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Published: January 23rd 2015
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Just done another day out in a boat, this time we went on a family run boat with three guys one of whom looked like Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates Of The Caribbean. When we turned up I thought they were a right rum lot but actually as the day went on they were really good guys and made sure that you got the most out of your day and were very knowlegable about the reef it's fish, corals and the changing environment and how we are destroying it. All snorkellers were given strict instructions not to stand on the coral and to give the crew their credit if anyone did stand on it they were picked up in the little boat and not allowed back in the water. This is because apparently most of the damage to the reef is by people walking on the coral as it's the oils in your skin that poison the coral and although it does re grow it's a very slow process. Baz went out with his snorkel and mask in his stinger suit and was out in the water snorkelling for about an hour and a half meanwhile I went out in
the small boat with Captain Jack and a couple of others. We fed the fish so we saw them up real close and a couple of them were absolutely massive. The colours and the diversity of the fish were astonishing, I have looked up the names of some of the bigger fish but I won't bore you with the details as there at least 1700 varieties just on the reef itself! Some of the bigger ones that Captain Jack quite obviously was very affectionate about had been given names like Bruce and Wally! We went over the coral beds in the glass bottomed boat and although it was absolutely fantastic to see the coral I was bit disappointed as I expected to see them in all different colours and really vivid however the corals that we saw which were diverse in variety, hard and soft corals were very bland in colour. Despite this it was still a fantastic experience and when we move upto Port Douglas I think I might actually brave the water and snorkel. Felt as though I was missing out but all I can hear is the Jaws music as soon as I dip my toe in
the water! Anyhow apart from the snorkelling we did a bush walk up a small hill to look out at the view which overlooked Betty's Beach and Whitehaven Beach and the colour of the water, the skies and the white sand were spectacular. We headed back to the boat and onto our next stop which was Whitehaven beach for lunch. When we got there you could jump in and swim to shore if you wanted so Baz in his stinger suit along with a lot of other people all jumped in and started swimming, I took the boat to the beach and I have to say that looking at them all they just looked like shark bait to me (Lots of little seals floundering about, easy pickings for a hungry shark) An Australian lady over heard me and thought I had a good point (she being one of the bait!) and laughed! A couple of hours was spent on the beach and we had a good old Aussie BBQ. Whitehaven Beach is a famous beach here and is recognised as the best beach in Australia and it is always in the top ten beaches of the world. It's not hard
to see why, it's the turquoise sea and the whitest sand. It squeaks between your toes as it's 97% silica. It's one of those beaches that you only see in the telly adds and never think you will be on, beautiful. This area is lovely and with 74 Islands making up the Whitsunday Islands there is plenty to do and see. You could do a different trip every day and still not see everything. Here is an interesting fact for you, did you know that the Parrot fish eats the coral and then poo's sand and this alone makes upto 70% of the worlds beaches. So next time you are having your picnic on Blackpool beach you are sat on Parrot Fish poo!! Enjoy.
Well we have just spent over 6 hours in the car and have arrived at our next destination called Mission Beach. We are here for just one night but I have to tell you we drove through the most horrendous weather, the wipers were on full and still we couldn't see the road properly. There are flood warnings everywhere and they obviously expect a lot of rain as the measuring sticks at the side of
the road go upto 2 metres! What is a bit more worrying is that there are cyclone shelters along the roads if required, aaarrrggghhhh! Anyway we are stopping in what appears to be a very nice little bungalow however we are in the rain forest and don't we know it. We ventured out and set off for a walk, within 5 mins we were running back to the car as we were being eaten alive by mosquitos! I felt one bite me and looked down to discover that both me and Baz were covered in them! Little sods they are (believe me that it is very tame compared to what we really called them). Guess what 5 mins in the rainforest and we are itchy and lumpy and bumpy, oh joy! Despite all this the area looks lovely, we drove down the coast called in at various spots and it is all very tropical. The beaches are golden sand and lined with Palm trees. Definitely no going in the ocean here it's way too dangerous, something will definitely get you! All around here are notices advising you to drive carefully as you are in a Cassoway protection zone. For anyone
that isn't aware of what they are, they are the third biggest bird in the world with a very hard lump on their heads and very long claws. Anyway just as Baz and I had filled our bowls with fruit and yoghurt we got asked to quickly put them in the fridge out of the way as this great big bird came walking at us out of the forest. They told us it was fine as they had known it since it was a baby and they called it "Peanuts". Very sweet and all that but I didn't know it, didn't want to know it and couldn't wait for it to move on! It's big, ugly and greedy and had it's eye on my breakfast, never a good idea!! The hosts of our bungalows had to stand guard whilst we ate and although they said it was fine they looked a bit wary to me!!
Back in the car and headed for Port Douglas which should be a three hour drive however we had a pit stop or two. One of which was fantastic, we stopped of at Josephine falls which are at the foot of the highest mountain in Queenland. They were a really lovely find and a short walk through the rainforest that leads you to waterfalls and pools. Nothing with teeth to bother you, shade of the trees and the cool mountain water, it was a really good stop. You can see from the pics that Baz thought he was at a waterpark and he felt like a little kid again. The mountain has mystical powers to the Aboriginal people who used to live on the sides of the mountain, they hunted, fished and lived there for thousands of years and there was a large notice giving you all the information as to how they lived, it was fascinating. The summit which is only 1600m was not actually climbed until the late 1800's and it took two days to climb, partly because of the heat, the leaches and the thick forest. I don't think it is much different if you wanted to climb it tody as there is only a narrow pathway and as well as being an experienced climber you have to be experienced in the bush too! Not for the faint hearted and definately not for us pair of wussies!!
Onto Port Douglas, more snorkelling, helicopter ride over the Barrier Reef and much more, back soon.
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