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Following a s***ty overnight bus journey, we arrived at Airlie Beach early in the morning and got to our equally s***ty hostel the day before we were due to go sailing around the Whitsunday Islands. Airlie Beach was quite quiet although it livened up at night. That evening we met up with Carol and Ben who were on our tour of Fraser Island. We hung out at a couple of bars and caught the end of the cricket. We haven't been hassled by the ozzies since - great result!
Due to the cyclones in Queensland our boat did not go out on the previous trip so we were pleased to see a good weather forecast before we set sail. We had decided to pay a bit more than most and got a half price promotional deal on a top class boat (Pacific Sunrise). Our first stop was Chance Bay - apparently named because they havn't surveyed the sea bottom there and you take a chance sailing in! We had a swim to cool off and it gave us a chance to try out our stinger suits which were needed around this time of year due to the deadly Box jellyfish and Irukandji which is the size of a thumbnail! As Chance Bay was sheltered, we anchored there for the night.
The next morning we set sail early to get to Whitehaven Beach. Here we did a bush walk to a lookout. Apparantly Whitehaven beach is the third most photographed bit of land on earth. After lunch we did our first snorkel at Mackerel Bay which had amazing coral. That night we dropped the anchor at Stonehaven. After dinner we all went outside and spotted Dolphins swimming past the boat which was amazing. The next morning we woke up to everyone talking about the storm overnight which we had slept straight through. Two rooms got flooded and the boat twisted so much in the high waves that a window smashed. Apparently lightning was striking the sea only metres from the boat! Can't believe we slept through it!
On day 3 we went snorkelling at luncheon bay and Mantaray bay which is renowned for being the best place in the Whitsundays for spotting marine life. It didn't dissapoint, we saw loads of it including a reef shark and huge Maori Rasps. Once we were back on the boat someone spotted a turtle swimming close to the surface ready for its picture to be taken. The last evening we had a trivia night which was loads of fun.
We had a wicked time and met a great bunch of people. We were so well looked after (13 passengers to 5 crew). They all did a great job especially the chef Steve with his cooked breakfasts, huge lunches and gourmet 3 course dinners. Tonight we are back to reality on the overnight bus to cairns and getting ready for another sleepless night.
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