Over the last couple of days we've been making our way down the east coast and we started off with a 3 day cruise around the Whitsunday Islands!
We boarded The Mandrake, a charter yacht that used to be raced but these days is captained by Skipper Billy the Kiwi, Deckhand Liam from Portsmouth and hostess Petra from South Africa! What a crew! We shared the boat with another 10 people and cosy it was!!
Day 1 - We sailed all day under the sun, not a cloud in the sky, passing luscious islands only celebrities could afford to stay on. Before it got dark we anchored (if thats what sea people say lol) for the night at Hayman Island and Petra and Liam made a big pot of spag bol which we ate on the deck under the stars as skipper Billy played the guitar - he got a bit carried away tho and ended up snapping some of his strings!! lol! Below deck we had a bed each except Kate and I ... We had to share ... How lucky we are!! It was so hot that I ended up sleeping on deck, underneath the stars ... Even if I was on my own! Loserrr!!
The next morning I was the first one awake, probs because I slept outside but I watched the sunrise, everyone else was asleep, the other boats were quiet and the sea was calm! It was perfect! But trust me no one gets a lay in on a boat ... By 7.30am everyone was up and off snorkelling at Blue Pearl Bay by 7.30am! The coral was so colourful and there were plenty of fish! We seen a giant tortoise and Elvis, this massive baby blue fish that calls this reef his home!
Then all hell broke loose! The boat wouldn't start and the Mandrake was in need of a new starter motor! People on board were not happy the days activities had been delayed!! Seriously some people are weirdos!! ... So we are stuck on a boat ... Surrounded by beautiful islands ... Clear blue sea .. Perfect for snorkelling ... The sun is beaming ... All the food and drink we need and your whinging!! Grrr!! Anyway a couple of hours later another boat, Spank Me, delivered the part, Billy fitted it and away we were! Apparently all we missed in those couple of hours was another snorkelling spot and in the end the cruise company, Oz Sail, gave each one of us a voucher worth $389 to use again on any of their boats ... So if anyone knows anyone whose in Australia and would like a discounted cruise around the Whitsunday Islands, give us a holla? Valid for a year and terms and conditions apply. Jokes.
That evening we had another delicious meal prepared by Petra and if it wasn't for the missing Yorkshire puddings and stuffing balls, it would have been a perfect sunday roast. The following morning after another sleep on deck, which I failed miserably in trying to get the girls to do, are we ever going to be able to sleep on the deck of a yacht in Australia surrounded by the Whitsunday islands? .. Nope! We had another early start, 5am to make up for some lost time the day before. Apparently rated the seconded best beach in the world, we went to Whitehaven beach and met up with the Canadian girls who were on Spank Me. Wait until you see the pictures because I don't think any of us could do it justice! ... Defo the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! They say the sand is so clean and fine that you can brush your teeth with it! And obvs we gave it a go! And it's true!
We were given a time to be back on the boat but a few stubborn, unhappy customers (starter motor incident) thought they'd take their time and delay the journey back to Airlie beach. Well I don't think they'll be doing that again, Skipper Billy went PSYCO!! Dropping the C bomb, T bomb, A bomb etc etc! It was sooo funny we couldn't look!
You could say there was a bit of tension in the air on the journey home but not for us! ... We each took it in turn steering the boat and helping put the sails up and down! We had an amazing three days and not one of us was sea sick! That was the cherry on top!
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