This was a bona-fide, Bounty-certified, piña colada-flavoured tropical paradise. The sea breeze rustled through the trees, tiny waves slapped the shore and the dazzling white beach squeaked beneath my bare feet, the sand softer than icing sugar.

A single vessel rode at anchor in the sparkling bay, her twin hulls brilliant white against the clear turquoise water, and overhead a pair of white clouds mirrored the catamaran against the fathomless blue of the summer sky. Exotic birds squawked in the emerald jungle behind the beach, and 100yd ahead, a wallaby loped lazily across the sand.

Oh, yes: a wallaby. Moreover, the birds were sulphur-crested cockatoos. I know what you’re thinking: Australia doesn’t do sultry paradise. Down under does fabulous fauna, stunning scenery and world-class wines. It boasts beautiful beaches and a surf culture that’s mimicked from Tenerife to Tenby – but when an Aussie says you’ve gone troppo, he doesn’t mean you’re swinging in a hammock sipping a daiquiri. He means that the spiders, the snakes and the stifling heat of the nation’s tropical north have driven you stark, staring mad. The plain truth is, when we think of tropical winter sun, it’s destinations such as Mauritius, the Maldives and the Caribbean that spring to mind, not Australia.

Well, think again. Cooled by breezes from the Coral Sea, the Whitsunday Islands, 300 miles north of Brisbane, enjoy temperatures in the mid80s without the sweat-soaked humidity of the mainland.

For thousands of years, only the Ngaro people knew these benign isles – actually the exposed peaks of coastal mountains drowned in an earlier era of global warming. Then, on Monday, June 4, 1770, Captain James Cook passed through, erroneously dubbing the archipelago the Whitsundays because he thought it was still the weekend. The islands, he wrote, were “tolerably high, and distinguished by hills and valleys which are diversified by woods and lawns that looked green and pleasant”.

Back then, the only way to explore the Whitsundays’ 74 islands was by sea, and, although today’s travellers arrive by plane – Hamilton Island’s tiny airport is a two-hour flight from Sydney and 60 minutes from Brisbane – getting out on the water is still the only way to do it.

I could go further than that. I could say that if you fly into Hamilton and stay put, then you’re a drongo, as they say in these parts. Staying on Hamilton Island – aka Hammo – is like going to London for a week and never leaving Hounslow. Except Hammo is slightly uglier than Hounslow.

The kind of Aussies who read Hello! magazine and dream of checking in at Sandy Lane stay on Hammo. They drink cocktails from plastic cups beside overcrowded pools and rent golf buggies to make the 300yd journey from their all-inclusive resort to the yacht harbour for a change of scenery.

I made my escape on the foredeck of the Melissa, a sleek white catamaran, on a luxury crewed charter from Sunsail. At the helm was skipper Mark Belyea, aided by first mate and ship’s cook Stephanie. As we skimmed northwards to Hook Island, a pod of bottlenose dolphins played in our wake, their dorsal fins flashing silver in the sunlight.

As the Whitsundays lie within a national park, you’ll find no beach bars, no restaurants and only a handful of high-price hotels here; so if you like your winter sun with a hint of neon, look elsewhere. Our first night was spent beneath the stars in the fjord-like Nara Inlet, and as we dropped anchor, the radio chattered with bareboat skippers calling in their positions to Sunsail HQ.

“We hear some bloody comical stuff sometimes,” said Mark, while Stephanie Blue Pearl turned a freshly caught mackerel into sashimi.Bay “One evening, a bloke calls in saying he’s stuck in a whirlpool and can’t escape. He’s got the sails up, and the engines running full throttle, but the boat is going round Hamilton Island and round in circles, like Whitehaven he’s trapped in a vortex. We could hear his wife screaming in the background, then someone breaks in and asks if the bloke has pulled up his anchor...”

Next morning, after checking the anchor, we headed east for a day’s snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. I was idly watching a huge turtle swimming alongside the hull when Mark asked me to take the helm.

“I can’t sail,” I admitted. “No worries,” he replied. “It’s easy.” And it was. If you’ve never sailed, there are few spots on earth as benign or as beautiful as the Whitsundays in which to learn. The swells remain outside the reef, the breezes are light and there’s a constant sense of wonder and discovery as you explore the scattered isles. “Indeed the whole passage is one continued safe harbour,” noted Captain Cook, and he knew a thing or two about sailing.

Proper yachties, though, should take the bareboat option, for this luxury-crewed-charter lark isn’t really a sailing holiday. It’s a beach holiday in a superbly catered floating guesthouse, and the indolent daily routine involves getting up, breakfasting on eggs benedict, kedgeree or other such simple fare, prepared by your cook, then loafing in the sun while being transported to yet another gorgeous beach. How gorgeous? There’s Whitehaven, six miles of gently sloping white sand that’s 98% pure silica, or Blue Pearl Bay, where the tropical fish sparkle in the turquoise sea.

After a couple of hours of snorkelling or kayaking, broken only by the great Aussie tradition of morning tea, it’s lunchtime. Then more loafing. Then teatime again, followed by some lying around, or maybe a game of beach cricket – the Australians are beginning to grasp the concept – and a long dinner beneath the stars.

One night, I asked Mark how the Whitsundays had remained such a well-kept secret.

The marine life is better than the Maldives, the beaches are better than Mauritius and the sailing is better than the Caribbean, so why wasn’t the archipelago better known?

He looked a little shifty. “Aussies know where it is,” he shrugged at last, but that wasn’t good enough. I insisted he come up with an advertising slogan I could take home to England. He told me he’d think about it.

I slept on deck that night, and awoke in a world of stillness. The sails were furled, the flag was limp, the sea no more than a languid slap against the hull. The only movement was in the east, where the sun was slowly rising beyond the black curve of the earth, and, as I dived overboard, following the lazy curve of the mooring rope, nothing stirred.

After swimming a few hundred yards through water that fizzed with phosphorescence, I turned in time to see the dawn, the sun shedding wisps of cloud like unwanted clothing as it emerged, blazing, from the Coral Sea. Today looked like being even more beautiful than yesterday – but then Cap’n Mark appeared on deck, dishevelled and disturbed by the splash of a man overboard.

“Where the bloody hell are you?” he called. “That’ll do,” I yelled back.

Chris Haslam travelled as a guest of Sunsail

Travel brief

THE WHITSUNDAYS were just made for sailing, with calm waters, secluded coves and a succession of dazzling island coastlines. If you want some time ashore, there are a few cracking hotels, too.

Yachting and cruising: Sunsail (0844 463 6807, www.sunsail.co.uk) charges £1,375 a week for a six-berth yacht, booked from the UK. If you’re inexperienced, hire a local skipper to do the work (£130 per day).

Dozens of cruise ships are based at Airlie Beach, on the Queensland coast, some nearly as beautiful as the islands they patrol. The 72ft Windjammer, for instance, a classic schooner with 2,000 sq ft of sail, takes just nine guests. Three nights cost £446pp, including all meals, through Barefoot Cruises (www.barefootcruises.com.au). A 13-night cruise on Ammari, a motor yacht with a pool and stylish sun decks, starts at £868pp, includingall meals, through Fantasea (www.fantasea.com.au).

Where to stay: Hayman (www.haymanisland. com.au) is a top-notch tropical retreat, with doubles from £333. Or try Daydream Island (www.daydreamisland.com; doubles from £143), which has a great spa and is popular with families.

Getting there: the airports to head for are Proserpine, near Airlie Beach, or Hamilton Island itself – both have easy transfers to other islands. Flight Centre (0870 499 0040, www.flightcentre.co.uk) has fares from Heathrow, with Qantas via Sydney, from about £1,000. Or try Austravel (0870 166 2020, www.austravel.com).

Tour operators: a tour operator can include a Whitsunday stay or sail in an Australian itinerary.Trailfinders (0845 050 5871, www.trailfinders.com) has a 10-day break, staying in Sydney and Cairns, with a three-day cruise, from £1,525pp, including flights. Or try Bridge & Wickers (020 7483 6555, www.bridgeandwickers.co.uk), or Travelbag (0800 804 8911, www.travelbag.co.uk ).

Further information:visit the excellent www.whitsundaytourism.com .

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