There is no better way to explore the Great Barrier Reef with a trip to the Whitsundays. After I visited Fraser Island with Dingo Tours, I hopped on a 12 hour night bus to Airlie Beach, a recently turned popular beach town filled with backpackers and tourists who all enter the area of the Great Barrier Reef. I booked my Whitsundays trip with Mandrake Tour, a (non party) sailing boat for 15 people. I was quite happy with this tour and I can recommend it.
Here’s a list of islands that you wille explore when on the Mandrake Tour:
- Hook Island
- Whiteheaven Beach
- Cataran Bay
- Border Island
- Blue Pill Bay
DAY ONE WHITSUNDAYS
Once we boarded the Mandrake, our captain Cam greeted us, gave us safety instructions and appointed us to our beds.
After a few hours we stopped at Hook Island, where I had my first snorkel experience of the trip. It is high summer in Australia now, and as we were north of the country, the climate becomes hotter and more humid. In this tropical weather, it’s also high season for stingers, small jellyfish creatures, invisible for the human eye, but deadly anyhow. That’s why we couldn’t go in the water without our sexy stinger suits.
This was my first every snorkeling experience; and as I do not trust Australian waters (never, ever do) I went in the water with mixed feelings. Even though I was sure a white shark would suddenly appear in front of me, (none did, yay!) the underwater views were too amazing to worry about that sort of thing!
Our first snorkel ended and the Skipper (Captain) asked me if I wanted to sail. After he found out that I do not have a driver’s license, he looked a bit worried, but I managed to no let anyone fall of a boat or sail into a reef so yay for me! (They don’t let me drive a car in Belgium, but here they let me sail a large sailing boat between the Whitsunday Islands, oh the irony.)
Right before our first sunset between the island, we saw our first dolphin of The Whitsundays trip!
We dropped anchor for the night, had dinner while playing get to know you games. The captain had a fishing line out and we pulled some fish out of the water (after throwing them back in the water.) Not long after the sun goes down, the moon follows quickly as well and we were soon in complete darkness. I did not care, for the sky above was filled with too many stars and constellations. I managed to catch some shooting stars out of the corner of my eyes.
DAY TWO WHITSUNDAYS
It’s always big fun to be awoken at 5 AM from the anchor being raised and a ship that starts rocking side to side. That’s when I realized that I am, ironically, a seasick pirate. How they would have laughed at me in The Golden Age Of Piracy.
As soon as I set foot on the Whiteheaven Beach and felt the sand beneath my feet I felt more at ease. We went to the Lookout Point of the Island, (the second most photographed place in all the Great Barrier Reef) and snapped some photo’s. Afterwards the girls and I went to the beach where we held a (little) photoshoot.
We pulled on our stingersuit again and stepped in the water, which was filled with stingrays and little lemon sharks.
We returned to the ship and settled for a 2 hour sail and went snorkeling at Cataran Bay on Border Island, where we found an old sea turtle chilling at the bottom of the coral reef.
Then we sailed to Lunchon Bay. The Skipper had told us about a fish named George, who lived in these waters. What he didn’t tell us, was that as soon as we jumped in the ocean, we had a two meter long Humphead Maori Wrasse in front of us! Even though he’s harmless and well, not a shark, he gave me quite a fright.
(Picture Sabine Hamerling)
That night we settled at Blue Pill Bay. After the sunset, I witnessed a rainbow coloured sky; orange, yellow, green, blue and purple all colliding together on the horizon.
Our last day came too soon. If I thought I was awoken brutally the first morning, it was nothing compared to this. The captain let us sleep until 6 AM (OH, THE LUXURY!), but woke us yelling at the top of his lungs: “STINGERSUIT ON, WE LEAVE IN FIVE MINUTES!” In the next five minutes, where twelve very groggy girls tried to crawl out of bed with the ship throwing us sideways, we found ourselves being thrown, once again, in the ocean.
This time, we found a little guy names Nemo! Well, that’s not his name, but that seems to be the general name for a clownfish. The last snorkel was definitely the most beautiful one.As we got back on the ship, the Skipper shushed us, and showed us a three meter long (!) barracuda that was slowly swimming next to our ship. I am not kidding, it looked like a shark! It that thing had showed up beside me in the water, I’d crawl in Nemo’s little coral cave and never leave again.
The Mandrake sailed back to Airlie Beach, ending my pirate adventure.
HOIST THE COLOURS!
Your nerdie friend, Captain Etty.
Leave a Comment