Thursday 3rd March - Whitsunday Islands

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We are up at 06:00. I ask Di how she has slept; she says that she has not as she has been worried about the walk to the beach. We have been told that to get to the beach involves a 600-metre walk through the rain forest with the slight possibility of coming across snakes and spiders, of which Di is too fond! (Although she says that she did not sleep I did hear her snoring in the night!)

We go for breakfast at 07:00 (breakfast is served from 07:00 until 09:00). As well as the usual cereal, toast fruit and fruit juices, they have a special every morning. This morning it is Vanilla Pancakes with blackberry couli. I try the special – it is great. At 09:00 the vessel makes off to the beach, which is a short distance from where we have been anchored. Once offshore we are transferred on to a launch that will take us to the beach. As well as our bags with cameras, beach towels, sun screen etc. We take another bag with two “stinger suits” that we will have to wear in the water to protect us against stings from jellyfish, which can be meg-painful and really bad news. We are dropped on the beach, the Captain had told us it is a 600m walk through the Rain Forest, it turns out to be more like 2km as we go up to a viewing platform first. As we go through the rain forest it is really humid and we perspire profusely (or in my case "sweat like a pig!"). Along the way people are pointing out large spiders and lizards,which does not do anything to help the already nervous Di!

We eventually emerge at the beach and the "sweaty walk" has been well worthwhile, it is by far the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. It is a world Heritage site so the only things we can take away are photographs and memories. and all we can leave behind are footprints!. I can't help thinking that anywhere else in the world they would be cashing in on its potential with high rise hotels and timeshares. It is really refreshing to see how the site is being preserved. I put on my stinger suit and go for a paddle, it is so hot on the beach even though it is only around 09:00. I can feel my solar panel getting burnt so I return to where the female crew are sitting to get my hat. The crew member says "there is always one", whats that I ask - She replies "Someone who puts their stinger suit on back-to-front!" - OPPS! We wander round the beach looking at the various fish and birds. In the shallow water we see Sand Sharks chasing and devouring the smaller fish. Further out the larger Reef Shark makes a brief appearance, but one of the other groups charge towards it and scare it away. I find it mildly amusing that people will go towards Sharks - my first reaction would be to go in the opposite direction. But apparent sharks are quite shy and will generally head in the opposite direction - not a theory I am about to test!. We have been told that the extremely fine sand on the Whitehaven beach is great for shining gold and jewellery, so a number of people are taking the opportunity for a jewellery clean-up on the edge of the water. We stay on the beach for about 2 1/2 hours soaking up the incredible scenery and the sunshine (some people have a number of "red spots" at the end of the day.

We get the tender on the beach and head back to the boat for a lunch of Steak sandwich and chips - lovely. The Pacific Sunrise then moves off to where we will be snorkelling. (Which I believe was "Blue Pearl Bay") We again need to wear sting suits and get kitted out with flippers and snorkels and have a brief talk from Jessie on the finer points of snorkelling. We are taken to the beach and allowed to snorkel over a reef for about an hour. We see an incredible range of fish of every size and colour, we also see "Nemo" who is blue and orange. Di stays on the vessel and sees turtles swimming by, the captain also throws bread into the water and she sees an incredible amount of fish. I make it back from snorkelling, and the galley serves up some snacks - cheese and biscuits and tapas.

We sunbathe and take it easy we are moored off a 7 star resort on Hayman Island so we get WiFi and I can catch up on my Blog. We are also moored where we can get some great sunset shots. Dinner is at 19:00 again - Prawn tempura - Chicken - and dessert. Sorry to go on about food but on this vessel it has been incredible. There is such a small galley, but the food that comes out of there is superb!

In the evening the water around the vessel is teeming with sea life. Tonight as well as the usual squid there is a Dolphin and three Sharks circling, a sea snake and also flying fish. The captain decides to put on a show for us so he throws raw meat in so the sharks come in closer. They are incredible fish, I have never seen anything that moves so fast and decisively. At the back of my mind I cannot help thinking that being as we will be snorkelling in this area tomorrow, they do not mistake us for the main course!

Later the Captain plays guitar and I get a shot. We have a few glasses of wine and turn in. As we have WiFi I stay up and catch up on my Blog until the battery is run down on my laptop. As I sit outdoors at the bow, I can here the dolphin surfacing and blowing - An incredible day!

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