Review: Whitsundays Adventure Island tour – South Molle Island and Whitehaven Beach
Arrival & Mid Molle walk
Day 1 – We boarded our trusty boat for the trip, sailing catamaran, ‘Pride of Airlie at Able Point Marina in Airlie Beach. The boat is in good condition and being a catamaran is a great platform for cruising around the Islands.
The friendly crew welcomed us aboard, did the safety spiel and threw the ropes off.
They gave us briefings en route and the trip to South Molle took roughly an hour. Just the right amount of time to meet the other passengers and get a feel for the people we’d be spending the next 3 days with.
On arrival everyone was chomping at the bit to get onto the Island.
Us in particular since I had figured out from looking at Google Earth that we could walk over to mid Molle Island at Low tide which was at 5pm.
Before we disembarked we were given a quick run down on the itinerary and important information and given a booklet with a map and information we’d need.
We checked in, picked up our mask, snorkel and stinger suit and they also asked about dietary requirements.
No fins (flippers) were provided though so if you want them, bring your own.
We stayed in a top floor double ocean front room, over looking the water and jetty. The rooms are nice, older but really good. Comfy bed. TV, AC, fridge, everything we needed.
The upgrade cost for a double room was $65 per person. If you don’t get a double then you will be staying in 6 share dorms which are nice too.
We dropped our bags off and made for the Mid Molle island walk since the connection to Mid Molle is only exposed at low tide.
This 500m – 1km walk had amazing views and we managed to see some wildlife including a golden orb spider.
Big but not harmful to humans and very impressive looking.
It was late afternoon too so we managed to get a great sunset as well.
We arrived back at the resort in time for dinner at 7pm which was spaghetti bolognese. The bar and eating area is perfect and quite big.
There’s a free pool table, party games, $15 jugs of beer, cocktails available and of course any other drinks that tickle your fancy.
The staff were very helpful and made the night a lot of fun.
We met some great people and found ourselves on the jetty to watch the moon come up. A perfect start to the trip and above all the bed was very comfortable.
Snorkelling & Whitehaven Beach
We were up early for breakfast at 7 which included cereals, eggs, toast, tea coffee and fruit.
Good fuel since today we were going snorkelling on the reef and visiting Whitehaven Beach.
We boarded boat at 8am and got our safety briefings and the staff gave us a good laugh before we left.
It took about an hour to get to the island where we did the snorkelling. The weather was a little but rough on the way out but the crew were really good with people not feeling too well.
Visibility was average and the sun was patchy so that didn’t give us the best conditions but the coral was great and we saw quite a few nice reef fish.
We didn’t see it but some others saw a turtle which was the buzz when we got back to the boat.
After about an hour of snorkelling we started heading towards Whitehaven Beach (had this in the Bucket List for a while now). It took about an hour to get there and when we arrived we had lunch which was chicken wings, lettuce and pasta.
The staff then took us over to the beach in the tender and it was just as stunning as I’d seen in the pictures and videos. White Silica sand, crystal clear water with rainforest backdrop.
We had some toys including footballs, frisbee, noodles and of course our snorkelling gear.
Whitehaven beach is absolutely stunning. The white silica sand there is only found on Whitehaven Beach.
The sand was actually used by NASA for a Hubble telescope lens. The water is so clear. Just remember not to take any of the sand home, big fines! Try cleaning your jewelery in it too, you’ll be amazed how clean it comes up.
Spion Kop Walk & Activites
Day 3 –
We took in a big breakfast at 7am then met at the wishing bell at 8am to go on a guided walk to Spion Kop.
This walk is considered Queensland’s best bushwalk by Australian Geographic in 2010.
The Spion Kop walk gives you breathtaking views of both sides of the island, aboriginal history a lot of amazing photo opportunities.
I can see why Australian Geographic liked it so much.
The last little treat we got was the fish feeding at 10am. You can swim with the fish and hand feed them and it was a really nice way to top off the trip.
We checked out at 10:30am, had lunch at 11am and the made our way down to the boat for our 12pm departure.
It was funny to hear everyone talking about how they just wanted to stay(myself included) and I know of at least one person who is still trying to get a job there!
The Adventure Island Tour to South Molle was that good.
Overall verdict:
We loved it! Great resort, big pool and all the facilities you need and more. It was bigger than expected but really well integrated with environment. There were only 50 of us and we had the island to ourselves. There were so many things to do on the island to the point that we couldn’t actually do them all. There is a big historical aboriginal significance. With the way the island is, the beach gets sun all day.
Activities and things to do on South Molle Island:
- Walks
- Coconut husking
- Tennis
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Snorkelling
- Golf
- Paddle boarding
- Pool
- and more….
We’d love to hear your comments or questions about South Molle.
Have you been to the Whitsundays and if so did you enjoy it?
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