OFISHially a mermaid

Another day out at sea today. We were in our wetsuits with our snorkels on by 07:30am. I got to wear the professional snorkel today as Julia (the deck hand) wasn’t snorkelling so this meant I was all set to have a mist-free mask and a sea water-free snorkel!

We started off by snorkelling just off Stonehaven Bay. We saw hundreds of different fish which were all very colourful. We saw a massive Parrot fish who just stared at us as we waved at him.

We then went back on board for a cup of tea and a cookie before setting out on the paddle boards to explore the bay. It was my first time on a paddle board but I got used to it quite quickly (only fell into the ocean once!). Me and Martin followed a massive turtle whilst he swam along underneath us, and we also saw a reef shark!

Back on board we had a “bombing competition” which involved everyone jumping off the back of the boat and seeing who could make the biggest splash. Next, Mart was challenged to do a backflip off the back, which he did, which meant he won the competition!

We then started the sail back to Airlie Beach which took a couple of hours. There was enough wind to put the sails out, and Martin steered the boat under the watchful eye of our skipper Dave.

Very sad to have finished our Whitsundays trip as it was definitely the highlight of our Australia trip so far!

We picked up the hire car as soon as we got off the boat, and Martin drove us 8 hours to Cairns which is sadly our last destination of our trip. We only stopped once and we spent the whole journey watching out for kangaroos as they tend to jump in-front of cars at dusk. A common problem in Australia apparently! Thankfully none spotted.

We arrived in Cairns at 10pm and checked into a B&B where we are staying for the next couple of nights.

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