There were many photo ops in the Whitsundays (such as sunset from One Tree Hill, Hamilton Island, top). Two occasions provided the greatest opportunities. 

The first was our day trip to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island (see also Whitsundays: Whitehaven hype) and Daydream Island. We started off in cloud but it was a perfect day in the tropics before midday.

By the time we were Daydreaming, it was very hot and sunny. The resort has a Living Reef waterway winding through it that includes varieties of rays, sharks, tropical fish and corals. After lunch, we walked the Rainforest Walk from Lover's Cove and back via the Boardwalk to the Marina.

One day, on Hamilton, we walked to the aptly named Escape Beach in the island's southeast*. It was another hot day and beautifully blue. It was a nature walk. At one point we saw three Unadorned Rock Wallabies but they wouldn't pose for long enough.

The beach was deserted and the Reef View Hotel seemed a long way away. There was a big shady tree with hooks and shelves. We had a picnic lunch. The water was deliciously warm and no amount of stinger warnings were going to stop me paddling. Only diminishing water supplies drove us away: we climbed away from our Escape reluctantly.

It doesn't get much better than this.

* Pick up a free Walking Trails pamphlet from shops carrying tourist information in the Marina. It includes a schematic map, distances, walking times and lookout points. We started out from behind the Reef View Hotel Conference Centre on the Scenic Trail.