I'v just got back from sailing the Whitsundays and am feeling very burnt but very happy, had an amazing time. To start the story i got the overnight bus up here (no sleep) and right away got on to finding a boat to get on the next day. After a bit of research i found you could either go for the cheaper option of a 'Party Boat' or spend a bit more and go for a classic sailing boat. Having seen the wooden Tall Ships when i was younger i decided to fork out the extra cash and go for the Alexander Stewert; a 70ft, wooden tall ship with 4 sails!

As per usual on the first day i was late but this doesnt seems to be a problem when you live on OZy time. We set off towards the 74 Whitsunday Islands and had a great sail over. It was a bit awkward at first as 90% of the people on board were couples and since we were all strangers everyone kept to themselves. Our first point of call was a wee cove for snorkling which was brilliant as it was the best coral i'v seen so far. To cap it off we saw a baby White Tipped Reef Shark in the shallows of the sea, very exciting! We spent the rest of the day sailing and got to our anchor point some time after tea and scones (mmm..). That night was absolutly fantastic as we saw a natural wonder, Phospherence (spelling?). Its tiny bacteria in the water that light up when there is movment so the shoals of fish that swam past looked like shooting stars but underwater! At first the 3 of us who were watching didn't know if it was the boxed wine taking effect but the skipper explained all, to our relief.

I was woken at 7 the next morning by the anchor being winched in which me and my little hangover didnt really appreciate, however a few hours on the ocean and i was feeling top notch. That day we had a bush walk round one of the islands and saw all sorts of wildlife and then went down to Whitehaven beach, which apparently is the best place to go in all the islands. I can believe that though as the sand was like flour as it was so fine and bright white, also some of our group saw baby sharks and stingrays! Had a quick game of beach football to discover im not very fit and we boarded the boat to get to our next location. Where we stopped was brilliant, just after the daily tea and coffee we went out snorkeling (in stinger suits that look ridiculous) and all the group got to see a 1 and a half meter Grouper fish. It was huge! Just after our afternoon tea (fruit cake!) a few of us took the wee motor boat to the beach to watch the sunset. It was great just relaxing there with a few beers and a large packet of crisps, that is until our camp was invaded by Bandicoots (like Possums) who tried to nick our food and have nibles and my knees! They did seem a bit too interested in the beer however...made a great photo tho! That night was brilliant also, after a delicious meal we were all around the edge of the boat and we all watched; plankton swimming around, then plankton being eaten by mini squid, then mini squid being eaten by dolphins and, to top it off, massive Bull sharks chasing the dolphins round the boat. Not a bad nights entertainment. After a delicious dinner a few of us stayed up far too late and played cards on the top deck. Once we finished the card games everyone started heading below deck to bed, but a combination of the amazingly clear skies, shooting stars and massive amouts of boxed wine i decided to sleep on deck. I collected my sheet and blanket from below and went straight to sleep on the wooden deck. In all honesty it wasnt a bad nights sleep and i only awoke once due to the sunrise and blast of wind passing by, so if i had the choice again i wouldnt say no.

The next day we went for a quick snorkel around where we stayed the night but, understanably, some of our group didnt want to get in the water thanks to the shark silouets last night. The snorkling was good but not the best iv seen (think im becoming a coral snob), still it was nice to have a refreshing dip before lunch. Our miday meal was, again, very tasty and made even better by the apperance of several turtles who popped there heads out of the water to have a look at us and our boat. We had a wee while to digest and then we set sail for home. It was a great trip back as we had all but the back sail up and the wind was quite high, not so great for some (seasickness) but i loved it. Arriving back in the marina i collected my stuff and got on to dry land with a load of great memories and a empty, 4 litre bag of wine.