The Whitsunday Islands

We had quite an early start on Saturday morning and left the hostel just before 7am. Although we didn’t need to get to our meeting point on the harbour until 8am, we wanted to make sure we got the car in the free car-park. It was a good job we did leave early because when we got down to the harbour it was fairly chockers but thankfully we did manage to get a space. We made our way to Gloria’s café where was where we had to meet the Derwent Hunter crew and luckily the café was open so we got ourselves an egg and bacon roll and a flat white, extortionate prices but absolutely essential for the soul at the time of the morning.

It was a very grey and showery day when we left on the Derwent Hunter Tall Ship for the Whitsunday’s. I have to say that Claire was a little apprehensive about the sailing trip and wasn’t sure what to expect and the lashing wet rain didn’t help. After the safety spiel, we were finally shown to our rooms. The boat had 3 double rooms and 2 dorm rooms for the singles. Our room was better than the dorms but still cramped and we had to share the toilet-cum-shower with the couple next door. It was okay for 2 nights but Claire couldn’t have coped any longer. The singles weren’t too enthusiastic about their dorms and straight away decided that most of them would be sleeping up on the decked. It was cosy all round to say the least.

The skipper, Logan, had intended to take us to Whitehaven beach the first day but as it wasn’t the weather and the forecast was much better for the next day, we switched to Blue Pearl Bay for a spot of snorkelling instead. As this is one of the most northerly points in the Whitsunday’s, by the time we got there the clouds had broken and the sun came out. Hooray!! Trouble was at this time of year they have the dreaded box jelly fish and other deadly things so we all had to wear stinger suits. Yes, you guessed it, they didn’t have one my size so I had to shoe-horn myself into the largest one that they had. I also put a hood on so I wasn’t stung on the face. As usual my mask was leaking so bad that I had a fish swimming around in it at one time. I went back to the tender to swap it and Hughie got me to take my hood off as that wasn’t helping. The second mask was better but it still leaked so I spent the whole time snorkelling whilst holding the sides to delay the water getting in. The coral was really lovely, all different colours and so were the fish, and I even saw two eels close to shore and lots of Angel fish. A shame I hadn’t bought one of those underwater cameras to share the sights with you.

We seemed to have a really good mix of people on the boat, we had 6 Irish lads who were hilarious with the most unpronounceable names but most of them were called Gerald shortened in different ways; then there was Barry who constantly spread sun screen on and Tige who was a pilot for Ryan Air. Other than the guys from Dublin there was mad Mel from Texas who is a lawyer, 2 girls from California, one who lives in Sydney, a French guy with his Swiss girlfriend doing an around the world tour, Dan and Sian, keen divers and travellers from London, Thomas from Hamburg, one girl from Harrogate travelling with another university friend from Manchester. The crew from Australia were called Logan, Hughie, Paulie and Bianca, and of course last but not least there was Claire and myself. We had a bit of an icebreaker evening that didn’t finish until about 12.30am so when they started the generator at 6.30am we weren’t really ready to get up for breakfast. After breakfast (toast and fruit) we set off for Whitehaven beach which was spectacular and the sand consists of 98.9% silicon and squeaks under foot. We had to get there with a quick uphill walk through the bush where we spotted a skink eating a small snake. He bit it in half and ate the first half then swallowed the second half, still wriggling, tail first.

We had about two hours on the beach and it was really hot because there was no shade and the white sand just reflected the heat straight back up onto you. Poor Barry was really suffering from sunburn and heatstroke so he found one of the few bits of shade and had a power nap and covered up but unfortunately the blisters on his shoulders were so bad the crew had to phone for help and he was taken off the islands to recover in an air conditioned hotel where he received medical advice. I can’t imagine how he caught the sun as badly as it was raining to start with and he snorkelled in his stinger suit. I don’t think they get much sun in Ireland. Enjoy the rest of your holiday guys.

We were very fortunate with the weather, especially because we are here in the rainy season, after the bad start it was sun for the rest of our cruise. The rooms were small and basic and with only a small fan for cooling but there were air vents which helped the air circulate a little even though there was hardly any wind the whole time. Claire didn’t seem pleased to discover that again, we had a shared bathroom with the French guy and his Swiss girlfriend but we were in the sea so often we only needed to rinse off the seawater and wash our hair so it didn’t matter so much. We all had so much to drink the first night that we didn’t notice the heat during the night and slept through really well but the second night clouded over and was so hot that we had to get up at 2.30am for some fresh air. While we were up we noticed that one of our vents had been closed so we opened it and did manage to get some broken sleep at least.

The boat was a lovely 64 year old sailing boat but the first time they pulled up the main sail it started to rip because the bolt rope at the side had snapped. Anyway we had so little wind that it wasn’t very practical to do much sailing during the whole stay anyway. We went to various beaches around the islands by mooring the boat and being driven to shore by a dingy tender. Of course, every time we went into the water we had to heave on those dreadful stinger suits and I was knackered before we started. We did see lots of turtles coming up for air but never managed to see them when we were snorkelling but always the coral and fish made up for it. The food was regular and good considering the conditions that they had to prepare it in. For drinks we had to buy tickets at $2 each and soft drinks were one ticket and beer and wine two tickets so we weren’t ripped off but I do feel that the water should have been free. The staff started out a little grumpy but got better the longer we went on with excellent information and talks coming from the first mate Hughie. He is only 25 but has been working on boats off and on for 8 years, knowing all about boat life, animal life and the history of Australia.

The islands are very beautiful in the sun but I’m sure it wouldn’t be the same in bad weather; it was amazing how the whole mood of the group improved as the weather did. We had a really great weekend around the islands and I’m sure that the others felt the same way because everyone without fail chipped in for a tip at the end to give the staff a well deserved drink when they got back to shore. It actually felt quite emotional having the group photo’s and saying our goodbye’s at the end of the trip, but you never know, sometimes you do meet up or keep in touch with new friends that you have met on holiday.

We always wanted to see the Whitsundays and there are many different boats that you can choose from. Initially we looked at a boat which only took 4 couples and the rooms had all the mod cons. However I’m glad we decided on the Derwent Hunter, we had a great group and everyone had a ball. The Irish lads and mad Mel from Texas made it for me and Claire but really, everyone added something to the group and we had a lot of fun. Of course, we two were the oldest on the boat but that was only to be expected. We think that we are adventurous but there were lots of travellers on the boat that have seen much more of Australia than we have, many in under a month which is pretty amazing really. We picked up quite a bit of travel advice and maybe we passed on a little of our knowledge also. It was very tempting to stay one more night in Airlie beach and meet up for the party with the crew and the gang. But we both knew this would be fatal; there was a blog to write and all the laundry to do and we wanted to be fresh for our next adventure in Townsville. We are ready for you Townsville, but I wonder if you are quite ready for us?