New Horizons with New Horizon

Once the group is awake and our big bags stored we head to the docks, to our New Horizon boat Enid, our home for the next few nights. It is a beautiful boat. Once the group is on board we are introduced to the crew and the other passengers before we set sail for our trip around the Whitsundays. Unsurprisingly we have to sit through a safety briefing that comes with a break down of the coming days and I have to say I am excited. Today is a fairly chilled one but still, like my father, I do enjoy a good boat journey and love the sea. So I am happy to sit back enjoy the sun and take in the fresh air as we sail out to our first stop. Once we have got to our spot we anchor and the crew bring out a diving board and we spend some time diving in and swimming around. As is my nature I am excitedly the first one to dive head first into the sea, there is not much better in this world than the feeling of diving into a cool sea on a hot day. After a good old splash around it is time for dinner, it is nothing fancy but it is a classic, a crowd pleaser, spag bol, a dish I have to admit I have been craving for a while. After dinner we spend the evening with some chilled drinks watching the sun go down and listening to the waves. A group of us decide to sleep on the deck of the ship instead of in the rooms below. Luckily, or smartly, I sleep under some covers because some people get rudely awoken in the middle of the night by a short burst of rain.

After lunch it is time to get ready for the white party. The ship sails towards what they call a secret spot. It is a cool spot up on some rocks that you enter through a little cave. Once up there Big Big, one of the crew, talks to us about the history and culture surrounding the GBR and especially this area, emphasising the aboriginal presence that has long been here and the effects of global warming and how much it impacts the reef. Later we have a few test questions that come with a Vegemite forfeit if you get the question wrong. I hate Vegemite and unsurprisingly end with a large mouthful after failing to answersome of the questions correctly. After the talk we take some photos, watch the sunset with a few drinks and music. Once back on the boat The white party begins – music and drinks all round. To be honest it ends up being a fairly chilled one with most of the night spent looking over board watching the different fish swim on by. I also end up making a fool of myself by high jacking Jasmin’s fish book thinking it was the boat’s, thankfully she is a good sport and lets me read it. I decide to sleep downstairs in the room tonight as most of the room is up here and I reckon it won’t be as stuffy down there. I wake up vindicated – I slept well although the beers may have played a little role in that.

Once we are up the crew set up some water games for us including a slide, the diving board, a floating mat and a stand up paddle board. It is time for the pub golf decider, the two teams are to go head to head in a wrestling match on the mat. Turns out it’s me versus Aron, unfortunately it is voted that I lose this match but both Aron and I agree I should have won as, although I was on my back from almost the off, I got him fully in the water first. Anyway it is all fun and games and GTG are happy to take second place. It is a great time with the slide and diving board. After the fun we are back on the boat for some hotdogs before heading back to Airlie. Once we are all back in our hostels and cleaned up we have some time to get laundry done and relax a little before we head out for the boats after party. It is a fun night involving karaoke, dancing and drinks. I end up being rather well behaved as I hang out with Jasmin my new scuba buddy for most of the night and she doesn’t drink, so towards the end of the night we just end up going for a nice walk and chat sharing stories of different dives we have done. After dropping Jasmin off at her hostel at the end of our walk I end up running into some of the group at MacDonalds and end up staying up for another hour having fun chats in which I am the sober one enjoying the drunk thoughts of the others. Finally I find my way back to my room and bed having immensely enjoyed the last few days and ready for a good night’s sleep.

The Whitsundays

A passing boat

White party-goers

A good old splash around

After the night under the stars we are up fairly early and off, heading to Whitehaven beach and the lookout. It is an amazing spot. The beach is one with a very shallow entry into the sea, I see a lemon shark and a few different rays just chilling in the shallows. The walk to the lookout is also amazing with great sights and views over the islands and sea, all in all it is a great little excursion. Once back on the boat we are heading to our next spot which I’m very excited for as it is time for my first ever dive on the Great Barrier Reef! I am paired up with Jasmin who is the only other person with a scuba qualification. The benefit of this is that we are diving last which means I get to join the snorkelling for a bit before I have to get back to the boat and kitted up for my dive. While snorkelling I head off in front of the pack and manage to spot lobster and hawksbill turtle as well as your reef classics like parrot fish and yellow tails. The dive itself is a good one. Unfortunately Jasmin has some issues with equalising her ears and has to skip the dive. So with just the guide, Tommy, and me, we work our way through a forest of bombies, really tall coral structures, that almost act like skyscrapers of the sea, creating a maze of sorts. It is a cool experience because I haven’t dived in a place like this before. We also see some cool fish like a giant trevally, some massive bat fish and even a white tip reef shark. Almost everyone is back from the snorkelling before I am back from the dive which means I am last in the queue for lunch but a small price to pay for a dive, in my eyes. It is awesome to talk to some of the others who have dived for the first time and loved it.

Sailing to... the Secret Entrance

Whitehaven Beach

A large ray

After lunch it is time to get ready for the white party. The ship sails towards what they call a secret spot. It is a cool spot up on some rocks that you enter through a little cave. Once up there Big Big, one of the crew, talks to us about the history and culture surrounding the GBR and especially this area, emphasising the aboriginal presence that has long been here and the effects of global warming and how much it impacts the reef. Later we have a few test questions that come with a Vegemite forfeit if you get the question wrong. I hate Vegemite and unsurprisingly end with a large mouthful after failing to answer some of the questions correctly. After the talk we take some photos, watch the sunset with a few drinks and music. Once back on the boat The white party begins – music and drinks all round. To be honest it ends up being a fairly chilled one with most of the night spent looking over board watching the different fish swim on by. I also end up making a fool of myself by high jacking Jasmin’s fish book thinking it was the boat’s, thankfully she is a good sport and lets me read it. I decide to sleep downstairs in the room tonight as most of the room is up here and I reckon it won’t be as stuffy down there. I wake up vindicated – I slept well although the beers may have played a little role in that.