Whitsundays & Airlie Beach (13th - 17th Dec)

My apologies for the lack of updates, a I've not really had much time for updates - and when I have had time I've not been near an internet connection.

I arrived in Airlie Beach on the morning of the 13th and the weather had vastly improved since Fraser Island. I checked into the hostel and had a walk round, it's not a very big place and is pretty much bars/restaurants/hostels/shops etc.

I bought myself a book to read from the local second hand book shop - I figured 3 days on a boat I'd need a book.

I got some food supplies then spent the next 2 days relaxing by the pool at the hostel over looking the bay, swimming at the lagoon, drinking with some people from the hostel avoiding anything remotely strenuous.

The next day I was up early ready to head down to the marina, stopping off at the bottlo on the way for some beer.

We were greeted at the marina by Cookie, he was the dive instructor and general tour guide too (and a Kiwi). He introduced us to Bree, a girl from Canada who was in charge of the food and then Brad our captain from Tazzy.

After a briefing on general safety, we all introduced ourselves (we had a group of 15) then the 4 of us who were going to dive had a separate talk about diving.

An hour or so later we arrived at our first destination, blue pearl bay. I had enough time for some snorkeling before my first dive, it was amazing how many different species of fish there were. Below are just a couple of photos to give you an idea.

After 30 mins of snorkeling it was time for my first dive. Cookie walked us through the basics in a shallow part of the water (locating and unblocking the regulator, clearing water from your mask and learning the basic hand symbols). We then lay horizontally underwater whilst Cookie made our buoyancy neutral so we didn't sink or float (we had weight belts and a jacket which can fill up with air).

We were then ready for our first dive, it was very different how I imagined. I found breathing and moving very easy, it was the equalising that I found the hardest - you are supposed to equalise the pressure in your ears every 1 foot you descend by pinching your nose and blowing. My left ear never wanted to equalise and I also kept forgetting because it's hard to comprehend if you are ascending or descending with no landmarks around.

It was a fantastic experience, even though most of the time I was busy concentrating on what to do, so I didn't spend enough time just looking at the marine life.

Below is a picture of me holding a sea cucumber, Mark is on the right.

In the afternoon we headed for a inlet next to one of the islands for some shelter for the night. We ate a massive meal and drank beer whilst watching this beautiful sunset.

That night we had a perfectly clear sky and were treated to a display of shooting stars. We also had a dolphin circling our boat, he would catch a fish and then show off his catch to us before disappearing for a while.

The next morning we set sail for Tongue Bay and had breakfast there. It is a big breeding groung for green turtles and we must have seen at least a dozen surface for air right next to out boat. Below is a photo of one, they are probably 4 feet long.

A short walk from Tongue Bay brought us to the lookout over Whitehaven Beach. National Geographic named it the second best beach in the world and you can see why...

We spent a couple of hours sunbathing on the beach, didn't do much swimming because it is stinger season. Below is a group photo (L to R, Sarah, Sarah, Kirsten, B, Helen, Allesandro, Mark, Mark, Marie-Anne, Me, Lorraine, Torge, Matt, Kari and Jonathan)
In the afternoon we visited another bay where we had time for another snorkel and a dive. This dive was far more enjoyable, I had time and composure to really appreciate the environment. We swam through huge cliffs of coral, some were 6 or 7 metres tall.

On the final day we spent the morning kayaking in pairs, then taking turns to do some snorkeling, with the other person staying with the kayak. At one point Cookie spotted a turtle, so he took a few underwater photos, but we were too far away to get in the water in time.
Most people didn't spend that much time snorkeling, I was surprised because this was our last activity before returning to Airlie Beach.

So I stayed out as long as possible and I was rewarded for my efforts - a huge green turtle swam straight past me, I followed him for about ten minutes, he didn't seem bothered by my presence. It was an awesome sight, they are so graceful in the water. I didn't get any photos of this, but I'll upload one of Cookies photos of the other turtle when I get a chance [EDIT updated below].


When we returned to the boat Cookie was throwing some breadcrumbs off the side of the boat. This encouraged the batfish to come up and feed, these fish were pretty big, I think around 3 feet long.

Eventually we had to return, everyone agreed the trip far exceeded our expectations. We had perfect weather, a friendly and knowledgeable crew, great food and above all a great bunch of people. We all seemed to be on the same wavelength and it made the trip all the more enjoyable.

Brad, Bree, Cookie & Me