24/12/2009

Arriving on christmas eve at around 2pm and not feeling too festive we got picked up by our hostel bus and taken to Backpackers by the bay hostel. It was a nice hostel, fairly small and family run with a pool and outdoor cinema. We had pre-booked a double room to have a bit of comfort over christmas so we unpacked a few of our bits and went to the pool. There was already a bunch of people there for xmas, most of them having been there for quite a while already and they were drinking and playing pool games so we joined in. That was mostly how xmas eve was spent. Drinking games and chatting to other backpackers.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! We woke up about 8am and gave each other some little gifts we had bought and opened our cards from home in bed. Then I went and made us breakfast in bed - peanut butter or chocolate spread on toast and a glass of milk :-) After breakfast we donned our most festive clothing we had. For me that was a pair of red and white swim shorts and steph dressed her bikini up with tinsel. Heading to the pool many of the people had already started drinking... we thought we had better wait til after lunch so we could last the day. Our Hostel was putting on a christmas lunch for everyone which involved a massive BBQ around the pool with a huge spitroast of lamb :-S they also made loads of coleslaw :-) potato salad and salad. Slightly different from what we were used to on xmas we cracked open our first beer and joined in with the local festivities. After lunch was spent mainly in the pool with a few beers before we decided to walk into town to have a swim in the lagoon and to ring home. It was quite difficult ringing home as I think every backpacker in Australia was trying to do the same thing, but we got through in the end and it was really good to speak to everyone and wish them merry Christmas.

A couple of hours later we headed back to the hostel and spent the evening sitting outside drinking and chatting before hitting the sack as we had to be up to board our boat to the Whitsunday Islands.

Boxing day started much the same as at home, a little blurry eyed but in good spirit. we packed our small bags with what we thought we might need for 2 days at sea then shoved our big rucksacks in the locker rooms. It was a good 30min walk to the harbour so we set off in good time, stopping at a few shops for beers and some shorts for steph.

After checking in we boarded our home for the next 2 days and 2 nights - Wings II - a catamaran with a crew of 4.. Rich and Courtney were Dive Instructors, Tommo was the captain and Jake was the host/chef/deckhand.

The sail to the Whitsunday Islands took about 2hours before we morred at our first stop - Pearl Bay. Me and Steph decided we wanted to sdive here so got kitted up and went in. The visibility was ok, about 5-9metres and we saw lots of cool fish and the coral was amazing. After the dive we jumped back into the water for a snorkel and to take some photos.

This was our spot for the night too so after everyone had finished diving and snorkelling the bar was opened and we sat down for dinner. The food was really good on the boat, they fed us well with breakfast, morning snacks, lunch, sunset snacks and dinner everyday plus fresh fruit. After dinner everyone headed up on deck to sit under the stars and chat. The stars were amazing, we saw a few shooting stars too. Many people slept on the deck that night but me and steph opted for the comfort of our beds as the deck was hard and cold.

The next morning we were woken up at 6am by the crew for breakfast and our next dive. The next dive location was Mantaray Bay. As soon as we stopped here we knew it was going to be good as there were 3 HHUUUUGE Mawri Wrasse and Giant trevali circling around the boat. So we geared up and went in. The dive was good and we saw a white tip reef shark but me and steph used our air up quite quickly so came up after 30mins. That did mean however we got more time snorkelling with the Wrasse and after a shout by the captain we spent a good 15 mins snorkelling alongside a turtle. It was so cool and one of the most amazing things I have done. It didnt seem to bothered by us and just slowly swam along with us following slowly behind. We even managed to get a photo with it by the divers beneath us and I got one of it eating a jellyfish which was awesome. After that we went back to the boat and sailed on, having a morning snack on the way before stopping again for people to dive and snorkel. This time we decided just to snorkel as we had so much fun at the last place. The coral was really nice here with some really cool formations with tons of fish. There were a few turtles here too, most of them we spotted from the boat as they came up to breathe so didnt get to swim with them again but it was still good fun. Hungry and wet we got back on the boat and made our way to the infamous Whitehaven Beach - voted the world's 2nd most beautiful beach behind Thailand's Maya Beach (the location for the film The Beach) where we had been just a month earlier. On the way we were fed and relaxed in the baking sun on the deck.

We pulled up just the otherside of whitehaven beach at the foot of a walkway that lead us up over the headland to a lookout point that gave us views of the whole beach and surrounding area that were breathtaking. The sand is so white and it forms these huge sweaping formations from the wind and tide that make it even more beautiful. As the sand is so pure and white the water is an amazing turquoise blue and billiantly clear. After the lookout we walked down onto the beach. In my mind it should be the number 1 beach in the world, it is perfect and the water is clearer than most swimming pools. We posed for some cool photos, including the classic jumping shots, and had a swim in the sea. Unfortunately due to the stingers we had to wear our wetsuits which was annoying but it was still refreshing. Just while we were in the shallows we saw stingray, fish and a shark and you didnt need a mask it was that clear. we had a little kick about on the beach with a football the crew had with them and me and steph went for a walk along the beach. After a couple of hours it was time to walk back to the boat and unwind after a long day with some dinner and a few beers.

The next morning was our last and again we were woken up at 6am for those who wanted to dive or snorkel before we had to start making our way back to the mainland. It rained quite heavily that morning but the sun was still shining so we saw some cool rainbows. The visibiliy was poor so we only snorkelled for a short while. The sail back to the mainland was nice with the sunbeating down and the sails up, we were even given a goodbye by a pod of dolphins which finished the trip off nicely. It was a great experience and we were a little sad it was over... if only it could have been for longer!

That night we all met up and Beaches for some free drinks put on by our crew (although they didnt end up turning up) but pretty much everyone who was on the trip turned up and it was a good laugh. We were booked on the night bus that night to Agnes Water, 1770 so we left at around 11pm but it turned out that about 6 other people were also on that bus we said goodbye to the others, picked up some goon for the journey and boarded the bus.

Next, a whistlestop tour of Agnes Waters and the Town of 1770.