Fri 24th Oct
After leaving my main bag in the storage room at my hostel, I check out, meet Luke and head to Abell Point Marina for an 8am meeting time, on route we walk with three other travellers on Apollo. Outside Barcelona Cafe me and Luke are soon chatting to two German girls on our boat, Sabrina and Jana, before Tommy, the dive master on Apollo, greets everyone. Slowly everyone hands over their trip voucher and gets given a wetsuit for the duration of the trip. After this time is taken up filling in paper work..everyone on the boat whether qualified or not has one free scuba dive as part of the package. Once this has all been sorted we are heading to and boarding Apollo (a maxi yacht and past winner of the Sydney to Hobart Race, along with other racing wins). After dropping our stuff off on our beds... being one of last few people on the bus me and luke are assigned to a double..we are then back on the deck and on our way to the Whitsunday Island. The sun is shining and blue skies above us. The sea is calm and the journey is relaxing. Before the sails are put up for the final part of the journey to our first destination of our trip (and where we will all be diving/snorkeling), Tommy gives an introductory talk.
The qualified divers gear up and we head off first. During the dive we see large clusters of different sized reef fish and colourful coral. After the dive I head back into the sea to snorkel with Luke, Sabrina and Jana, again seeing lots of colourful fish. We are at the bay for around 4 hours so that everyone (split into 5 groups) gets to dive. When the final group heads off for their dive, everyone else left on the bay begins heading back to Apollo via a motor dinghy (seating 11 at a time). Once everyone is back on board we journey on, past the array of different sized islands to our stop for the night. Dinner is followed by drinks and time as a group introducing ourselves in more detail..
Sat 25th Oct
At 6.30am we are woken up by the sound of the engine starting as we begin the short journey to Whitsunday Island where we will be spending the morning visiting the island in order to see the world famous Whitehaven Beach (one of the most photographed beaches). First we have a short trek to the viewing platform a stunning view greets us! We will not be picked up for til 11am so two hours lies ahead spending time on the beautiful white silica beach (no burning your feet on this sand.. And you can use the sand to whiten your teeth! ), swimming, relaxing and taking in the 360° picturesque views.
When we return to Apollo we eat lunch whilst heading to our 2nd snorkel/dive site of the trip.. I decide to pay the extra 50 dollars for another dive. First I snorkel then get geared up and dive from the beach, Tommy feeds the fish whilst we are underwater so we become surrounded by a huge cluster of fish. During the dive we see two stingrays, sea cucumbers, and towards the end of the dive a large Maori Wrasse. In the evening after dinner everyone puts the goon (cheap wine) they have left together and we play drinking olympics.. a lot of fun..
Sun 26th Oct
After what feels like a slightly longer lie in (but in reality the time is again around 6.30am) everyone slowly awakes to the sound of the engine. The smell of scrambled eggs and then the discovery of beans at the breakfast table is a welcome meal! During the morning the boat is moved to our last stop of the trip.. a last chance to snorkel and relax on a new deserted beach. In the water we discover large turtles!! At one point some people see five, when I snorkel I see two resting on the sea bed... The water is so shallow they seem to be within touching distance.. a breathtaking experience. Back on the beach we try to relax but the sun is burning down upon us, a cycle of relaxing and resting is followed by the need to cool down in the sea, plays out before we are taken back to the boat. A final lunch together and then we are on route back to the mainland. It has been a fantastic weekend trip, beautiful weather, stunning views and a lot of fun.
On my return to Magnums I catch up with Dan, then in the evening everyone from the boat meets at Phoenix for drinks
After what feels like a slightly longer lie in (but in reality the time is again around 6.30am) everyone slowly awakes to the sound of the engine. The smell of scrambled eggs and then the discovery of beans at the breakfast table is a welcome meal! During the morning the boat is moved to our last stop of the trip.. a last chance to snorkel and relax on a new deserted beach. In the water we discover large turtles!! At one point some people see five, when I snorkel I see two resting on the sea bed... The water is so shallow they seem to be within touching distance.. a breathtaking experience. Back on the beach we try to relax but the sun is burning down upon us, a cycle of relaxing and resting is followed by the need to cool down in the sea, plays out before we are taken back to the boat. A final lunch together and then we are on route back to the mainland. It has been a fantastic weekend trip, beautiful weather, stunning views and a lot of fun.
On my return to Magnums I catch up with Dan, then in the evening everyone from the boat meets at Phoenix for drinks
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