of the more developed islands with a couple of high rise buildings, and this was followed by Daydream Island ,smaller, less developed and includes a walk through the rainforest. Most of the 74 Whitsunday islands are completely unihabited and a few days exploration by boat would be ideal if you had a few days and the winddropped. Good steak at the original Hogs Breath Cafe in Arlie Beach.

Tomorrow we're off to the Sanctuary at Mission Beach.