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Published: November 17th 2006
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Let me just start by saying I am so touched by everyone who has shown interest in reading this blog. Before I left I thought it would be mainly for my parents and a few good friends. But now I'm getting messages from the Kates, people from the lab (Kevin and Ken), family friends (Debbie), and relatives (Paul) setting me up with his family here in Australia. I'm just amazed that with everyone's busy lives they are still interested in what I'm up to. Thank you and I will definitely keep the blogs coming.
The next major event after Fraser Island was my Whitsunday’s sail. There are 74 Whitsunday Islands and an endless number of boats traveling out and around them. It's almost impossible to pick one because every travel agency has about 100 different brochures to look at. You might as well just close your eyes and play a little game of pin the tail on the donkey. I ended up choosing a company that was highly recommended by the travel agency, looking at their boats and picking one with a 14 person capacity (some are 35). There were also tall ships, catamarans or boats that concentrated on diving.
I chose one that would actually sail, had less people, a medium party atmosphere, devoted time to snorkeling and was on the water for 3 days 2 nights. The boat was called Southern Cross; it was 68 ft long, very sleek and an American Cup challenger.
On November 11th, after being picked up at my hostel, I met my friends and home for the next few days. I think I was little more prepared than the others having been on sail boats my whole life and sharing a tiny front birth with a squirmy little brother for week long trips (sorry Neil but you were squirmy). A few of them seemed a little surprised at how little room there was, meanwhile I felt like I was in luxury with my own bunk!
After a quick briefing on various features of the boat, including strict rules on using the toilet, we set sail while enjoying freshly cut tropical fruits. As usual the group included a number of Germans. There are so many traveling in Australia that we often joke with them asking if there's anyone left in Germany. Luckily I had a much better experience with these Germans than
the ones on Fraser Island. There were also a few people from England (of course), 1 from the US and one from South Africa. I was a little disappointed at first because there were 4 couples all a little older (late 20's early 30's) so I wasn't sure if this was going to turn into a cuddly love fest. But everyone was there to have a good time and to get to know others so it wasn't so bad.
After sailing and motoring (due to a lack of wind) for about an hour and a half we reached a spot called Tongue Bay where we hiked up to a lookout with spectacular tropical views. Check out the pictures and you'll see what I mean. Next we went to Whitehaven Beach. The sand here was so literally like baking soda. It is so fine that it squeaks when you walk on it. The sound is like you're cleaning a window with Windex which can get irritating when you have an over ambitious squeaker. The sand also had incredible cleaning power on silver jewelry.
We spend the night anchored near the beach and as usual had happy hour and dinner
catered to us. Later on Tess (another single young girl) and I teamed up and got some people together. It turned out to be a really fun night of party tricks and games.
The next day we went to spots where we could concentrate on snorkeling. Since its stinger season no one is allowed in the water with a sexy stinger suit (full body wet suits). Stingers look like really small invisible jelly fish with venomous tentacles. Apparently some are deadly others aren't, but they will definitely put you in a lot of pain and justify a trip to the hospital. The snorkeling was pretty good; I was amazed at how easily I could float on my stomach in the salt water. While I was doing this a big green turtle swam right below me. We had seen lots beside the boat filling up their 5 lungs, but it was incredible to be so close to one. The movie Finding Nemo definitely came to mind as I watched how this guy behaved. I was talking to someone the other night that has actually grabbed hold of one and gone for a little ride. He said it tolerated it but
Ibble Dibble
Not sure if you can see but I actually didn't do too bad with only 2 dots on my head. Some people have pictures drawn all over their faces. at the same time if it could talk it would probably say, "whoa dude, no fingerprints on the shell, she's just been waxed!" Someone did their homework when writing Nemo's script.
That night we had another game night but mainly played one game called Ibble Dibble. I won't go into details but basically the losers ended up with a lot of marker all over their faces.
The next day was spent going more snorkeling and going home. We were all returning very relaxed and with much more color than when we left. The sun is so strong here I've been overcautious with the suntan lotion, but now I can see my hair is getting bleached and skin is going darker.
There will be more to come with my next entry talking about Magnetic Island.
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Hillary
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Sooo beautiful!
Hey Heath! Your pictures are so amazing! I know people keep saying that, but I just can't get enough of them. I'm so excited to see them all when you get back. That's awesome that you got to go on that sailing trip, I just thought it was perfect for you when I started reading! I know how much you love sailing. I'm glad it wasn't a "cuddly love fest", that would have been disappointing. I'm off to Banff this weekend, maybe I'll get some nice pictures there! Miss you tons and tons! Love Hillary XOXO