So this morning it’s time to pack up and ready ourselves for the trip home on the iron bird and hand over our island companion. So here’s what happened yesterday!
We headed down to the Marina, grabbed coffee and waited to board the catamaran, ‘On The Edge,’ for our sail and snorkel adventure. Once boarded and briefed we set off, once out of the marina the sail was hoisted up and se sailed among the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. It was a blissful 1.5 hours of gliding across ocean, a few bumps along the way, yet being on the water is always an amazing experience. The ocean is what taught me to understand awe, such beauty, yet power that cannot be tamed, a body of water that carries within it the most diverse life.
Our first stop was Chalkies Beach, here we donned our very attractive stinger suites, snorkel, masks and fins before we entered the ocean to check out a little corner of diversity. Much of the beachside coral was heavily bleached, the tip was swim along the fringe, ocean side. There was some colour and tiny fish darted in and out of the reef. I reckon the fact that there were a couple of groups around most of the marine life took off for the day. That said we glimpsed a Trigger fish, a number of Damsel fish, a trio of goat fish hung out on the floor, an Angel fish and of course the Sergeant Major fish (its nick name, because they are everywhere and all around watching). It never ceases to amaze me how gracefully fish glide through the water, each distinctive in colour and shape, even fin location, anyhoo once we’d snorkeled and explored along the ledge we walked back up the beach to hop on the tender back to the catamaran where lunch was served.
After lunch, it was a short sail across to Whitehaven Beach, with it’s pristine white sands. Mr Revthreads took a walk to the lookout, I sat in the shade and just looked out over the turquoise waters. It’s one of those places where it seems so appropriate to simply sit and breathe in the presence of the divine, to breathe in the beauty that is stretched out in front of you.
Once back on the edge, people were leaping into the ocean from the boat, Mr Revthreads asked me to join him, so I accepted, big tip don’t lift your legs up as you enter the water, it hurts, anyhoo, then it was time to head back to land. I have to acknowledged I dozed most of the way back, a day of doing nothing can really take it out of you!
TIPS AND INFO FOR TRAVEL TO HAMILTON
1. Book tours and restaurants early. Online tour bookings require at least a weeks notice, restaurants request 72 hours but book as far in advance as possible. You will miss out if you don’t book, the closes we have gotten to eating out is Pizza.
2. The number you are advised to call is for all activities and tours, be prepared to hold and be prepared to miss out if you don’t book in advance. We managed to get the last two places on the sail and snorkel, we were unable to access anything else during our stay. We were told, after our booking, to try and call Explore direct, they oversee all the boating activities.
3. Many of the Island restaurants are still closed, hence the booking early. The Marina Cafe is open but there is no chef, cabinet food only. We decided the best coffee on the island is from the bakery.
4. We booked our accommodation on Airbnb, price was reasonable and we got full use of an island companion (buggy) for our whole stay, it makes a huge difference, included in the accommodation cost. We were also allowed self check out because no one is booked in today and we get to take our island companion to the airport and leave it there. We did get valet pick up from the airport, it was a seriously good deal, one of the cheapest available and had everything we needed. We stayed at the Anchorage.
4. Visit Foots Artwork, amazing local craftsmanship and business, support the locals I say.
5. Breathe in the beauty, it’s a beautiful place to visit.
revthreads 