On the morning of Day2 of the voyage, we were dropped off at a little rocky cove at about 7:30 in the morning. A half hour hike up and over a ridge brought us to Whitehaven beach, apparently the 4th most photographed spot in Australia. (#1 is the Opera House, and after intense brainstorming, we figured #2 and 3 would be Uluru and the 12 Apostles...but I dunno). The place was gorgeous, a meeting of powdery white sand and glowing blue water rimmed by mountain. We'd come so early in order to beat the crowds. It was quite sunny and hot by 8am, and though a few folks had arrived before us, we had a huge area of beach to ourselves. Chilled out, tossed a frisbee, took a wander and saw small sharks and stingrays right by the shore. It's really shallow here, and a large sandbar is (currently) shaped like a curly-cue, forming a little lagoon for fish to gather. The stark whites and blues, punctuated by beating sun and swaths of clouds, was surreal and exotic, like some remote fantasy spot....well now, I suppose it is. Ran into a group of musicians based out of Sydney, a full horn section in fact. I have the trumpet belt buckle, a passerby called me on it, and ended up chatting for a half hour. I'm glad we arrived when we did, as the beach really started to "fill up" by about 9:30. Later, participated in the worst group picture I've ever taken... too much slouch!! Ouch. At 11:30, reluctantly, we reluctantly trudged back through the sand to our rendezvous, zoned from the sun and breathtaking surroundings.