Whitsunday Island Pillows

Whitsunday Islands, Queensland - Great barrier reef island map with a red bi plane.

Show your love of Whitehaven Beach and Whitsunday Island in Australia with this fun, vintage beach graphic.

Hayman Island , Whitsunday Islands,,Australia

A lone sailboat heads out to sea from Hamilton Island, as seen from the top of One Tree Hill at sunrise.

AUSSIE MAP HAMILTON ISLAND

Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsunday Islands along the Great Barrier Reef is not just one of Australia's top stretches of coast, it often scores a place on lists of the best beaches in the world.

The Hamilton Island Chapel, glowing with light under the Milky Way on a perfect night in the Whitsundays. Camera: Nikon Df w/ 16-35mm f4 lens ISO 3200, 30s @ f4

The view from Passage Peak on Hamilton Island is amazing. It's only a 2.6km walk to this spot -- the highest peak on the island -- and you get views stretching across the Whitsundays and all the way back to the mainland. This view is from just below the peak itself looking back on Catseye Beach and some of the main resorts on the island. Look at that reef!

Lover's Cove was one of my favourite spots on Daydream Island, one of the many resort islands in the Whitsundays. By day, we could walk down the coral beach straight into an ocean teeming with reef life; by evening, we could watch gorgeous sunsets like this one over the mainland; and by night we could sit and listen to the lapping of the waves under a dusting of fairy lights and stars.

On our last day on Hamilton Island, we decided to take the plunge and book a helicopter ride over Whitehaven Beach. It was 20 minutes of beautiful island and reef views, capped by this amazing scene at Whitehaven's Hill Inlet.

The gorgeous hues of early morning lighting up the sky, as seen from One Tree Hill on Hamilton Island.

AUSSIE MAP WHITEHAVEN BEACH

The Camira catamaran sails slowly past Hill Inlet towards the main stretch of Whitehaven Beach, as seen from the lookout at Hill Inlet.

The giant arrow shape of the end of Hill Inlet pointing out to sea. This was by far the highlight of our helicopter trip from Hamilton Island. The colours were unreal! Read more (and see plenty more photos) on my blog at: http://www.bootsandabackpack.com/helicoptering-paradise-hamilton-island-air/

We couldn't have asked for a better day at Whitehaven Beach. The beach really lived up to its reputation--even in July it was a nice temperature to swim in, and it was even better just to lie on the beach and take in the scene!

The perfect white sands of Whitehaven Beach, turned into ripples by the wind.