To Melbourne!

From Hamilton Island I flew to Melbourne to visit my friend, Julie, who recently moved there.  It was Christmas Eve and the weather was beautiful.  Being Summer, the days are long so Julie took me for a bike ride tour of Melbourne.  From her cute neigborhood in South Yarra we biked to her favorite farmer's market where we bought some yummy stuff, then rode through the botanical gardens with monuments and the outdoor theater, then over to her office (D&B Melbourne) then biked over to the beach and watched the kite surfers -- all in her neighborhood.

From there we biked into the center of the city across the Yarra River to Flinders square where they were having a Christmas show, we went by the famous Melbourne museum and opera house then into Chinatown for a great dinner.  I got a fabulous tour of the city all at a leisurely pace as we biked through it.  Melbourne is a relatively large city in Australia but has a hometown feel.  It has this unmistakable retro quality to it -- almost like its a throw back to the 1950's. Really interesting.  It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve.

Day 3 on Whitsunday Magic

On the last day of our 3 day sailing adventure we went to a new cove and did a final snorkel.  Then because the wind was up the captain decided to do some sailing back to the harbor.  We all worked on putting up the sails and sailing the boat.

It was a great trip and great way to end the journey.

Whitehaven Beach

One of the more famous pictures and locations in the Great Barrier Reef is Whitehaven Beach.  You've probably seen pictures of it and would recognize it if you saw it.  When we arrived there it was high tide so the inlet is not as big in this picture as it is in most of the pictures I've seen.

The sand is so pure, white and fine at Whitehaven Beach that it is pure silica.  They tell us that some of it was used in Hubbel telescope (not sure why) and that the American government had tried to buy the beach just to use the sand.

It was a bit overcast and windy this day but nevertheless beautiful.  I tried to body surf here but not much luck.  The water is so clear its like glass.  I saw a Lemon shark (about 2 feet long) in the water and several small sting rays - about 1 foot in diameter.  Fun day.

Second Scuba Dive

I did my second scuba dive today and it was possibly even better than the first.  The first time was full of beautiful coral and fish.  This dive was a different part of the reef and the Whitsunday Magic is one of only 2 boats who have a licensed to feed the fish which is a huge deal.  So, on our second dive if I thought that there were a lot of fish on the first dive it was nothing compared with this one.   Terry, our dive instructor had us kneel on the bottom as he released fish food everywhere.  It was wall to wall fish - of every kind.  We saw this huge fish they have affectionately named Elvis -- a big grouper who was blue and green with big lips -- a HUGE fish – he ate fish food out of my hand.  At one point we were kneeling on the ocean floor in the center of what looked like a huge circling cylinder of fish.  Blue fish, yelllow fish, Black and white fish, green fish, red fish, flat fish, round fish - an amazing array.   It was so amazing and overwhelming that I ended up using up my air faster - I actually had to switch out tanks.  I had a great time and its a memory that I will always have -- also hopefully I'll get a few pictures out of it - will have to wait and see.     

Here are the pictures, unfortunately they didn't come very well at all but here's one of Elvis - you can get some sense of how big he is....

Day 2 on the Whitsunday Magic

Today was snorkel and scuba diving day!  I would be scuba diving for the first time.  I was a little nervous about it but my shipmates were very encouraging.  Many had been scuba diving all over the world.  As one of my shipmates put it, “you can’t come to the Great Barrier Reef and NOT scuba dive.  Most people do their first dive in a swimming pool – how amazing is it that you will be doing yours at one of the most amazing dive sites in the world!”  He’s right.  And it was. 

Because of the risk posed by the very serious jelly fish they have in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef we are each issued “stinger suits” which are like spandex jump suits – not really wet suits.  We are not to go in the water without them.  The Irukandji jellyfish is so small that you really can’t see them and their sting can be quite painful and if you don’t get medical attention can be quite serious and then of course they have the lethal box jellyfish.  Thankfully I never saw any jellyfish and no mishaps occurred on our trip.

There were 3 of us who had never dived before so our instructor, Terry, the guy to the right of me in the picture - a Frenchman with a very Jacques Cousteau vibe, gave us our instruction starting on the beach in standing water.  He reassured us that pretty much any problem could be solved under water – lose your mask, I’ll show you how to put it back on and get the water out, lose your breathing mouthpiece, I’ll show you how to find it and put it back in.  See a shark?  No worries, we’ll chase it.  Except for that last part I did feel pretty confident.   Before I knew it we were off.  The reef is amazing.  The water was clear and the colors and fish were everywhere.  The fish were so curious they would come right up to you, in your face – all colors, all shapes, all sizes.  So many of them!  Coral, clown fish, anemones, sea cucumbers, starfish, so many things to look at, so beautiful.  I bought a cheap underwater disposable camera and quickly found that I couldn’t tell what I was taking pictures of underwater so I just snapped away.  I hope they come out well.

As it turns out they didn't come out so well, but here they are.  I am disappointed that the vibrant colors and amazing coral didn't come out on film but I'll always have the memories...



We stayed down about 40 minutes and went about 18 meters deep – roughly 54 feet?  not sure.  Anyway, it was great.  Saw no sharks or jellyfish – nothing lethal, that I was aware of (yeah!) - saw tons of beautiful coral and fish.  Fantastic adventure. 

My Fellow Shipmates

The large majority of people on the boat are very friendly and it’s quite an international bunch.  There’s me and another couple from the US – the other couple from Venice Beach.  There was a family of 5 from Northern Ireland, 2 couples from Germany, 2 couples from France, 2 couples from Holland, 1 couple from Brazil, 2 couples from Sweden, and 2 couples from the UK and 1 couple from Belgium.  None of the couples knew each other but nearly all were outgoing and friendly.  I genuinely enjoyed talking with them and found most of them to be really interesting.  We played Uno and poker, read books, and compared our Australian holidays – what had you done? Where were you going next?  Most were spending 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks even in Australia and traveling all over.  Even with that amount of time you can’t see it all.  So my 2 weeks was just a sliver of all there is to see.  We also enjoyed discussing things about our various countries and comparing and contrasting.  They did take me to task a bit about being American -- for all our diplomatic blundering, international bullying, and Kentucky Fried culture and I was faced with some good natured ribbing but I think I held my own. J 

Day 1 on the Whitsunday Magic

While eating lunch at the Coral Sea hotel I watched what was unmistakably the Whitsunday Magic pull into the Harbor.  While the people at the next table were commenting on how large it was - "Ah, a 3 master just pulled in".  I was wondering how I was going to spend 3 days and 3 nights confined to such a small space.

All those boarding the Whitsunday Magic mustered at the Harbor.  I was the only person not coupled or part of a family but I expected as much - it is the Holiday Season, after all.  As we boarded the boat we exchanged introductions and greetings with everyone -- we were going to be sharing a small space for the next 3 days.  I was assigned to cabin 7 to room with a young woman from Northern Ireland, the oldest daughter of a family of 5.  The cabins were small but each room had its own bathroom which by sailboat standards is absolute luxury.  Our cabins are also air conditioned and given that it hasn't been blazing hot, sleeping is quite comfortable.  My bunk:

This is the portal above my bunk bed.  Since it’s quite close to the waterline the captain advised that if we didn’t want fish flopping in on us to keep it closed.  And there are fish that flop around – flying fish, I think.  Our first day out we also spotted a dolphin some ways away which started a discussion on how to tell if it’s a shark or a dolphin.  Sharks we are told don’t swim in an arc, where their fin surfaces and then goes under, sharks just circle at the same level, so it was definitely a dolphin.  Although, we are told there are sharks out there in the water, Great Whites even…

The Whitsunday Magic is part of Australia’s tall ship fleet.  It was built in Turkey in the early 1990’s and then sailed to Brisbane where it was at one time a floating restaurant and then later converted into a tourist boat for trips out to the Great Barrier Reef.  There are 16 cabins each with their own bathroom.  The bathroom is about the size of a airplane bathroom and showering is done by pulling the sink faucet out and using it as a hand-held shower head.  While not a luxurious shower, it’s functional.  The boat also has a large dining area inside, and large seating area under a cover and then a sun deck for sun bathing.  All in all a fairly big sail boat.