Tropical my arse

G'day

Another post, another trip to somewhere in Australia. This time it was a five-day jaunt up to Queensland and a stay in the "tropical", "relaxing" Whitsunday Islands (specifically Hamilton Island). Only, at around just 21 degrees during the day and with a cool wind in the evenings, it wasn't exactly "tropical". And I've realised I don't really know to "relax" - sitting still "enjoying" the view gets boring after at most five minutes. Anyway, enough speech marks. There were plenty of good bits on the trip too (though eating at the overpriced restaurants wasn't one of them) including the Great Barrier Reef, lots of swimming in the sea (top tip: take goggles so your eyes don't sting! Why had I never thought of this before?) and spotting some whales - see if you can spot them too in the pics below!

This is how people get around on car-free Hamilton Island. In golf buggies. At least people who have driving licences get around like this. Other, more vehicularly-challenged people, just walk.

Hamilton Island Marina. Some of the yachts are bigger than the ships that Colombus sailed to America in! I guess people who can afford to buy one of those can afford to pay £25 for a decidely average pizza in one of the marina restaurants.

There are some nice walks around the forested bit of the resort (though some were still closed after the huge cyclone that hit earlier in 2011). I followed the path to Pinnacle Peak where there were great views over the rather ugly apartment blocks and the rather lovely Catseye Beach (my ugly apartment block is second from the left). And I think the luminous blue thing bottom left must be a butterfly.

View looking the other way from Pinnacle Peak towards some of the other Whitsunday Islands (so named because Captain Cook first explored them on Whitsunday 1770-ish)

View of pale tourist with other Whitsunday Islands in the background.

The boat taking us out to the Great Barrief Reef may have been called Fantasea, but for most passengers it would be something of a nightmare. The ocean between the islands and the reef itself was a bit choppy which led to around 75% of those on board to vomit profusely (not me though - stomach of steel!). One woman even passed out and had to be given oxygen (while her two friends just continued eating their ice-creams - I doubt they're friends anymore!), while the crew rushed around handing out sick bags and scraping lemons to freshen the air. It didn't really work.

Reefworld! The brown sludgy thing in the background is 'the reef'. The small floaty thing in the foreground is 'the world'.

Yes, the Great Barrier Reef does look more like an oil slick rather than the largest living organism on the planet, but, honestly, it was better once you were under the water.

Outside I'm smiling, but inside I'm crying, imagining what I must look like dressed in this. Still the stinger suit (the blue thing - protects against small jellyfish that can sting and sometimes kill you) and the wetsuit kept me a bit warmer than I would have been without them.

I'd like to say that this is a so-and-so type of fish. But I can't remember what type it is. It was big though and swimming under Reefworld so let's call it Biggus Fishus Reefus.

So, Reefworld is a pontoon anchored by this stretch of the reef with showers, a shop and even rooms if you want to stay. From it you can swim off, snorkel on, to explore the nearest bits of the reef.

There's also a semi-submersible boat you can take with a glass bottom so you get to take photos like this one of the coral.

And this one.

Heading back from Reefworld.

Heading back from Reefworld and not taking photos looking directly into the sun.

Another day, another boat trip. This time to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island itself. This beach is regularly voted one of the most beautiful in the world.

The sand is brilliantly white and backed by a national park.

And the only way to get there is by boat. Your own private yacht for example.

Or, if you're a lot poorer, on an organised trip with lots of other people. And yes, you had to get off into the sea and then walk through the shallows to the beach.

View along Whitehaven Beach.

View from the top of the Solway Circuit Walk above Whitehaven Beach (not sure what the connection is with Cumbria but Solway and Whitehaven are both places in Cumbria - that look nothing like their Australian namesakes.

View from my balcony on the last day. What's that in the water?

And that was it. As relaxing as it could be for someone who doesn't know how to relax and, to be honest, despite the lack of tropicalness, rather a beautiful part of the world to spend a few days.

G'bye.

Cliff