Just finished our sailing trip round the Whitsunday Islands.  Both had an amazing time!  On the first day we were meeting at 9am, so we put all our luggage into storage and did about a 10 minute walk to the marina.  There were met everyone including our dive instructor Christian aka Odie.  He came round us all took details etc and asked us if we'd be interested in doing a dive.  It was at this point that Pam was told she wouldn't be able to do one due to her ears which we were both gutted about! 

On the boat we were told the 'rules' (lots on toilets!) and introduced to the rest of the crew, Chris the skipper and Carla the chef.  We then sailed for around 3 hours which was ace, we all sat on the boat facing out towards the water with our legs dangling over the side.  Lush!  We then set down anchor in Luncheon Bay where we had lunch which was a feast of crusty rolls, salads, cold meats etc.  Once the food had settled we all went snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef!  Christian went round everyone asking who wanted to do a dive, Gemma said she did as well as couple of others, although Pam obviously couldn't.  (booooo) Snorkelling was amazing in itself though, as soon as you put your head under water you were surrounded by a mass of different colours from all the coral and all the different types of fish.  Gem didn't snorkel for too long because she had the dive coming up but Pam stayed in there for ages with Vicky.  We all heard them screaming at one point and we later learnt that they'd spotted a reef shark which was pretty cool!  We also all saw a blue spotted sting ray which is the type that killed Steve Irwin.  (this one was a little bit smaller though) Back on the boat me, Vicky and a girl called Sabrina were taken on the tender over towards where Christian had just finished his previous dive with his other group.  We got into the water and all the equipment was strapped to us, gas cylinder, weight belts etc.  We then went over the 3 skills which was mainly all about how to clear the breathing apparatus and what to do if the breathing thing comes out your mouth.  After mastering these we went down and did our first ever dive!  At first I found it difficult regulating my ears and they hurt quite a lot but eventually I got the hang of it.  Diving there was amazing though, and the sensation of breathing under water and being so deep was ace!  We saw loads of fish and different corals etc, and I held a sea cucumber!!  I thought it was a piece of coral or something, it hadn't crossed my mind that it was actualy alive with legs etc!!  It was only later on when looking at the under water pictures did I realise what it actually was that I held!

After the dive we all got back onto the boat, Pam had been in the hot tub while I'd been doing the dive and I went in too to warm up!  It was gorgeous with the sun setting behind us.  We then sailed to Stone Haven where we would be spending the night.  Thats also where we ate dinner (marinated chicken, roast potatoes, salad and other yummy stuff!  Even chocolate cake and custard for dessert!)  While eating our cake we sat down stairs and watched a slide show of all the pictures christian had taken that day.  Me and Pam then went to bed ridiculously early (about 9pm).  The beds were very...cosy!  It was a double top bunk, I went next to the wall and Pam next to me.  We actually both slept really well that night!

Next day we woke up to the sound of the anchor being pulled up, it actually made us jump out of our skin!  We got dressed etc and went upstairs where breakfast had been prepared.  While we ate (fresh fruit salad) we sailed to Tongue Bay where we got the tender accross to a beach.  There we went on a short walk to Whitehaven Beach.  The sand was pure white (98% silicon) and the sea was all different shades of blue.  It had been voted the 2nd best beach in the world but the 1st best beach in Mexico was hit by a monsoon last year making it now number 1!  Woohoo!  At the beach Christian made us do lots of crazy stuff while he took picutes which was funny (including attempting to make a human pyramid - failed!)  We then went for a walk along the sea where we saw loads of baby sharks!  Pretty cute and not dangerous in the slightest!  After sunbathing for a couple of hours we headed back to the boat.  There we sat and watched sea turtles for a bit which was ace, I'd not realised how big they actually where and that there shell can grow up to 6ft!  We then sailed again accross to Cataran Bay.  There we did more snorkelling and I did 2 more dives.  We went a lot deeper on those and saw a nemo fish as well as some crazy spidery looking fish thing.   Another early night that night after a meal of steak, pasta and cauliflower/brocolli cheese thing. 

The next day I woke up at around 5:30 and went to sit on the deck where I saw loads more sea turtles.  After everyone was up we had a fried breakfast and got ready to do our kayaking.  Everyone went in 2s so me and Pam where together and we were actually pretty good at it!  We surprised ourselves!  While kayaking we saw more turtles and massive sting rays!  We stopped off for a break at a tiny beach and played in the sea for a bit, we then decided we were all going to play the raft game.  This is where you get all the kayaks next to each other and hold onto them.  You're spilt into 2 teams and have to run round the raft back to your own seat.  I fell off twice and cut my hands and my feet on the coral which hurt!  Unfortunatly our team lost but we put up a good fight!  After kayaking for about 3 hours we got back onto the boat where we had a BBQ for lunch.  We then sailed back to Airlie beach for a much needed shower!  That night a table had been reserved in the hostel's bar for everyone that was on our boat so we all met up and got totally hammered off Jaeger bombs!  (Jaegermeister and redbull)  They're actually really nice and you all have to try them!

Self inflicted pain the next day, all hung over to the max!! Anyway we're here in Airlie beach til Friday now, for my birthday woohooo!!!  Dressing up as pirates for our night out, can't wait!  Pam will fill you in on all those shannanigans soon!

Lots of Love from Gem and Pam xxxx