WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
Day 23 - Wednesday 7th October
WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
We headed over to The Coffee Club at the marina to grab some lunch before meeting with our fellow sailors. At one we boarded the yacht 'Prima', there were 8 passengers and 2 crewe. The boat can take up to 12 passengers, so we had a lot more room than usual, although our cabin was teeny tiny with a strange wedge shaped bed. After a quick safety briefing we set sail. We were 2 Brits, 2 Frenchies, 2 Germans, 2 Chinese, a Kiwi skipper and an Aussie hostie. We had been warned that the wind was up and that it could be pretty rough in the open sea between mainland Australia and the islands that make up the Whitsunday's archipelago. I had come prepared and taken seasickness tablets, everyone else said they didn't get sea sick... I thought don't come begging me for tablets cos I'm keeping them all for myself!!
As the conditions were so unpredictable, we didn't sail and instead went on motor power. After a few hours of up and downs and side to sides, we arrived in a calm bay and went snorkelling. We all kitted up in black sea onesies - apparently they are called 'stinger suits' and we all looked ridiculous. They also had some newfangled snorkelling face masks that covered your whole face and the snorkel was part of the mask. It was awesome, you didn't have to put anything in your mouth and you could breath normally and talk! It made me look like Storm Trooper, but if anything, that added to the experience.
Once we were out the water we were treated to a huge plate of extremely cheesy, extremely good nachos. We devoured them, then set sail to our sleeping place. There were quite a few other boats there too, as there aren't that many sheltered places, especially when the weather is this balmy. Dinner was a delicious chicken curry and pudding was an orange cake and ice cream, homemade by the owners wife. Apparently this tour is known for having the best food, and the deserts in particular are famous!
Sleeping proved tricky in such a small cabin but we realised half way through the night that if we topped and tailed we fitted in much better.
Day 24 - Thursday 8th October
WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS
We were awoken by Bob Marley blasting out the boat stereo, which we had been told the night before was our cue to wake up and come out to the top deck to see the sun rise. It was gorgeous, such a bright sun bursting out over the water.
The skipper had started sailing at 5.30am to hopefully make it to Whitehaven beach. We were ferried ashore in the dingy and firstly climbed up to the viewpoint to see the beach. It is known as one of Australia's most beautiful beaches as the sand is 98% pure silica, which apparently doesn't get made anymore and so once the sand has been washed away over many years, there will be none left. The sand was almost white and was so so fine. It was different to other sand and walking on it was cool. The ocean was all sorts of amazing blues and the bands of colour looked like different tones in a Pantone book... You'll see what I mean when you look at the pics below.
Unfortunately, just as we'd made it to the beach, the heavens opened. Me and Will figured it'd just be a shower and so we waited it out when everyone else took cover in the trees. Our gamble paid off and when the rain died down, we were the only people for 5 mins on the entire beach.
When we headed back to the boat, we visited 2 other snorkel spots. The second one was meant to be the most beautiful, and it lived up to the hype. There were millions of blue fish with yellow tails that were schooling. At a few points, I was swimming amongst them. It was incredible to see them all going in the same direction and then suddenly all switch to go left or right. I also saw two very large Maori Wrasse fish that had huge lips that looked like they'd had one too many Botox injections. We followed a couple of larger rainbow fish who had incredible colourings, and several zebra fish. The coral looked very healthy here too, with many different types to explore.
Whilst in this location we saw a large, very expensive looking, space age yacht. It apparently belongs to Rupert Murdoch's grandson. On board they had a rope swing, one end of which was attached to the top of the mast. The other end was attached to a speed boat in the water, and halfway along it was a triangular handle that you grabbed hold of from the deck of the boat, then the speedboat zoomed away, hoisting you higher and higher until you let go and plopped into the water. It looked SO fun.
Unfortunately the weather didn't hold, and the rain came falling down. Out came the emergency yellow ponchos!
That evening we headed to a tiny Island to watch the sunset from the beach with some snacks. It was a gorgeous location. A dinner of Moroccan beef stew with cous cous followed, with the best saved for last - a sticky toffee pudding to die for. After a couple of tinnies, we headed for bed, completely worn out from all the fresh air!
Day 25 - Friday 9th October
WHITSUNDAY ISLANDS TO CARMILA BEACH
We had a brilliant breakfast, with eggs on toast, loads of different cereals, yogurts, toast with a good spread of condiments. Yummy. Then it was time to sail back to port. We hoisted up the sails, left calmer waters and held on for dear life as the boat lurched each time a huge gust of wind filled the sails. It was a bloody good adventure, and I felt fine as I'd taken the seasickness pills, other people weren't feeling quite so good. One girl was sent to sit at the back by the skipper so she could throw up away from the wind so the rest of us wouldn't get covered! Will had a turn at steering the boat and took to it like a fish in water.
Near the the end of the journey I pulled out a banana and chomped away and the two crewe looked horrified. I didn't know if they were joking or not when the told me that it was very bad luck to bring bananas on board a boat. Apparently it's a superstition dating back a long while, when bananas made other fruit go off on long voyages. As they didn't know that this was a chemical reaction, they believed that bananas brought bad luck. I just carried on eating it, it seemed rather ridiculous to me!
After a lot of hand shakes, hugs and group photos we bid farewell to Prima and her crew and set off for our grand reunion with Vanwell. It had been nearly three days and like overprotective parents we were unnecessarily worried.
After stocking up on the essentials, food, ice, and a ukulele, we hit the road south. Will was getting excited as we were only a few days drive from surf-able coast so wanted to get a wriggle on. It was a fair drive especially in the hefty winds that seemed to have been continuously blowing for the last few days. We had to take it slow as poor old Vanwell was getting thrown about a bit on the exposed highways that sliced the flat farmland. We made for a little beach an hour south of a town called Mackay and pulled right up on the sand. Happy with our spot we opened the doors and were almost blown across the car park. An eastly wind was howling into the bay making any plans of firing up the stove for dinner void. It was a shame because from inside the van this little spot looked perfect with the sea crashing outside the back window. We decided to have our first dinner inside Vanny and dinned on tuna and creamed sweetcorn sarnies (the creamed sweetcorn was a delightful happy accident). They were actually pretty good, especially washed down by an ice cold beer.
