Yesterday we arrived back on the mainland at Airlie beach on the return from our boat journey on the Atlantic Clipper. It was amasing, it was quite a big yaht and had 50passengers on board. We headed out to the Whitsunday Islands. The first island we visited began on the first night where we headed to the Northern part of the region of Islands to an Island named Hook Island (one of the 74 Islands within the National Park). It was soo peaceful, not a car or a plane in sight. We docked up there for the night as the water was soo still. Early on in the evening Chris and I were on deck talking to the dive instructor when suddenly out the corner of his eye he spotted something and shouted 'HAMMERHEAD'. If you havnt gathered he spotted a hammerhead shark. Chris and I darted round to cath a glimpse in the water. The rest of the boat attempted to join us but i think it was too late for them I think. We were told this is where we wernt going to be snorkelling. :) In the evening we had our meal which was cooked in a small kitchen oin board consisting of chicken and mashed potato which was great, i havnt eaten mashed potato in a couple of months. different to my usual diet of noodles or pasta. The boat is a great place to be when its still, although not soo much below deck when we're hitting fairly big waves. We finished the eveing with a couple of games involving some alcohol and socialising with some new found friends on board. The cabins we were staying in were quite small, stuffy so I did'nt sleep well for the first time since being away and awoke around 5am to sit on deck to cath the fresh air. Once everyone had awoken we head off to a beach where everyone went snorkelling and scuba diving. I gave scuba diving a go as I had been waiting to do it for quite a while now. I did an introductory dive which cost me about 25pounds which was really good. It was very strange at first getting the breathing right but after a while I got used to it and we all went for a dive in no time. We got down to about 9meters. The weightlessness was such a cool feeling and we saw soo many fish. We managed to swim underneath and between some of the coral, it was quite a surreal experience. We soon headed back to the boat for some lunch and then head off to Whitehaven beach. We were dropped off by a speedboat on a nearby beach and took a short walk to Whitehaven Beach, It was stunning. It's hard to explain so ull have to see the pictures! It was amasing!!!
After this spectacular visit we went anchored up for the night and played a few on the boat games such as Eat the Box, involving a box and a cricket bat and alot of flexibility. One to play in freshers week with the rugby team when i get home. The rest of the evening was spent socialising with the rest of the passengers on the boat, most people were from Australia, Holland or Canada. It was good fun.
The following day we took the day to relax and recover from the following early mornings and then went out in the evening for St Patricks night which was great fun. We went to san Irish Bar called Paddys, There was an amasing cover band playing. It was a good fun.
Another day to recover we spent by the Airlie Beach Lagoon, chilling out in the sun and swimming. In the evening we cooked a BBQ and said goodbye to a few friends we had met along the way, Joe and Emma. We may see them again, maybe in New Zealand. And for once headed to bead early for our 5 o clock rise for our bus journey to Kroombit Cattle Ranch.
Kroobit Cattle Ranch was a typical Australian Ranch (about 10,000 hectares) we arrived late in the evening and we all learnt how to crack a whip. I attempted to ride the mechanical bull and failed miserably, (chris has a great video about 1 second long), Chris was much better and didnt fall off until it started turning.
Now we are in Rainbow Beach, we have a tour booked for tomorrow and a 4x4 with a group of 10other people ready to go to Fraser Island. I'm really looking forward to it, something completely different. We will be camping and cookung on stoves just like the good old times at cadets.
Theres soo much to write about, but so little time, Internet here is rare and expensive. Uploading as many pictures as possible atm so keep your eyes out. Cya in 3days.
Alex.
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