Cruising in the Whitsundays -  July 2011

In the school holidays in July, the family went off on a week's holiday. One of dad's friends, John O'Brien, happens to own a boat which he keeps at Hamilton Island in North Queensland.  John was kind enough to let us have use of the boat for the first week of the school holidays.  The boat was called the "Blue Sapphire", and it came with a skipper - Sean - who spent most of the week with us and was great company.  Whilst it was winter at home down south, it was lovely in the Whitsundays.  We went snorkeling quite a few times and saw some delightful coral.  Bill from next door came with us.



The Blue Sapphire anchored in a
bay in Hook Island
.

Skipper Sean looked after us well
and was our tour guide.
Here's the team ready for a
plunge...
We managed to attract an inquisitive school of batfish to the back of the boat.  Initially there was only one, and we thought he had gone, but he came back with a dozen or so of his mates!  They entertained us for an hour or so as we fed them. 

Mum was in the water at the time and freaked when she saw the fins, fearing they might be sharks!  In the end she managed to shoo them out of the way so she could get back on the boat.



We spent three days meandering around the Whitsunday Islands, circumnavigating Whitsunday Island and Hook Island, exploring bays, the odd beach and coral reef.

Sunsets were special times. Here's a couple of shots with the sun setting over Australia...


Whilst moored at Hamilton Island we came across a few friendly lorikeets - so friendly that they were brave enough to eat from our hand.

After a while the scenery just got too much for the boys, and they retired below deck for some cut-throat monopoly.





One of the highlights of the week was visiting Whitehaven Beach, a most picturesque beach made up from incredibly white and soft sand. 

Sean dropped us off at one end, and we walked the 5km along the beach to the other end where he picked us up.



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