Airlie Beach

Since the early days of planning this trip we knew that the east coast had a number of must do trips that due to their location on the coast would be all packed into a short period of time.  The trip to the Whitsunday Islands would be the start of a fairly busy and very interesting few weeks.

Airlie Beach is one of the top tourist towns on the east coast due to its proximity to the string of 74 islands that make up the Whitsundays which are also slap bang in the middle of the world famous Great Barrier Reef.  We arrived and selected a campsite that was only a short bus ride into town and that also did free van storage for those going on a boat trip.  No sooner than we had settled we started checking out the million and one tour agencies looking for a 3 night boat trip that would show us the main sights in the Islands and also allow us to do some snorkelling and hopefully scuba diving.  With so many trips operating out of Airlie Beach ranging from party boats to gin palaces to hands on fast sailing yachts, we had our pick and as it was off season all the different types of trips had spaces.  We narrowed it down to a maxi yacht (fast sailing boat) and the Pacific Sunrise an up market sail boat with its very own chef and less than 20 clients.  After much soul searching we decided that we had roughed it enough over the past few months and opted for the Pacific Sunrise which would be a much more comfortable and relaxing affair.

We left Airlie Beach harbour at 4:00pm and steamed into the sunset with 13 other guests for our first nights mooring at Turtle Bay with a glass of champagne in our hands.  A superb 3 course al a carte dinner was served at 19:30pm giving us time to get to know our fellow passengers and enjoy the ocean surroundings.  There was certainly no Kangaroo Bolognese on this menu!

Next day we made our way to Whitehaven beach, perhaps the most famous of beaches in the Islands.  The sand on the beach is 98% silica so making it very white and reflective and incredibly abrasive.  It actually squeaks when you walk on it.  With the sun shining through the shallow turquoise water and reflecting off the sand below, it would have been an incredible sight however the day we arrived was dull and overcast but still impressive.  This was the second time Emma had visited the beach, her first visit also overcast and dull - to say she was not happy would be an understatement!  She now keeps saying that it will have to be third time lucky…..I’ve a feeling that’s going to cost me a lot money. 

We spent the few hours we had there enjoying the beach, swimming, sunbathing (if you can call it that when there is no sun) and we even managed to setup an impromptu cricket match with the fellow passengers and some Aussie blokes who were also on the beach.  We of course beat the Aussies only because they refused to put their tinnies down whilst fielding!  We also took out the Kayak that was available to us and explored the rocks at the end of the beach.  As we were attempting to paddle around the back of our boat, Emma spotted something in the water about 15m in front of us, which did not have a fin, was around 1.5m long and appeared to have a bobbly back.  As it swam through the water Emma saw its nose, which was long and with a snout…..Crocodile?!  We quickly decided that we were both tired of Kayaking and promptly high tailed it into shore leaving like a speedboats wake behind us.  Emma retold the description to crew and they shrugged their shoulders saying it could have been a crocodile as they have been seen out here, but that it was most likely a very large turtle.  She was not convinced.

Once we were all back at the boat, we raised the anchor and set sail for Luncheon Bay off Hook Island for snorkelling and the first of the dives. 

Myself and Emma had put ourselves down to do an introductory dive, but we were going to have to wait to the next day as there was only so many people that could do it at one time and most of the group were going to give it a go.  As the first dive group returned, we were regaled with tales of their dive and how some had struggled with the claustrophobic sensation common with scuba diving.  One didn’t even make it past the skills course which was conducted in the shallow waters off the beach.  This did not fill us with confidence and we both then started to get quite nervous about tomorrows event.  So to calm our nervous, we spent the evening drinking wine on the poop desk whilst watching the sun go down and the moon rise and for once truly relaxing (it was great knowing we did not have to cook or wash up or make up the bed before sleep).

The second day started early for Emma and I as we were scheduled for the dive at 9:00am.  Emma had done this before and not felt very comfortable with the experience as she too had suffered the feeling of claustrophobia so she was apprehensive about how it would go.  I have always wanted to try diving but I was also very apprehensive due to the tales from the previous days group and not sure how I would feel being under the water.

Once we were kitted up in all the gear, we were dropped at the beach and straight into the water to learn how to clear water out of your regulator.  We waded into shoulder deep water, let the air out of our vests and sank onto our knees first getting used to the sensation of breathing through an aqua lung.  Next we were given the signal to remove the regulator from our mouths, blow bubbles and then put it back into our mouth and push a button to squirt the water out.  We were then to start breathing normally again hoping that there was not any water still in the mouth piece.  All went well and my confidence grew.  Emma was a little shakey with it but did it with no problems.  The next thing we had to learn was how to retrieve our regulator if it had fallen behind us.  This time we threw the regulator behind us and used an special arm movement (similar to a making a windmill with our arm), recovered the regulator and followed the same procedure as before.  This time after pressing the button I started to breath but nothing happened and there was no air.  I immediately sprang to my feet and breathed in the fresh air on the surface.  Slightly nervous again now, I tried it a second time and it went fine.  With my confidence back we followed the final exercise for clearing your mask of water and that was it.  We had all passed with flying colours, and now it was time for the proper dive.

We descended deeper into the water and off we went swimming over the coral, marvelling at the myriad of colours, and watching the abundance of fish as they moved about their business nibbling at pieces of food here and there.  Some of the fish seemed as inquisitive about us as we were about them and would come right up to your goggles almost like they were trying to get in.  We didn’t go much deeper than 3 metres but the experience was amazing and any apprehension I had vanished.  The pickup was out in the sea into a small speed boat which is not easy when you carrying so much weight (just to clarify I am referring to the dive gear).  Buzzing from the experience and nowhere near as scared as I thought I would be, they asked us if we fancied another dive.  Emma decided to sit this one out as she had enjoyed it but was still struggling a bit with the feeling of claustrophobia.  I however jumped at the chance.

So an hour later myself and a German girl, who had also taken to it like a duck to water, went back out for a far more challenging dive.  This time we would have to jump from the boat rather than a beach start (something they did not tell us until we were on the boat) and we would be going down as far as 8m.  This time the water was a little murkier and the coral towered above us like buildings as we swam through the gullies and valleys made by the different coral formations.  I struggled much more this time to keep my buoyancy in the water, sinking as soon as I stopped moving my arms.  As we were only doing introductory dives, the few techniques we learnt did not cover buoyancy, so I was left to having to swim like a drowning dog flailing my legs and arms to stay where I wanted in the water.  After 25 minutes our air was running low so we ascended to be picked up by the speedboat and straight back on to the main boat for some much needed lunch.  I absolutely loved the experience and having talked for many years about doing this, I was so pleased to have finally done it and in such a magical place.  Oh dear, I feel another hobby coming on!!

The rest of the day was spent visiting other beautiful bays and either snorkelling, kayaking or just walking the beach.  The final night on the boat included a little sing song accompanied by our captain who had not only led an interesting life but could sing and play guitar - don’t you just hate people like that :)

On arriving back to Airlie Beach, we spent our final night visiting some old friends of Emma and saying hello to their beautiful 14 month old baby boy called Noah who entertained us with his golf skills!  Like father like son, hey Andrew!

Next:  Hervey Bay and awesome 4x4 adventures on Frazer Island.