The Whitsundays
Trip Start
Jan 2003
1
101
200
Trip End
Dec 2003
Airlie Beach,
Australia
Friday, July 4, 2003
The Whitsundays is one of those things in Australia that everyone raves about and won't shut up about. They all love to tell you about sailing and its virtues despite the fact they have never previously had any experience of it. They are also eager to dispense advice about which ship you should go on and on what kind of trip. Having now returned from our trip I'm embarrassed to admit that we're no better than anyone else and that we're likely to bore everyone we meet with our tales.
The ship we chose from the array of vessels on offer was Southern Cross. Just over 60ft long, it previously competed in the Americas Cup after winning the Louis Vuitton Cup. We later learned it had just returned from a refurbishment job and was in as good a shape as we, and even our skipper, are ever likely to find
Fish 1
. Initially this meant nothing to me but there is something special about gliding along at a 45 degree angle to the sea. There were just eight other passengers on board and two crew members. This meant plenty of space but we were also all expected to literally pull our weight in terms of the actual sailing. I didn't previously realise quite what this entailed but I am now nursing frequently lacerated feet, rope-burned hands and aching muscles I haven't used in a long time.The trip was basically divided into two parts - the first being the sailing and beautiful scenery, the second being the marine life. The views while we were aboard were nothing short of spectacular but they didn't even rival the landscape in front of us after hiking up to a look out point over Whitehaven Beach. From here it was virtually impossible not to take postcard quality photographs. It's difficult to describe but if Mars brought out a totally tropical flavour Bounty bar then they would be hard pressed to find a better location for the shooting of the advertisement. I've never seen waters more turquoise nor beaches so white. The fact that there is coral increases the variety of visible colours in the sea and alongside the swirling white sands and green vegetation it's a sight I'll take to my grave. After the speechless walk back down we were rewarded with some time on our own part of Whitehaven Beach.
Fish 2
A beach as beautiful as this is always going to be memorable but when you have it to yoursleves and there isn't a footprint let alone another human in sight you really feel as if you're on the set of a Robinson Crusoe-esque film - one where you'd like to play the part of Robinson!We had another stunning and unexpected vista at sunset as well. At sea the sun obviously sets all the way down into the ocean but just as the reds and oranges were shining through a hundred year old galleon ship sailed across it. It made for a picture you would expect to see in a film about Captain Cook or something but it will also hopefully make for another photo worthy of framing.
We were tempted into another try dive which put the one we did in Vietnam to shame. The fish were abundant in quantity, covered every colour in the spectrum and ranged from the tiny to those which were a couple of feet long. I'd never previously been that enamoured by coral but here it was so bright and genuinely interesting that you couldn't help but stare. The snorkellg was just as good and for about two and a half hours we buried our faces in the water.
The trip was a real 'wow'- the kind where at times you just have to sit alone and in silence to take in what you're seeing. It's served as the first proper highlight of Australia and if nothing else given us the reason and impetus to start looking for more similar things. I doubt however whether anything in Australia will match the Whitsundays.
