After dropping Ian off we headed further up the coast to Airlie Beach with a plan of heading out on a sail boat for a few days to the Whitsunday Islands.
All booked up, the day of departure came and low and behold so did the rain. Trust us to pick the wrong weekend for it. With only a few hours of sunshine each day we battled with the wind, waves and Mike throwing up over board for the next two days.
It wasn't bad though. We got to sail again which was fun and stopped off at different sites to snorkel where we saw stingrays, turtles and the biggest fish you have ever seen.
Contrary to the pictures above out of the water life on deck was a bit harder. All for chipping in, we took turns in grinding and hoisting the main sail. At times it was a bit concerning as we held on for dear life through the rain and choppy waters, narrowly missing getting hit by the main beam as one of the ropes snapped!
We were all kept amused though by a couple of 18 year old German girls, just out of school, who repeatedly told us that it was the worst day of their lives, every day on the boat. The rest of us, the majority of which were in our 30s thought it best not to tell them that travelling on an 80ft sailing boat amongst some of the world's most beautiful scenery shouldn't really classify (even if the weather was terrible). Instead we all had a giggle at their naivety and pondered how they would feel after ten years of solid working.
The only real negative about the trip, aside from the rain was the sleeping arrangements below deck which were cramped and unbelievably hot. After a terrible first night Mike and I decided to join the crew and sleep on top deck, exposed to the elements instead. It was a fab decision as we got to drift off watching the moon and stars, luckily the weather had calmed or it could have been an altogether different situation.
From the Whitsundays' we drove north to Cairns - our final destination on the east coast and gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.
Here, we had planned to sell our surf boards and didn't think anything of it until we arrived and realised there is no surf in Cairns. Uh-oh! A frantic day of ringing every surf store in the area, advertising on gum tree and even going so far as to approach Cash Converters only to be rejected by all three left a very stressed Mike and Tori. I mean what were we going to do with them. We couldn't just leave two, pretty much brand new boards worth over $1000 behind, could we? The answer was no for Mike and he set about formulating a plan. It seems he can be a planner when he wants to be (note to self) and organised to have the boards sent via Greyhound to Alice Springs and then flown to Perth where we could sell them there. Which is just what we did.
The moral of the story ... ANYONE PLANNING ON SELLING THEIR BOARDS IN CAIRNS - DON'T. MAKE SURE YOU SELL THEM BEFORE YOU LEAVE FRASER ISLAND AREA AS THERE IS VERY LITTLE SURF HIGHER UP AND NO-ONE WILL BUY THEM.
Anyway back to Cairns. It seemed our bad weather luck stayed with us as we learnt that a cyclone off the coast was preventing any of the boats going out.
Luckily we had two more days so managed to get a snorkeling trip out on a catamaran for the day. As you might expect the sea was still quite choppy and the way out was spent trying to prevent Mike from puking. We succeeded and for once he wasn't the one being sick on the boat.
We arrived at our first site and got in the water to see what we could see. We were surprised how clear the water was and how vibrant the coral was, despite the weather and had a fab time exploring the underwater world. We were lucky enough to see more sea turtles as well as lots of different types of fish. Luckily no sharks.
After our trip we headed back to our hostel for our last evening and took part in their weekly Aussie BBQ with fire dancers (who were mesmerising if not a little scary when they got too close) and a competition to see who could best play the didgeridoo. Of course Mike was picked to take part although he didn't win. You was robbed - all the English travellers agreed!
The next morning we waved goodbye to the East Coast and headed for Ayers Rock.
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