Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia

Whitehaven Beach is a 7 km stretch along Whitsunday Island. The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour, as well as Hamilton Island. The Whitehaven Beach Ocean Swim is a 2 km open swimming competition held on the Beach in November each year as part of the Hamilton Island Triathlon Event.
The beach was awarded Queensland’s Cleanest Beach in Keep Australia Beautiful’s 2008 Clean Beach Challenge State Awards.
Whitehaven Beach is known for its pure white sands. The sand consists of 98% pure silica which gives it a bright white color. Local rocks do not contain silica so it has been suggested that the sands were brought to the beach via prevailing sea currents over millions of years.