We found Wally
As we promised, we made it out to the reef and returned yesterday. We studied all the brochures and decided against a live-on-yacht cruise around the islands in favour of a trip out to the barrier reef. We took 3 hour boat ride out to a floating pontoon, which is fully kitted out with snorkelling, scuba diving, viewing chambers, submarines and commentary to make sure that you see a shedload of the reef in the most comfort possible. It was a little bit Disneyworld in the way it was presented, but ultimately a great day out.
Or it would have been a day out, if we hadn't chosen to stay after the boat left and sleep out there on the reef. On the pontoon are a couple of rooms for up to six people to stay out there with only the crew, the fish and the coral for company. We got lucky and were the only two, which meant an instant upgrade to the kingsize double bed. From the moment we left the mainland we were treated like VIPs with our own host making sure every part of our trip was spot on. We were even given free sea sickness tablets, not that it stopped Charlotte and half the rest of the boat from leaving their breakfast on board. The water around the Whitsundays is quite flat, and at the reef there's barely a wave, but the open ocean in between was as rough as anything for almost an hour.
Despite that, we managed to sign up to go scuba diving (with 2 dives also included in our deal), although our stomachs told us to take the afternoon dive rather than the one straight away. Instead, we donned our wetsuits and went snorkelling. It's hard to describe what it's like but the sheer number of fish and the walls of coral are stunning.
We spent a bit too long out in the water - missing lunch - and got straight into our scuba gear for our first ever dives. This was even better than the snorkelling although a bit more scary. Kai, our instructor, was superb and looked after us above and below the water. He's also quite mad. And Finnish.
Once that was over, we dried off and waved goodbye to the other 200-odd guests as the boat left in the middle of the afternoon. And then, we had the whole place to ourselves, and free, unlimited booze! We had a quick briefing with Belinda, our host, and then fed George the Groper, a huge 4ft fish that likes to hang around the pontoon and scare the divers.
The clouds chose to ruin any chance of a sunset, so we opted to take our champagne and cheese and crackers down to the viewing chamber, where we were given a couple of bean bags to sit and marvel at the fish and the reef.
Next on the itinerary was a tasty three course meal (served outside under the stars of course), before taking a bit more booze back to the viewing chamber for the most relaxing and beautiful aquarium you could imagine.
We started the next day early, just in time to catch the sun rising over the reef, and then Kai invited us to go for our second dive before the boat arrived. This time we were taken deeper and it was simply beyond words. We had a bit of time for a quick snorkel on our own before the boat arrived, and were joined by Wally. He's a huge Hump-headed Maori Wrasse that likes a bit of attention and doesn't mind being patted. We continued snorkelling as the new day's guests arrived, finding a few Clown Fish hiding amongst the coral, or "Nemos" as everyone seems to call them since the film came out.
This time we got out in time for the buffet lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun, the reef and the fish. The boat home was at least as rough as the journey out but we both managed to hold on to our stomachs and made it back to land to find a miserable dark cloud over Airlie Beach. Not that it ruined our trip at all, it was one of the best things we've ever done.
Tomorrow we're off to the see the islands, including the famous Whitehaven Beach. The weather's not looking too promising but we'll try and struggle through. Don't worry. We'll cope.
Or it would have been a day out, if we hadn't chosen to stay after the boat left and sleep out there on the reef. On the pontoon are a couple of rooms for up to six people to stay out there with only the crew, the fish and the coral for company. We got lucky and were the only two, which meant an instant upgrade to the kingsize double bed. From the moment we left the mainland we were treated like VIPs with our own host making sure every part of our trip was spot on. We were even given free sea sickness tablets, not that it stopped Charlotte and half the rest of the boat from leaving their breakfast on board. The water around the Whitsundays is quite flat, and at the reef there's barely a wave, but the open ocean in between was as rough as anything for almost an hour.
Despite that, we managed to sign up to go scuba diving (with 2 dives also included in our deal), although our stomachs told us to take the afternoon dive rather than the one straight away. Instead, we donned our wetsuits and went snorkelling. It's hard to describe what it's like but the sheer number of fish and the walls of coral are stunning.
We spent a bit too long out in the water - missing lunch - and got straight into our scuba gear for our first ever dives. This was even better than the snorkelling although a bit more scary. Kai, our instructor, was superb and looked after us above and below the water. He's also quite mad. And Finnish.
Once that was over, we dried off and waved goodbye to the other 200-odd guests as the boat left in the middle of the afternoon. And then, we had the whole place to ourselves, and free, unlimited booze! We had a quick briefing with Belinda, our host, and then fed George the Groper, a huge 4ft fish that likes to hang around the pontoon and scare the divers.
The clouds chose to ruin any chance of a sunset, so we opted to take our champagne and cheese and crackers down to the viewing chamber, where we were given a couple of bean bags to sit and marvel at the fish and the reef.
Next on the itinerary was a tasty three course meal (served outside under the stars of course), before taking a bit more booze back to the viewing chamber for the most relaxing and beautiful aquarium you could imagine.
We started the next day early, just in time to catch the sun rising over the reef, and then Kai invited us to go for our second dive before the boat arrived. This time we were taken deeper and it was simply beyond words. We had a bit of time for a quick snorkel on our own before the boat arrived, and were joined by Wally. He's a huge Hump-headed Maori Wrasse that likes a bit of attention and doesn't mind being patted. We continued snorkelling as the new day's guests arrived, finding a few Clown Fish hiding amongst the coral, or "Nemos" as everyone seems to call them since the film came out.
This time we got out in time for the buffet lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sun, the reef and the fish. The boat home was at least as rough as the journey out but we both managed to hold on to our stomachs and made it back to land to find a miserable dark cloud over Airlie Beach. Not that it ruined our trip at all, it was one of the best things we've ever done.
Tomorrow we're off to the see the islands, including the famous Whitehaven Beach. The weather's not looking too promising but we'll try and struggle through. Don't worry. We'll cope.
posted by Kev & Charlotte at
11:11 PM
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