Day Thirty One - August 6th, 2013
Sailing the Whitsunday Islands
I can only say that I had not found my sea legs. With the combination of confined space, rocking motion, noisy ocean, unfamiliarity and the extremely loud snoring of our skipper, Cam, I got around 3 hours sleep. Elly woke refreshed and happy, bouncing off the walls about one day living on a boat. Hmm, maybe not.
I managed a little breakfast (a fab spread of toast, cereals and fruit) and settled in with my book for the sail to the much coveted Whitehaven Beach. I think staying below deck was a big mistake, as I started I feel awfully queasy. Sipping a bottle of water and taking deep breaths of the clean air, I thought I'd feel better on deck. Nothing helped, and I desperately looked around for somewhere to be sick without 13 people looking at me. That wasn't an option, so somehow I managed to keep it down. I felt pretty ghastly, but got my beach gear together for our ride on the tender over to the beach. We saw some more whales and just as we were leaving the boat, we saw a turtle surface and then sink back down with a flick of his flippers. Amazing!
We took the bush walk with crew Elliot guiding us, and back on dry land I started to feel a little better. We cleared the hill and suddenly saw the perfect white sand and the many shades of turquoise waters which was Whitehaven Beach. WOW - breathtaking and indescribable. For anyone who has been there, you know you have been to paradise. I hope heaven is Whitehaven. There could be nowhere nicer in this world. We stopped to take pictures at the lookout, and learnt a little about the beach. The sand is great for exfoliation and cleaning of silver and gold, and stays cool even in the hottest sun due to it being so white and reflecting 75% of all sunlight. Eager to get down and feel the sand between our toes, crew Elliot left us to enjoy the beach. It was pure heaven - truly the most beautiful place I've ever been. Even the photos can't do it justice. We had a swim and a sunbathe and generally just soaked in the wonderful surroundings. We were even lucky enough to have the beach to ourselves for half an hour as other tours left, and we saw a stingray cruising in the shallows. All too soon it was 12pm and time to head back to the boat. We had lunch (fresh rolls with tuna, cheese and salad) and set sail again. I took some sickness pills that I had bought from Paddon's Cafe which seemed to help. Elly took two too, just to be on the safe side. Suddenly, 4 of the 10 tablets had gone from the packet. We were sharing them with the Irish couple, so technically only had one left. Hopefully we won't feel ill later in the trip!
With very little wind, we had time for two snorkels that afternoon, in lieu of a sail and a snorkel. Both sites of the reef were beautiful, with crystal clear waters at the second. Loads of great fish which ranged in size and covered the entire spectrum of the rainbow. We even saw a smaller fish cleaning out the mouth of a larger one! The coral was green, purple, orange, blue, pink - you name it, it was there! Elly even managed to see a big turtle briefly before it swam out of sight.
Back on the boat, we dried off in the sun and snacked on cheese, crackers, hummus and veggies. I really didn't expect such fab food! Crew Elliot even fed an eagle with some spare ham - it circled lower and lower and swooped in for the meat when Elliot threw it into the air.
The sun sank again, and we saw a satellite orbiting the earth. It's amazing what's out there when you have no light pollution! Dinner was served - veggie lasagne for me while everyone else had beef lasagne, accompanied by salad an garlic bread. We heard more about everyone's travels and headed to bed exhausted by an amazing day.