I just returned from 3 long hot days of sailing around the Whitsundays on a really neat classic sailing ship. I went with Jo, my English friend, and there were 14 people, the skipper, the cook, and the first mate. Everyone was really nice, met some cool new people. We boarded the boat nice and early at 9am on Thursday morning. As we got on we had to give up our sandals, never to see them again for 3 days, then get our feet washed off. They are quite particular about keeping the boat clean. Bananas are prohibited on boats, for superstitous reasons. My boat was called Providence, and was a classic wooden sailing ship, very pirate-looking. Everything was done with manpower only. We all had to pitch in to sail the thing. We had to hoist the sails up and down, and hand crank the anchor up, which was heavy. I have never seen so many ropes in my life. My sailing lingo is quite good now, I know all about the peak and throat of the masts and what angles to keep them at, etc. There wasn't too much wind, so we motored some of the time, and sailed some of the time. We would pretty much sail for a few hours, stop and snorkel for an hour, get back onto the boat, have a snack or meal, sail, stop and snorkel, eat... The snorkelling was absolutely amazing, beyond what I ever imagined. We were on the outskirts of the Great Barrier Reef. The coral was beautiful and very diverse. It came in all colors and all shapes, some looked like brains, some like shrubs, some like mushrooms, some hard, some soft and waving in the current, yellow, blue, red, green, purple, pink, white....... And the fish, the fish were the best part. It was like being in an aquarium of exotic fish. At a few points, I was surrounded by schools and schools of tropical fish, tons of them, all different colors and shapes too. Words really cannot describe. I took my digital camera with me to try and capture the wonders, but the pictures don't quite do it justice. I can't wait to do diving now. I get to Magnetic Island on Monday, where I will stay a week or so to do my open water dive course on the Great Barrier Reef. I saw one fish that must have been over a meter long, and almost a meter high, it was a giant, and so so colourful, and moved really slowly. We had to wear stinger suits while in the water because it is now stinger season, and there are some deadly jellyfish in the water. I saw some, but didn't get stung. We all slept on the boat both nights. Some people slept in the bunks, but I slept on the deck both nights. It was really beautiful laying there on the deck of this pirate ship, looking at the clear sky and stars, being rocked by the waves. It was however, not the most comfortable sleeping of my life, and the sun was so hot at 7am we couldn't sleep any longer. A group of turtles swam up to our boat the last morning, but apparently I couldn't be woken, too bad. The food was excellent as well, we had 6 meals a day, definitely the best eating I have had since landing here. We went to Whitehaven beach to watch the sun set one evening. We did a little hike up to the lookout to see the whole beach. The beach is magnificently white, like snow, and the water was so turquiose. We saw tons of stingrays right off the beach too, and some people even saw sharks. The only problem with the trip was the heat, there was no way to escape it. I layered on the spf 30 constantly, and managed to avoid any major burns. I felt pretty grimey at the end, covered in sunscreen and salt, it was nice to get back to land and have a shower. Last night in Airlie Beach there was a big street party, and bands performing, I guess there has been a week-long festival the whole time we have been here. A "save the reef" festival. There was a huge fireworks show the first night we got here. I still feel like I am on the boat, constantly moving back and forth. I am leaving tomorrow for Magnetic Island.


Bat fish, they circled our boat the whole time we anchored there, and swam with us. They are actually bigger than my head.


Great Barrier Reef coral


The infamous Whitehaven Beach


Me snorkelling, and looking so cool doing it


Home for the 3 days