Michelle says:

Well what a fantastic trip.? The tallship, Derwent Hunter?was gorgeous and the Islands were as beautiful as I remember.? Dom was in his element providing running commentary on what and why the deck hands were doing what they were doing to any unsuspecting passerby.? The ensuite bathroom was a challenge to say the least but it was all part of the salty experience.? I spent the second night on deck because the cabins were a bit too hot? (for some reason D didn't mind it) which was great because although I woke up a few times, I could just gaze at the stars. Also, each morning we could watch turtles come up for air (they hold their breath overnight) - they're huge!?

We stopped at a few beaches but on Whitehaven beach, the sand was so fine and pure you could use it to polish your jewellery so our wedding rings are very sparkly now.? However if the sand gets into your camera lense you may as well throw it away so we didn't get any photos on the beach.? However, there are pictures of the beach taken from the yacht.

We also had the opportunity to snorkel eveyday and saw some very pretty coral as well as a huge variety of tropical fish.? Actually, it was very much like a very large version of Christian's fish tank (those of you who've had the pleasure).

There were 14 other people, mostly?couples.? Amazingly everyone was lovely.? There were quite a few pommies, one couple were in their 60's and had been campervanning it around NZ and made us feel very ashamed about our inability to backpack properly.? One couple were from Camberley that Dominic inadvertently managed to insult by saying that people from that part of the country were all Nazis.? Also a Canadian couple and some Germans.

One of the few?rules we had to adhere to while staying on the yacht was to sign in each time we returned from a snorkel or sun bathing session (to prevent an 'Open Water' type situation happening).? Dominic forgot one of the many times and had to eat a tablespoon of Vegemite as punishment.? It wasn't pretty, especially as he prefers Marmite.

Oh and how could I forget.  Each time we went in the water we had to where 'Stinger Suits' which protected us from the deadly jelly fish - very fetching as you'll see.  Although the bloody sea lice got me again and bit me on the only bit of exposed bit of flesh - my lip.

I think that's everything. Off to Cairns and the great Barrier Reef.

Mx