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Published: August 6th 2007
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Sunshine, Sandy Beaches and Snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef
For our second day on Hayman Island we had planned a snorkeling excursion to the opposite side of the island. Snorkeling is big in this part of the world due to the close proximity of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the world’s top snorkeling/scuba diving locations. There were a couple of options available to us when it came to this adventure. The first was an all day boat trip which departed early in the morning and could accommodate up to 300 people from various resorts around the area. We nixed this idea quickly upon discovering that it was the most crowded and most expensive option. Our second option was an hour and a half boat trip on a semi-submersible boat along with at least a few other travelers. This too was nixed because of its commercial quality and crowded nature. Our third, and best option, was a beach drop off around the corner from the hotel. This option gave us the flexibility to chill on the beach and snorkel as much or as little as we wanted. Thus, a beach drop off was our plan.
The
hotel has a neat feature which allows its guests to plan a full picnic to take with them on adventures. We called the kitchen and arranged for a picnic to be ready for us when we departed at around 12:30pm. With snorkeling gear, towels, a sun umbrella (clutch for sun bathing with Kel) and a cooler filled with our picnic, we set off for our nearby drop off point. Fifteen minutes on a speedboat later, we landed on a coral beach with only about six other guests sharing our stretch of beach.
We set up our umbrella, grabbed our snorkel gear and swam out into the ocean to see what the area had to offer. Since it was still pretty close to low tide we had a few challenges on our first excursion into the coral filled sea. You are not supposed to touch the coral for multiple reasons: first, the coral is very sharp and could possibly cut you pretty badly, second, the soft coral often stings like a jelly fish as a defense mechanism against fish and bumbling snorkelers, and finally touching the coral could kill it due to the oils on your skin. Thus as we
headed out near low tide we had to take maze of paths through the coral which were pretty deep. We often ended up in valleys where the coral around us was only inches from the surface of the water. If caught in such an area of coral you could get cut to shreds. Ouch!
After about 45 minutes of dodging through valleys of coral filled with fish and brightly colored soft and hard coral we got a little tired. The fins which we had been given made the swimming much easier but it was still hard work. The time was well worth it as we swam through schools of multi-colored fish which were so close that they often brushed up against you. But, even with the rewarding views, we tired pretty quick and decided to delve into our picnic.
Back on dry land we spread out on the hard coral beach and started going through our cooler. We had paid a high price for the nice picnic but even with the higher price our excursion was less than half what it would have been to go on the all day trip so we felt we were being frugal.
The picnic consisted of shrimp, oysters, salmon sandwiches, a cheese plate, a cold cuts plate, fruit, rolls, water, and desert. All of the food was amazing and the quantity was much more than we could eat. We took about an hour to enjoy the food and take a break before heading back in to snorkel some more. Unfortunately, during our time on the beach a couple of boat loads of backpackers showed up to take advantage of the protected bay and high tide. As we ate, about 40 kids showed up on the beach and set off to snorkel and scuba dive. Our serenity was officially gone, but the reef still beckoned us back into the water.
Our final swim of the day was a little longer than the first. We had to swim a little further out to get away from the crowds but we were rewarded with more colorful coral and tons of fish. The second trip allowed us to take our time and really enjoy our surroundings. Since we had already explored close to the beach we got a little further out and didn’t have to worry about the coral as much since the tide had
gone up about a foot, giving us much more room to maneuver.
We returned to the resort at about 4pm and rested before dinner. Dinner our second evening was good but not as good as the first night. Still, after filling our stomachs we returned to our room and slept incredibly well after all of the swimming.
Laying Around and Playing Around Our final day on the island was completely wide open. We had no plans and the weather was a little better than it had been on the previous days, there was still high winds but the rain held off a little bit.
We spent the first hours of the morning laying out by the pool. Kel worked on the computer by the pool (three cheers for wireless internet here) planning the next couple of days of our trip. I spent the time reading and sunning myself like a sea lion. Despite having to cover myself with sunscreen, I still enjoyed getting a few hours of sun. Sometimes sitting in the sun can feel so nice.
Later we grabbed a little lunch and then headed back to the activities center to play some
games. We’ve found on this trip that we just can’t rest all day, we have become so used to getting exercise through the day that we have to find ways to expend our energy. Our first fun activity for the afternoon was badminton. Kel used to play badminton when she was a kid and has fond memories of the game. We found it to be a little more challenging because of the high wind. Every time one of us would hit the shuttlecock into the air it would be blown off the court. After a half hour of attempting to make it work we gave up to try something else.
We stopped and played a little ping-pong as our standby activity but Kel quickly lost interest and asked if I’d be willing to play tennis. I was skeptical because tennis often ends up with me running around for the wild balls Kel hits while I try to hit them directly back to her. In this case I was completely wrong! Since we’ve played so much ping-pong over the last few months, Kel’s hand-eye coordination has really improved. Over the next hour we played tennis and had some really great
volleys. I was really impressed with Kel, she has gotten so much better at sports in general since we got married.
Waiting to Leave Since our boat off the island didn’t leave until 3:30pm on our final day on the island we definitely had some time to kill before we checked out. Once again Kel wanted some tennis time. Despite the fact that I didn’t really want to get sweaty before leaving the island to drive for a few hours, I gave in and we went off to the activities center.
Once again Kel amazed me with her tennis prowess. We played for about an hour and had some really great rallies back and forth, many of which lasted for at least five or more minutes. With the sun high in the sky we both got hot pretty quick. Kel was on the shady side of the court but even she got really hot, really quick. Thanks to the heat and the sun we had to give up after an hour of playing.
When we returned to the room Kel took an hour to talk to her mom on Skype while I read on the
back porch. By time she was finished with her call we were both pretty hungry so we grabbed some lunch in time to spend a quick hour writing this very blog before we had to leave. Soon enough we are off to get a few hours of driving in before the day is done.
Hope you are all doing wonderfully back home!
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Schiller
non-member comment
sporting man?
Mike, I think Kelley was probably just lulling you into thinking that she wasn't good at sports and has now made a conscious decision to use it as another area to remind you who is boss (hint - not you) as opposed to the implication that proximity to you has in some way improved her skills. Looking forward to seeing you both in HK this weekend!