Tuesday, 2 April 2013

24 March – 25 March 2013 – Whitsunday Islands (Border Island and Whitehaven Beach) and Daydream Island



Up early for a Sunday, and the resident ducks were sleeping on the site next to us, the kids had nicknamed these the lion and tiger and bear ducks due to the colouring of their feathers.  We did a dash to Coles waiting for their doors to open at 9am and madly rushed around the store to fill our trolley as we had to be back at Seabreeze for a 9.55am pick-up by Big Fury, the tour we had booked for the day.  We boarded the transfer bus which took us to their boat at Abel Marina.  It was like a big rubber ducky style which accommodated about 35-40 people, Branden was the tour guide and Robbie was at the helm.  First stop after an hour in the fresh air was Border Island where we all jumped overboard in our stinger suits and went snorkelling around the ocean.  It was pretty good snorkelling too.  Lots of coloured fish to see but unfortunately no turtles.  After nearly an hour, we were all back on board bound for the famous Whitehaven Beach.  Josh and I had been here before but the kids hadn’t.  I was surprised at how many people were here from all the tours, including those that caught a seaplane in, nice option!  Full buffet lunch was provided here but we had to fight off the large goannas for the food.  There were stacks of them and they weren’t shy in trying to get in near to the food.  After more swimming under the hot sun, we were back on the boat and headed back to shore which was another hour or more away.  Thankfully the seats on the boat were comfy and there were lamingtons and donuts for afternoon tea.


Monday, Josh decided that another boat day was in order but this time with our tinny.  We were going to head over to Daydream Island.  By the time we got to Shute Harbour, the wind had picked up and we were tossing up whether to go or not.  It didn’t look too bad so we got organised and got going.  Across we went and gee it was windy!  After arriving at Daydream Island we tied up the boat and quickly went to have a look around.  We were there just in time to see a bit of the fish feeding in the coral reef that they’d put on the island… a little unnatural but still very pretty.  After doing a quick walk around a part of the island, the wind was picking up and we had to scurry back to the boat and try to get back to the mainland safely.  It was a long rough ride and the boat was bouncing all over the place, so much that Zoe and I (sitting at the front) were in a bit of pain from hitting the waves so quickly.  Fortunately we have Josh who is great out on the water and he carefully delivered us all safely back to land.  So although it wasn’t for long at all (like 30-40 minutes on the island) it still gave the kids an opportunity to see a little bit of the island.  The rest of the day was pretty relaxing and of course we went on one last ride along the board walk – we could never get sick of that view!




 





























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