How to celebrate a milestone birthday when you a) don’t like the idea of turning such milestone age in the first place, b) do not want the attention having a party of well-wishers ( who would spend the night reminding you how old you are) , and c) your family can’t think of anything to buy you and the last thing you want is money spent on some gift to memorise the occasion you didn’t want in the first place? Here’s how – hire a yacht and cruise the Whitsundays! That’s what we did to celebrate (sshh.. I didn’t say celebrate did I?) my husband’s birthday last month. Just me, him and our two sons, a big white catamaran and the blue sea. It was the best idea he’s ever had! Plus it kinda became a gift for me too, so it’s win win.
Getting to the Whitsundays from where I live in Port Hedland is no easy feat. Now you probably know where the Whitsundays are, about three quarters the way up Australia’s east coast in Queensland. Port Hedland is around three quarters the way up the west coast. Well that may not seem like a big deal if you could fly from the west to the east in a straight line. But no, travelling from where I am to almost anywhere is never straightforward. It took two days to get there and two days to get back – we could have gone to the US in the same time. I know, crazy. Port Hedland – Perth, Perth – Cairns, Cairns – Airlie Beach. because of the time difference (3 hrs) we lost a day and we were pretty tired once we got there. Getting home was no better, Airlie Beach – Melbourne, Melbourne – Perth, Perth – Port Hedland. A fair hike thats for sure, but oh so worth it.
We picked up our yacht from Whitsunday Escape Charters from the Airlie Beach Marina. Her name was Lady L, which I believed to be destined for me. In a family of J’s (My husband, sons and even the dogs have J names) I am the only female and the only one with a name with a different letter: L. And she was a Lady!
We were given a few hours to learn the ropes, so to speak (although we didn’t use the sails at all, luckily the boat was engine powered so no need to muck around with sails and ropes), given strict instructions where we could and could not anchor, how everything on the boat works, and most importantly to ensure NOT to block the toilets while we were out on the water. Apparently this is a very costly, and I would imagine revolting, issue to ‘clean up.’ My sons were given strict instructions: “do NOT use too much toilet paper” and “flush in-between wipes if you need to” and even “try not to, em.., how can I say this.., create something so large it won’t flush.” To which they looked at me with utter disbelief and disgust. But hey, the last thing I wanted was a blocked toilet and the stench of sewerage!
After hitting the shops to buy enough food, drinks and general stuff we needed for a week on-board (there was a full kitchen so unfortunately cooking was still on the agenda for me), we unpacked, turned the air-con on, and stayed the first night in the marina at Airlie Beach. This is an optional extra, which I can highly recommend because it gives you the first night to get your bearings, consult the maps, check the wind reports, and generally get used to the boat before setting sail. It also gives you one last chance to check your supplies and ensure you have enough of everything. Hint – don’t underestimate how much wine you might need. Airlie Beach is a trendy little town and worth checking out anyway. It’s a favourite with young backpackers – so if you’re a little older like me you might be happy to just get on the water.
Next morning we got out our charts (feeling like we are real sea-men now), hubby got behind the steering wheel and off we sailed into the big blue. Well, I say ‘we’ but really I didn’t do any more than sit on the front of the boat and let the wind whip through my hair, snap pics, enjoy the scenery. I let the boys decide where we were going and manage the boat and I sat back feeling like a celebrity on my own personal yacht wondering why we had never done this before and who was going to bring me my wine. It was truly breathtaking.
Our first day was spent cruising past Whitsunday, Hook and Hayman islands. We stopped and had snorkled at a couple of little bays. Now, I have to confess I love the beach but am a bit of a scardey-cat when it comes to the ocean. However, if there was one place I figured I would feel safe it was here in the calm turquoise blue waters of the Whitsundays. Unfortunately in the leading months prior to our holiday there were two shark attacks on the islands. On top of that, we were holidaying in peak stinger season. I’m not talking about any old jellyfish here that give you a slight sting and make you utter “ouch”, I’m talking box-jelly fish, which can be fatal, and the teeny tiny Irukandji, almost impossible to see, which apparently leave their victim in so much pain even morphine won’t take the edge off. I refused to let these two (very scary) realities interfere with our idyllic holiday (mostly because the trip was all paid for and I couldn’t get out of it). So we ALL wore long sleeve long leg stinger suits ( after much protest and being told we look ‘lame,’ which they did to be honest, but I insisted the boys wear them because if anyone in the entire region was going to get stung it would most likely be one of us) AND we definitely only swam in clear water, staying away from the areas where the shark attacks took place (namely Cid Harbour – which in fact the locals will tell you has always been a breeding ground for tiger sharks). Perhaps I wasn’t as confident as the boys were, but I did get in and it was pretty bloody amazing and so glad I did.
Now if there is one thing I have learned (and it’s probably pretty obvious to you, but I hadn’t realised how important it was was because when it comes to boats and cars and any form of transport really I’m a bit clueless) is how important it was to know what the wind was doing by the end of the day. In what could be a practically still day without hardly a drop of wind could turn into 50 knots in the evening, and that is exactly what happened to us that first night at sea. Hubby checked the weather and thankfully knew we needed to duck in somewhere with shelter from the northerly winds for the night. We anchored at Nara Inlet, tucked up behind Hook Island, I spatchcocked two chickens ( meaning ripped out the spines and flatted out so they’d cook on the BBQ) for dinner, cut up salad, poured a glass of wine, cranked up the music and enjoyed the sunset. “Wow, this is the life,” we all said. “Couldn’t be any more perfect.” But then, after dinner we noticed something. Remember what I said about the wind? Well, it blew. It blew and it blew and it blew ( 50 knots in fact). Now, catamarans are built to remain steady, and it did. I felt safe, I wasn’t worried (the wine helped), but man it was windy. We sat in the middle of the cabin, windows open front and back, and let that wind howl through the boat. Talk about wind in your hair! Thankfully we were protected by the island, tucked away in the little inlet. And just like that, the wind dropped. “Thank God,” I said – “now we can get some sleep.” And then we wished the winds came back.
My son with his head outside the main cabin window
Now I need to explain something. Where we live in Port Hedland the heat is pretty severe. Prior to our holiday we had been suffering temps from 40 – 48 degrees (that’s celsius) for weeks. We were looking forward to balmy sea breezes and being able to actually enjoy the sunshine without feeling like our skin was starting to resemble pork crackle, but that was not to be the case. On our first day we spent a day in Cairns, they recorded the hottest day since 1971 (46 degrees), Queensland was experiencing a snap heat-wave which followed us to Airlie Beach. That first night out on the boat was a scorcher. The boat had air-conditioning, but it could only be used when plugged into main power at a marina, so while we were out at sea we needed to rely on the cool night breeze. WELL – that only works with a COOL SEA BREEZE – we seemed to go from CYCLONIC wind to no wind at all- which left us hot, sweaty and in dire need of sleep. I don’t know what the temperature was, but it felt like in the mid 30’s – and without the air-con, and the fact we had spent the day out at sea in the sun, we were all feeling pretty overheated and exhausted. Yes, were on the water, but there was to be no swimming at night. Thats’ when the sharks are out – dusk till dawn. Just like vampires! it’s true, they even have posters in the boat warning you. I abandoned the bedroom and slept out on the lounge in the central cabin, which opens out to the deck. It was difficult. Difficult is probably not the right word. It was hell. I was praying for the wind to come back. It did eventually, but not until we had a pretty tough few hours and therefore a very steamy night. We vowed that if we ever did this again it would be air-con all the way!
So after a rough night, and knowing the next couple of days were predicted to be very hot, we cruised into Hamilton Island for two nights. We parked up at the marina, plugged in the air-con and felt revived and relieved. We were always going to stop in at Hamilton Island, so this was just a slight variation to the plan. Hamilton Island is the only island with a functioning resort at the moment. The others, such as Hayman Island, Dunk Island and South Molle, were all damaged due to a cyclone and are in process of being rebuilt. So it was the only one we could visit. I’d like to go back when the other resorts are re-opened as it was great to be able to stay on the boat in the marina after a day out at sea, explore the island, go out to a restaurant and use the resort amenities.
Anyway, Hamilton Island is beautiful. We hired golf buggies to get around (the island is packed with tourists doing the same), used the resort pool and swim up bar (although the luke-warm water was not very refreshing due to the heat wave the island was experiencing), checked out the shops, ate out and enjoyed the beautiful views.
We found the birdlife all over the Whitsundays particularly friendly, and were not afraid of people at all. But these guys in Hamilton Island were something else!
After our air-conditioned binge at Hamilton Island we set sail again. The weather had tamed a little and our next few nights out at sea were spectacular. Over the next few days we had sailed right around Whitsunday, Hayman and Hook Islands – visiting bays and beaches along the way. There are other islands to explore, but these were the best ones for us to sail around with the north-easterlies we were experiencing during our stay. We spent a lot of time snorkelling and paddle-boarding at Chalkies Beach and swimming at the beautiful White Haven Beach. These stunning locations were used in the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. We tried to pinpoint where we imagined Captain Jack Sparrow running up the beach. The coral itself was not as colourful as you would imagine due to sun bleaching, but charters go out to pontoons on the outer reef, further out in the ocean, if you want to dive to see it more full of colour. We did, however, see an incredible amount of sea-life, beautiful coloured fish and turtles were everywhere.
It’s not all just about getting in the water, the Whitsundays has some amazing walking trails. If the weather had have been a little milder we would have done more, but we did walk the trail from Tongue Bay to the Hill Inlet lookout which was postcard beautiful. It was, though, so hot we felt almost delirious by the time we got to the top. But look at that view!
Each night we checked the winds and settled in somewhere where we would get good protection, yet enough breeze to keep the night cool enough to sleep. Nights were serene, bobbing on the water, spending quality time together, listening to the sound of the water around you as it moved gently with the sea breeze. Flying fish would fly through the air at the back of the boat, every now and then we would hear something much bigger jump out of the water with a splash. I woke with the morning sun, and for me, this was the best time. I’d watch the sun rise in total peace as the others slept. I’d sit out on the deck and read without anything else to do. It was meditative, it felt like a guilty pleasure.
Sometimes the cockatoos would find us out on the water and say good morning, and then we would watch them fly off into the distance wondering where they belonged.
We spent our last night back on Hamilton Island and the next morning returned Lady L to Airlie Beach. I have to say, this was one of the best holidays we have ever had and I hope I get to do it again some time. Not only was the whole Whitsunday area breathtakingly beautiful, and the exhilaration of sailing (or just driving) your own yacht pretty incredible, it was the time we got to spend together as a family that made it truly special. However, next time I think we will go when it’s just that little bit cooler!
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