The four of us checked in for our boat cruise adventure - PowerPlay - for two nights. We then got brekkie (breakfast for you Amerikans) and walked the kilometer to the marina. We had to sign our lives away per usual and got on our nice catamaran and got a brief from why so serious captain Nick. The boat had around 10 or so beds on it for the 20 people on board, so it was a pretty nice size catamaran, not too big, not too small. Just right. Craig and I spent the first hour on the front of the boat standing in the front taking pics and getting sloshed with waves as the boat cruised. We then laid out on the deck - keeping cool with the splashed and getting hotttt from the sun. The weather changed its mind on us and we had to go inside and take naps. yawn.
We wake up. Time to get ready for scuba diving. The boat had just bought brand new wet suits which were quite nice and when we got to the dive site we geared up to go! The certified divers - heyooooo - got to dive first. The visibility wasn't nearly as good as was the weekend prior, but shut up zac you are scuba diving in The Great Barrier Reef. The reefs were fascinating - colorful, huge, intricate, and in all shapes and sizes! There were overhangs and caves and at times it really felt like I was swimming through a giant maze underwater. Not so much marine life here, but the amazing reefs were plenty to see.. We got back to the boat as others came out for their intro dive to get the basics of scuba diving down. The other troopers had some difficulty, but got the hang of it and knew that they were going to like it when they got to go deep and swim with the fishies. We changed sites, ate some lunch, and got to dive again. Again another awesome dive in TGBR.
That night we ate a delicious dinner and afterwards, we saw a slideshow of all the pics that the crew took during the day and dives. Accompanying the slideshow was Ted's (our dive instructor) clever commentary and impressive zoom function which he used on anyone making an awkward pose or facial expression in the photo. Some stargazing in the incredible Whitsunday Islands was quite nice - a little chilly - but all the stars were out to say hi.
We were woken up so early around 6:00 to be the first to be at and walk on Whitehaven Beach. We took a dingy over to the island, did a little hike, and came across a stunning view of Whitehaven Beach. It looked just like the pictures with waves of pure white sand mixed with different depths of crystal clear water, surrounded by lush green mountains and islands all over the place. We took heaps of pictures and walked back down the path changing direction to go towards the beach.
The sand was as fine as flour and was so much fun to play in, minus the sand getting everywheree and on everything. The four of us played on the beach for the whole morning being idiots and fools, but that is what makes the beach so much fun. One of the crew members in charge of taking photos was telling everyone to stand certain ways and various poses to get some extremely clever and unique photos. We stayed there for a few hours and left just when we had had enough. Perfect timing, we made it to the boat probably around 2 or so.
Time for more dives. This third dive was the best one yet. I got to go down with Ted, another crew member and only one other certified diver. Ted showed us several pictures of the aquatic life in the slideshow the night before, so I was able to notice so much more than I had the day before. He guided us through caverns and in crevices, along reef walls and even play with some of the aquatic life (making reef move, fish act dumb, and showing hidden spots that fish love to chill at). When we surfaced about 40 minutes later, I went right to the hot tub on the front of the boat for a little relax session. About an hour or two later, it was time for one final dive. The sunset was setting, so our scuba team was, ironically, named Team Sunset. I got to dive with Craig and Sam here because I wanted to do a fourth dive that I had originally not planned on doing. We were exploring for about 20 minutes before Craig and I got split up from the rest of the team. We stayed calm, did some searching, then I turned 360 and just completely lost Craig. Searched for a little, no luck, then surfaced. I found the rest of the team waiting at the surface, so we gathered and went back down. The sun was setting, the fish were peaking, but the scuba tank unfortunately doesn't have unlimited air, and we needed to get home to PowerPlay.
More hot tub. The crew gave us a tray of nachos mmmmmm and we hung out until dinner time. Another great dinner and entertaining slideshow that night. Then a bunch of us went to the front of the boat where Ted, who is actually from North Hampton, Massachusetts, brought out his guitar and we sang old school tunes and stared at the constellations. fun times fun times!!! Bedtime.
The final trip took us back towards the marina, getting us docked by noon, but not before Sam and I got to steer the boat for a little and we all got some last minute tan action. When the boat docked, we had so many hours before we had to go to the airport, so we walked around town, into every shop, slept near the shore, and ate some decent pizza near a hostel. Shuttle to airport, delayed flight, flight home, shuttle back to the Gold Coast. It always feels so good to be back home.
I think I'm going to get another tattoo. This time 5 stars called the Southern Cross. It's on the Australian flag and is a pretty popular icon of Australia. I think it would look perfect on my shoulder blade. I'm going to think about this for another week or so and make my mind. Don't tell my parents.
