We are staying in the middle of Conway National Park, so it seemed appropriate to do one of its numerous walks – especially as the trailhead is literally just down the road.  Our map did not give the contour interval, so the half a dozen contour lines that we needed to climb up and down could have been anything from 30 to 120 metres.  It turned out to be closer to 30m.  The Coral Beach track made its way gently up a little, then almost indiscernibly down a little, and before too long we emerged onto Coral Beach.  It wasn’t hard to see where the name came from … the myriad coral pieces tinkled musically as we walked on them. It was a beachcomber’s paradise, the coral mixed with smooth pebbles and shells.

We made our way to the eastern end of the beach, then took the continuation of the trail, up to The Beak Lookout.  From there we had gorgeous views across most of the Whitsunday Islands – Daydream nearby, North and South Molle in front of us, Hamilton further in the distance, with its high rise towers setting it apart.  We watched boats coming and going, and scenic flights waggling their wings overhead.  We also spied a nest of crazy ants – and believe me, you do NOT want to mess with those guys!!!

Back to the beach; there were reports of a turtle which could be spotted at the western end, but we weren’t patient enough to sit and wait.  A picnic and a paddle in the clear turquoise water, discovering how soft our bare feet were.  We never saw more than three or four people on the beach at any one time.  It wasn’t hard just to sit, bask in the sun, and gaze at the scenery.