Day 9 & 10 - Whitsundays Boat Tour...EPIC!

The Whitsundays is a set of 74 Tropical islands midway along Australia's east coast. It's the home to some of the world's best scuba diving and beaches including the picturesque Whitehaven Beach. The Travel In Sandals gang took a two-and-half day boat tour on Island Dive's WINGS II boat around the islands for a snorkeling, scuba diving and boating adventure. From the moment we checked in with 90 beers and 3.5 liters of hard alcohol, the crew and other guests knew we were ones to keep an eye on - both good and bad.

We hit multiple dive spots throughout the trip including Blue Pearl Bay, Nara Inlet, Tongue Bay, Manta Ray Bay, Luncheon Bay, Stonehaven Bay and Langford Island. The diving and snorkeling were amazing! We saw sharks, turtles, rays, clown fish, clams, Napolean fish and a whole lot of reef and coral.


Island Dive's WINGS II boat.


Mo, Greg and Dave getting ready for divng on day one.


When day one came to a close the group broke out some drinks and socialized a bit. We began to bond with the folks on the boat and realized we had a diverse representation of nationalities - British, Irish, Dutch, Italians, French, Aussies, Kiwis and us Americans.


Sammy, Dave, Matt and Greg enjoying some evening beverages after a full day in the water.

Mo pointing out Hook Island.

Matt getting a lesson in sailing while Mo looks on.

Despite being assigned beds, the Travel In Sandals crew or TEAM AMERICA as we became known, took advantage of the pristine evening weather and slept outside under the stars. Sleeping on the bow of the boat was one of the highlights of the entire trip. Being woken up at 5:30am by the raising of the anchor was not. However, the early wake up call allowed us to see the sun come up over the Whitsundays Islands...a serene experience.

The gang sleeping under the stars on the front of the boat.

Sunrise over the Whitsundays.

On the second day we were up and out early to Whitehaven Beach, arguably the second nicest beach in the world (Thailand supposedly has number one).

Whithaven Beach from above.

Mo, Matt, Dave and Greg enjoying the Whitehaven scenery.

Travel In Sandals were high on Whitehaven.

The gang trying to find well-needed inner peace on Whitehaven.

Grassroots promotion, or in this case whitesand promotion.


After a couple hours of sand between our toes, climbing rocks, taking funny pictures and almost losing our stuff to the high tides, we headed back to the boat to do some scuba and snorkeling.


Mo, Captain Kurt, Dave and Greg get ready for some afternoon diving.

Dave swimming after a turtle...TURTLE, TURTLE!!

Mo was seeing stars...sea stars.


Night two consisted of a little more group interaction. We got the entire boat - minus staff - to take part in an energetic rendition of KINGS, or as they call it in England, RING OF FIRE. Needless to say, 23 fun-loving people from around the world playing drinking games on a boat with the Whitsundays as your backdrop was EPIC! It was an all-time memory. So many laughs and good times.

Mo doing his best impression of the Coppertone baby.

The WINGS II gang heating up with a few drinking games.

Mo, Jess, Greg and Matt enjoying some evening libations.

Day 3 was short but sweet, as we headed back to land. Greg acted as co-captain, and safely got us back to dry, stable, and non-rocking back and forth soil.

Dave poses with the dive instructor's Team America sign and her stuffed animal Cecil.

Greg got to drive the boat on the way back...first leisure drive he's done in a while.

Matt enjoying the tranquil Whitsundays Islands.

The boys taking in the sites before docking at Airlie Beach....LAND AHOY!!!

WINGS II crew - Adam, Maddy, Sammy and Captain Kurt.

A few members of the WINGS II boat doing the underwater sign for "Turtle."

Overall, an amazing trip we'd love to do again. The scuba and snorkeling were amazing, the views were spectacular and the people were definitely the best part. Sitting on a boat anchored between islands watching the sun set while tossing back beers is one of the most peaceful and memorable moments of not only this trip, but in our lives.