Whitehaven Beach - Haselwood Island - Whitehaven Beach
The uncomfortable first nights sleep on the thermarest and make-shift pillow was soon forgotten as I walked the 20 steps out to a deserted Whitehaven Beach to watch the sunrise. It was surreal to have no-one around as during the middle of the day, this place is like a zoo.
Having our first breakfast with rationed muesli and powdered milk, it didn't taste as disgusting as we thought. As our bellies filled and the tide slowed down, we crossed the channel again over to Haselwood, but went further around the point and spent the morning on a gorgeous little beach. Landing the kayaks and having a swim, we found a huge clam only 3 meters from the shoreline. It was an easy re-entry today as there wasn't much coral in this area.
Arriving back at camp for lunch, we had a lazy afternoon. As the tide went out, the rocks were exposed, which meant so were the oysters. Figuring out the best way to cook these little creatures was a bit of a mission - we decided to try heating them over the burner to open them up. This did eventually work, however each time one did open, the water would spurt and put out the flame. It was a team effort which resulted in about 15 oysters being successfully opened and eaten.
As this time of year the sun sets around 5.30pm and the new moon made for a dark night, we found ourselves going to be around 8pm after a bit of star gazing on the beach. As Karen went to brush her teeth we heard an almighty scream as a python slithered past her tent. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. That night, we slept with our tents firmly zipped up!
Tips for climbing into this adventure:
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The uncomfortable first nights sleep on the thermarest and make-shift pillow was soon forgotten as I walked the 20 steps out to a deserted Whitehaven Beach to watch the sunrise. It was surreal to have no-one around as during the middle of the day, this place is like a zoo.
Having our first breakfast with rationed muesli and powdered milk, it didn't taste as disgusting as we thought. As our bellies filled and the tide slowed down, we crossed the channel again over to Haselwood, but went further around the point and spent the morning on a gorgeous little beach. Landing the kayaks and having a swim, we found a huge clam only 3 meters from the shoreline. It was an easy re-entry today as there wasn't much coral in this area.
Arriving back at camp for lunch, we had a lazy afternoon. As the tide went out, the rocks were exposed, which meant so were the oysters. Figuring out the best way to cook these little creatures was a bit of a mission - we decided to try heating them over the burner to open them up. This did eventually work, however each time one did open, the water would spurt and put out the flame. It was a team effort which resulted in about 15 oysters being successfully opened and eaten.As this time of year the sun sets around 5.30pm and the new moon made for a dark night, we found ourselves going to be around 8pm after a bit of star gazing on the beach. As Karen went to brush her teeth we heard an almighty scream as a python slithered past her tent. We couldn't believe what we were seeing. That night, we slept with our tents firmly zipped up!
Tips for climbing into this adventure:
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- as it was night 2 we were still able to eat fresh vegetables for dinner which we made into a curry with noodles
- our water rations for days 1 & 2 were in big tubs from the kayaking company - they picked these up from us when they arrived at Whitehaven the next day (days 3-7 we used collapsible water bladders)
- if you have the opportunity, get away from Whitehaven Beach during the middle of the day - it's so busy. If you can't get away, I suggest walking 500 meters or so in any direction to escape the crowds to experience the magic of this beach
