So I have just spent the last two days sailing around the Whitsunday Islands and now I am hooked on a life on the seas. It's just so relaxing and a great way to sea some of the most beautiful sights in the world.
In fairness I did have a bit if a shakey start and suffered a small amount of sea sickness- I had to take a cheeky chunder over the side of the boat on the first morning but after that I gained my sea legs and was fine for the rest of the trip. I was, however, the only person out of the thirty-two passengers that managed to throw up and as a result I was the butt of a few jokes for the rest of the trip, especially amongst the crew.
On our first full day on the Whitsundays we got up at the wonderful hour of 7am (great) so that we could make the most of the island. And I have to say, it was most definitely worth the effort of getting up at that ungodly hour. The sand is the whitest sand I have ever seen. This is apparently because it is made of around 99% silicon. This also makes a good exfoliator, and my legs did feel a great deal smoother after a little frolicking on the beach. The water was so clear as well and luckily for us, we had a cloudless sky. It really was the picture postcard view of paradise. Sadly we only got to spend a couple of hours on the beach, but I could have spent the whole day there.
In the afternoon we went to a place called Luncheon Bay where we did a spot of diving and snorkelling. I attempted the diving and managed to complete two out of the three skills, however the sheer unnaturalness of being able to breathe under water meant I panicked slightly and didn't go ahead with the dive. Louis, the diving instructor, seemed a bit upset that I gave up. I may give it another go in the future, now that I know what to expect, but, I was happy enough just snorkelling, and I managed to see a lot of beautiful things, just floating on the surface.
On the last day, we did more snorkelling, this time much nearer to the Outer Barrier of the Great Barrier Reef. Here I managed to see a lot more of the famous corals, and got to swim with the fish (literally, not in a scary mafia way). It was so peaceful just floating around watching all the coral moving in with the motion of the waves, and the fish swimming around, without a care in the world. It is definitely hard to feel stressed out in this environment. I must say though, the reef itself wasn't as impressive as I thought it was going to be. The colours weren't as vibrant as they look in postcards and photos, and there wasn't that much of it. Maybe I was looking in the wrong place?! Still, it was amazing to see.
The rest of the two days was spent on the boat. Boats are very sociable places. I suppose this is because it involves a lot of people sharing a very small space. I had so much fun, and the crew that took us were sp much fun. We of course played the obligatory 'forcing people to eat a spoonful of vegemite'game. In this case, based around a game of 'fact or bullshit'- if you got the answer wrong you had to eat a spoonful of vegemite. Luckily I managed to avoid this. Maybe it was because they realised that me, being chunder central, probably shouldn't eat something as vomit enducing as vegemite. Thank god.
Anyway, the trip is over and I am back on dry land. Already, though, I am longing for the seas. I'm also sad because this means my last week in Australia is approaching. I'm really starting to get attached to this land down under. The people are so friendly and the weather is lovely. Next week I move onto Fiji though. Maybe that will be enough to make me forget Australia!
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