29 August 2005 day 6As I have previously described I slept really well on the boat, I bet it is some bizarre sort of fetal memory. So are first stop was the Whitsunday island Itself, with Sand of pure white silica. Absolutely stunning natural beauty, Breathtaking. Nuff said.
I Had a theory that I might be going into the water on a semi regular basis. So I purchased some goggles and nose clip before I left for Cairns a few day earlier.
And a good thing I brought them along for this part of the day since it meant that I could catch the Sting rays that skimmed past our feet in the water, Diving in after them and seeing them flee.
Other wise we all sat on the beach and just soaked up the sun. Gloriously hot as it was. And in fact at this moment in time at the end of my trip. I have two tan lines. One where my shorts are and where my thong (flip flops to you English) are.
But less of my tan vanity.
Walking on the sand here is weird almost like walking on a cookie dough mixed with sand. And in the after noon it was a trip to another place... I can't remember where. But it wasn't too far and the afternoon had an exciting session of snorkeling on the reef and then diving on it.. it was fantastic. Fish of every description.
the really cool bit for me was the noise you could here under the water. The fish where eating the coral and you could hear them biting away at it. And in places it was a feeding frenzy of 10-20 different fish all having a go at it. Check out my diving photos for more info. But let's just say as you may have guessed... It was fantastic..
Then the evening came.
This was going to be a heavy night of drinking and mess... I could feel it in bones. Maybe it was the large amount of booze the Irish had brought on, or the lively atmosphere of everyone. All I am going to say I just was not into he mood to get completely hammered.
So a couple of G & Ts sorted me out well. They have this almost sobering effect on me, which was what I needed. Especially after I saw what sort of things happened on that boat... All I will say is that what happened on the boat, stays on the boat.
Day 7 - 30 August
I am a sick sick person, who does love the drama of the morning after with other people. You know when people wake up having slept with each other when they shouldn't have. The Grim hung over faces. When you have been up for hours. Ah the joys of being sanctimonious.
I would Like to thank my G and T drinking for me avoiding this particular odious response in the morning from other people.
That I the fact that I could enjoy retelling the night to people who did not have the slightest memory of it. We did some morning snorkeling in a place called Blue Pearl Bay.
Beautiful again. And the sun was with us this morning, as was this giant (1-2 m long) fish that we chased and touched gently in the water.The crew also were putting out bread to feed and attract the fish. It is a really weird sensation to snorkel through a load of fish and feel them swim past you and hit you with their fins.
Any way it was back to shore and then chilled out and watched some TV before heading out for drinks with the crew and the rest of the people on the boat. But about 12.30 I decided I wasn't in the mood for a big old night. Admittedly it was after 2-3 schooners of beer and a bottle of wine.
ps I feel I am supporting the Australian wine industry well at present more to come tomorrow. Still in Sydney for a while yet, Canberra & Melbourne are to follow soon.
