Our ship arrived near Airlie Beach this morning by 7. We took a tender onto the shore and then a bus into the small town of Airlie Beach and walked along their boardwalk, past the lagoon, and into a few shops. Airlie Beach is a nice upscale town.
We took a bus to the airport for our flight over the Great Barrier Reef. It is absolutely beautiful! And it goes on and on, 344,400 square km/132,973 square miles, covering an area the size of Japan or Italy. We saw Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island, known as one of the most beautiful beaches on earth, 7 km of 98% pure white silica sand. And we saw heart reef, a small reef in the shape of a heart. We also saw dozens of islands with smaller beaches - all beautiful! An amazing day!
