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June 9 - June 26, 2002
Our first stop at the Great Barrier Reef was in a little town called Townsville - we were at first overwhelmed with options - sailing cruises, diving, islands, outer reef, ribbon reef, fringe reef, and a million different snorkeling cruises - ahhhhh - we need to do it ALL!
We spent a few days just organizing and finding the best deals to the best parts of the Reef. We learned that alot of the tours were not busy at thie time because "most" travellers (from the UK) were watching the World Cup soccer. We took advantage of this and booked everything. We decided to see Townsville later.
| The Iluka |
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| Photos taken by crew on the mast . |
Sailing the Whitsunday Islands
The Whitsunday Islands are inside the outer Great Barrier Reef near a little town south of Cairns called Airlie Beach. We got a great deal on a luxury sailing cruiser with our own cabin and ensuite bathroom plus only 9 other people on the boat that usually holds 16 passengers. BUT the travel agent told us that these luxury cruisers are more expensive and generally cater to a higher level of traveller. So what we heard from that statement was that we would be travelling for 3 days with 60 year olds. BUT we got a great deal - we had to just go for it!
Once we boarded the boat we were so impressed by how luxurious it was - it was gorgeous. Plus the crew absolutely caters to you - amazing meals and morning/afternoon tea. They cook, clean and cater to every whim. The biggest and most disheartening thing about the trip was that we were the OLDEST of the bunch (Sherry was)! How sad and with Sherry on the eve of her 30th birthday this was just enough to set her off the gangplank. The boat was full of 19 year olds and since we feel 19 years old we all had a great time. This turned out to be our favourite Oz experience so far!!!
| Whitehaven Beach |
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The first day we cruised to the most pristine, perfect beach you could imagine. Whitehaven beach is isolated and has white silica sand that squeaks under your feet because it is so fine - like talcum powder - no rocks or shells. We did some sunbathing (temp +32 degrees C) and Sean tried to swim with some turtles that were swimming about 300 yards out in the water. It was definitely our favourite beach so far. This is the beach that all others in the world should be compared to.
| Moorish Idol |
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The first day we snorkeled off Haselwood Island the next day to Maureen's Cove off Hook Island and then Blue Pearl Bay which is off the elite Hayman Island. Each site was better than the last - sheltered bays, clear water, meters and meters of visibility. The coral was beautiful and +schools of fish. Everytime we snorkel it is a different experience - we see new and different things each time. It is very addicting. Sometimes we get to see turtles, manta rays, sometimes we swim with cod/grouper as big as us and sometimes you are surrounded by so many fish that you cannot even see in front of you and you cannot move without kicking or touching them.
| Peek-a-Boo |
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Each time we are snorkelling, Sean is always the last one out of the water - we do a head count back on the boat and he is always the one missing - they usually have to send the dingy out to get him. The second morning he even jumped in around sunrise - before most of the boat was awake. We just love the world "under the sea" and he is always looking for that new thing or that BIG shark!!! Ummm can you say addicted.....
| Calm Nights on the Water |
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The sunsets at sea are amazing the sky is this never ending kaleidescope of colours and endless scenes. Not only does the sun set but the moon also sets about 3-4 hours later?? Strange? The stars were fabulous and we all sat and stared at them for hours - a short astronomy lesson from Sherry showed the Southern Cross, the very visible Milky Way and Orions Belt (up-side down) and some other constellations. It is very hard to pick out particular stars in these skies because there are so many and they seem layered upon each other in endless layers.
| We were sad to see this lifestyle go!!! |
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We journeyed around the islands - we feed some sea eagles, saw wild goats, saw dolphins and the world's most deadly sea snake. We did some whale searching - but did not find any. We did so much relaxing and sunbaking that they had to literally kick us off the boat - it was a pretty amazing experience and a lifestyle that we could get used to - when we retire again !
| The Illuka and us all |
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| Look what we found!! |
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Cairns
We were still pretty stoked from our sailing trip compounded with our anticipation to trek up north and see the Outer Reef from Cairns and Port Douglas. Our plan was to be packed up and on the road nice and early... BUT... we got the emergency call about this lost american boy who might be in danger and desperate need of friendly interaction. We knew our duty straight off and were glad to spend the day fending off the sharks (besides lunch was free)!!! Vah-Hooooo!!!! Thanks Daniel.
| I think this shark swallowed a "Sieman" |
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| Pour Daniel! |
We left Airlie Beach and headed north to Cairns and the outer reef - it was about a 700 km. We explored around - Cairns is definitely a backpacker's heaven -pubs, tours, internet cafes and shops. We arrived in town just in time to go to a education session on the reef called "Reef Teach". It was very cool -we learned about all of the life under the sea - what you can touch and what will kill you if you do touch, names of fish and coral and about spawing - we confirmed that almost everything but humans are asexual in the Australia waters. I definitely recommend it (when you are in the area) there is so much life under the water that it is good to know what you are looking at and what you should stay away from.
| By the look of this port it seems like a nice day? |
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| We couldn't be more wrong!!! |
We had booked to trips to the reef and our first left from Port Douglas which is about 1 hour north of Cairns so we travelled there to catch our boat. It seemd like a beautiful day to us - barely any wind, calm water and sunshine - but when we got to the desk to book in we were told about the high winds (30-40 knotts) on the ocean and given the option to cancel the trip. They guaranteed great visibility under the water but a 1.5 hour rough ride to the reef.
| School of Travaley |
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Well the ride was rough - rocking and swaying the whole time. About half of the passengers were seasick - but we managed to hold our brekkie down. As for the snorkelling it was a very rough swim. Imagine you are swimming out in the ocean unprotected, the water is so rough and choppy that you get water in your snorkel and fight the current the whole time. We tried to see everything and swim as much as we could but there were times when you could not turn around or even stay in one spot to look at something. Sherry got rocked into coral by one huge wave and suffered from reef rash on her leg from hitting the jagged coral. Ouch!
| Mates for Life! |
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However, the visibility under the water was great it was so deep - we could see over 30 feet down. We were on a edge of the reef that was like a giant wall or shelf which was very busy with wildlife. Sherry saw a giant turtle (about as big as her armspan) and the crew told her that his name is Phil. He actually came up to the surface to check her out and then swam under to see the divers. All of the coral and small animals were in protection mode - staying close to the coral to stay out of the currents so it was easy to see the big guys and swim with the little guys. We still love it even on rough days like this.
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| One of Many Parrot Fish |
Again we saw out of this world creatures and life but the overall experience could be described as rough!! We waited a few days for the weather to out on the sea calm down and hung out with our new friends Jon and Charlene. But in the end we cancelled our other trip which was supposed to be a dive. We will definitely come BACK - there is more to see in this area plus we are addicted to this lifestyle.
| We have near 20, great pictures of this Bugga |
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Back to the Whitsundays
Well we knew that we had to head south -we knew of some jobs in the Brisbane area and felt it was time to settle into a routine again. But on the way - just one more stop at the Reef. With our sailing cruise we got a pass to go on a Catamaran called On The Edge to the islands and the inner reef again. We thought it would be a great way to spend Sherry's birthday. The inner reef is definitely more protected from the rough seas and we had perfect weather. We went to our favourite snorkeling spot - Blue Pearl Bay and were not disappointed. Once again we had an amazing swim and saw new things and had an experience to remember.
| With all this Yellow in the water |
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| You'd think the Manta Ray snuck up on Sean again!! |
Sean again was the last one (out of about 30 people) in the water and they had to go get him. He was swimming along looking at the huge groper and cod and then all of a sudden he was head to head with a HUGE mantaRay (6-8 feet wide). Neither one of them expected the other to be there skimming across the top of the water and both were scared shitless and struggled to get away from each other. Needless to say - no great photos were taken.
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