Whitsundays

This is not really sailing as such, it more a 3 days cruise around the Whitsunday islands. The islands are stunningly beautiful and snorkeling is like swimming in a giant tropical fish tank. There are so many fish of every size, shape and colour, they are so used to people that they brush against you, if you try to catch them, they nibble your fingers. This is the height of the stinger season (jelly fish) and we have to wear stinger suits which are a bit like wetsuits. We did see some jelly fish but they were not the really dangerous ones and we managed to avoid them. There are two types of jelly fish that can kill you but they are so tiny and so transparent that you can't see them so the ones you can see will give you a sting but won't kill you. We saw dolphins swimming along side the boat and turtles. We tried fishing but the fish were too smart and just ate our bait. At one stage the owner caught what I thought was a fairly decent sized mackerel but he said it was too small and threw it back in.

The owners run the trips on the boat and the lady cooks wonderful home made food three times a day so we all ate very well. She really looks after your every need, she wakes you with breakfast and pours buckets of water over you when you get too hot. There is not a lot to do on the boat, and there is no need for a watch, you eat, swim snorkel, sunbake (that's what they call sunbathing here and it is a more appropriate description as you basically cover yourself in thick layers of sunscreen and cook). I read The Constant Gardener which I would recommend. We stopped at Whitehaven Beach which is the most famous and most beautiful beach and for a brief few minutes we had the beach to ourselves. The only way to get there is by boat, its pure white sand like castor sugar. Normally you can't walk on the sand because it burns your feet but this sand is so white and fine it reflects the heat and you can walk on it.

When I got back to Airlie Beach Jack, Hugh, Craig and Nicole had arrived. We went swimming in the Lagoon and then for a drink. We watched a Jelly Wrestling competition (young girls in binikis rolling about in jelly) and I was amazed and slightly shocked at how determined they were to win. I thought it was just fun but there was a $500 prize and I think they would have killed each other for it if there had not been a referee to stop them.

Today I am in Cairns and its raining, its the wet season here now. I'm here to do my five day PADI diving cert on the Great Barrier Reef which I am hoping will be awesome. After that I go back to Sydney on the 30th and fly to Auckland on the 31st to start my tour of NZ.