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From Hervey Bay we continued up the east coast to Airlie Beach on the 21.10 overnight Greyhound. We arrived at 9.20am and had time to kill before joining our Whitsunday Getaway cruise. We had to leave our luggage as there was only room on board the catamaran for a small bag each so we had to fill a carrier bag each for the two night cruise. We had brunch and went shopping for new swimwear and at 3pm we boarded the catamaran for our 3 day cruise in the Whitsundays. We were introduced to our skipper, Phil and our hostess, his wife, Debs. Once aboard we were offered a fruit drink and fresh fruit and then shown to our cabins. There were 3 other couples on the cruise. One couple was Australian from Towoomba, one was American but currently stationed in S Korea, and a newlywed Italian couple on honeymoon. They were great company and we had really interesting conversations about all sorts of topics. It was a glorious day and so we headed for the front of the boat to take in the views and sunbathe. We moored at Hook Passage and were then offered canapés before a chicken barbecue
dinner and watched the sun go down. The next morning we sailed to Hill Inlet near Whitehaven but were unable to sail to Whitehaven beach because of the wind so we were transported ashore to Tongue Bay on the tender. We walked across the island to Whitehaven beach where we went swimming and spent a couple of hours until lunchtime. We were picked up and had a salad lunch and sailed to our next mooring at Luncheon Bay for an afternoon's snorkelling off the reef. Within minutes of being in the water I saw a turtle! Unfortunately Tom had the camera so we didn't get any photos and he didn't see the turtle either. The colours and different types of fish and coral were stunning. The water was warm and really calm so perfect for snorkelling. Tom and I were the last ones to be picked up to go back to the boat. Time for tea and biscuits and a shower as we sailed to Baird Point for canapés and steak barbecue dinner. The next morning we had breakfast and sailed to Longford Reef where were visited by a turtle - we had to call Tom who was below deck
as he still hadn't seen one! We set sail again to another snorkel site and had another amazing hour with the fishes. Its such a privilege to be able to intrude on their world. By and large they completely ignore you and it's like being able to swim in a massive aquarium. Amazing! Sadly it was time to get back on board for a shower and head back to Airlie Beach. As we began our journey the wind began to make the sea a little choppy and before long we were being tossed around and covered in spray. Flavia, who probably weighs around 7 stone, was out on the front of the boat along with the American couple Chris and Christie. the skipper, Phil, had to make his way to the front of the boat to bring her safely to the back of the boat. She was absolutely soaked and shivering. Chris and Christie decided to stay on the trampoline on the bow! Must be the army training!! It was getting too wet for me so I tried to go into the lounge area at the same time as we hit a wave and fell into the cabin. I got
a lovely bruise on the inside of my forearm and a cut knee but otherwise we returned unscathed. 20 minutes away from the port we found calmer waters and I got to steer the catamaran! Absolutely amazing 2 days. We wished we had gone for longer. Phil and Debs were fabulous hosts and apart from the journey home we were really lucky with the weather. The views were spectacular, and the food was plentiful and delicious. Having visited the Barrier Reef since, this was as good if not better snorkelling. Another amazing adventure!!
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