Sailing in the Whitsundays

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The Whitsundays are truly gorgeous. I set sail on the Prima sail boat with 11 other people. The boat was err cosy, but it had everything we needed. I befriended the Captain and he let me steer the boat and showed me how the sailing works and how to navigate. In between this, I managed to sunbathe (well, burn) on the deck and look out and the blue sea. Within minutes of getting out of the harbor we saw humpback whales shooting out water and breaching. Of course, they timed it so that you just got your camera out and then they breached, giving a magnificent shot of their tale and then diving under water before you could click the button.

Everyone also saw turtles popping their heads out of the water , but typically everytime I turned round to see, they were no-where to be found. It actually became a running joke that I would never get to see one.

We calmly sailed the waters through the day seeing one amazing island after another, with some seriously rich people with houses (and heli-pads) on them. We found some good snorkel spots throughout the day and I buddied up with a diving instructor from Germany. After much digging around I eventually found nemo, and all of his family. Dori was there and all the other fish. And so was a shark apparently. The skipped said he saw a fin come up behind me and then swam away, but neglected to tell me this until I had got back onto the boat. I must have some shark repellant coming from my pores…I guess I just wasn’t tasty enough. I did discover a new species down there though and still scratching my head to work out what the hell it was.

After a day of snorkeling and swimming, we cruised up the infamous Whitehaven beach for the night ready to see its full glory in the morning. The night was freezing and a little choppy, but as soon as I saw the sunrising and nothing around me but water and Whitehaven beach, you soon forget about everything. There was only another group of people on the beach, and it was as un-spoilt as it could ever be with the clearest water in the world.

The snorkeling throughout the day was also amazing and very clear. After another day of this, it was time to go home, but not before I saw a HUGE turtle come out of the water….perfect end to 2 perfect sunny beautiful days.

I would recommend the Whitsundays to anyone, and you can find pure paradise there.

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