We were greeted by our skipper, Luke and first mate Tom and boarded 'On Ice' at 4pm from Abell Point Marina. The other passengers were an Australian couple on their honeymoon, a Scottish couple, two friends from Toronto, and a guy from Orange County. A good bunch!
The sail was put up and we relaxed in the hammock as we sailed away from the mainland.
We caught an amazing last sunset of 2015, then anchored for the evening and had chicken on the BBQ... Because catamarans have BBQs on the back, that's normal, right?
We could see tiny fireworks in the distance from Airlie Beach for their New Year's celebrations. The three of us shared the triple cabin in the aft starboard part of the catamaran. It consisted of a "double" bed that tapered down at the end and what Kylie likened to a surfboard near the ceiling. I slept on the surfboard, no falls! I call that a win.
New Year's Day: In the morning we had breakfast and sailed to our first snorkeling spot in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park at Dumbell Island. We put on our stinger suits and jumped in the water. (I heard someone later call them Whitsunday Onesies, definitely my preferred term. Luke also said he has considered getting super hero stinger suits so people would not mind wearing them as much and it's much easier to remember your super hero than your number ... I was 41.) The following photos are courtesy of Felix.
We saw plenty of fish and some amazing coral. I saw a small shark (the only types of shark I like seeing) on my way back to the dinghy to get picked up. We had tea and coffee once we got back to the catamaran and then were off to have a go at some stand up paddle boarding. I had a go at kneeling paddle boarding for a bit and then lined myself up with the catamaran, stood up and headed straight [read: zigzagged as I was not so good at steering] back. I had a lovely less than 10 minute experience of standing up, just the way I like it.. Short, sweet and not falling in! I managed to get a few shots of Kylie and Jennifer on their boards.
After paddle boarding, we headed to tongue bay and took a little walk for an amazing view of Whitehaven Beach.
We then walked back to the beach and just relaxed for a few hours. The sand is probably the softest I've ever set foot in! We walked along the beach and saw a few sting rays and lemon sharks in the water and goannas on the beach.
The next day we woke up and were able to jump directly in the water for snorkeling at Langford Reef. More amazing coral, an abundance of fish and even a few sea turtles! We sailed for a short while and stopped off near Black Island where we could do more snorkeling and other water activities. Jennifer and I had a go at the clear kayak which was a great option for me as I was not so keen on putting on the stinger suit again! Jennifer saw the sea scooter come out, so quickly jumped back in her stinger suit and had a bit of a snorkel and go with the sea scooter.
It was then time to head back to Airlie Beach. We returned to Abell Point Marina and went back to Coral Sea Resort to check in and take showers in and actual bathroom. Very refreshing! Later we headed to Little Vegas Burger Bar and had a messy, but delicious dinner. We met up with a few of our catamaran friends at Beaches after dinner for a few drinks.
Sunday: Our luck ran out with the weather and it poured. We were so fortunate that it was blue skies for the sailing trip! We had a lazy morning and then the sun came out in the afternoon so we were able to spend it sitting by the ocean. We had dinner at the hotel and went to bed, listening to a crazy thunder storm going on outside overnight.
Monday: The rains cleared and we were able to sit by the ocean again. Perfect lazy few days to the holiday! Refer to the photo above for Monday's view as well. We did see some odd pieces of what appeared to be parts of a boat floating in the water on Monday - I think the storm was pretty strong Sunday night. We headed in to town for lunch at Cafe One3 where I had an acai bowl and apple, beetroot, and carrot juice. It was incredibly hot and humid on the walk there and back, so I took the opportunity to jump into the pool when we got back to the hotel. We lounged until dinner when we went to Fish D'vine and shared the "seafood indulgence" - a decent medley of hot and cold prawns, salmon, oysters, calamari, bay bugs, scallops, mussels, and fish. I also had a pretty nice passionfruit mojito - I'll take anything passionfruit flavored! Tomorrow it's back to Sydney for us. Queensland has been one relaxing holiday!
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