Holiday - part 2

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Fauna

Since the weather forecast for the following day was still for strong winds, and the tour we had booked required a 6 am departure from our accommodation to meet the necessary bus, we called the company to ask if the tour was still planned to go ahead. They seemed surprised that we would ask (I suppose they hadn't had to work through three cancelled things in less than a week) but said yes, it was still going ahead.

The first (cancelled) tour was supposed to take us to snorkelling locations around the islands of the inner reef, while the second was supposed to take us to the outer reef. We were just happy to be on a tour that wasn't cancelled, so when they told us they'd had to modify the itinerary to visit sites that were more sheltered, we didn't really take much notice.

Our first site was on the lee side of Hook Island, at a place called Cockatoo Point. There is a coral shelf, where you can often get a variety of coral and fish. There weren't many people on the tour - only 6 snorkellers and 11 divers - so it was nice and relaxed. I had bought a camera capable of taking pictures underwater and was keen to try it out!

Raewyn ready to go snorkelling

Part of the coral shelf

We called this 'blue antler coral' (not sure of its real name)

I think I'm getting the hang of this!

Our second location was on the lee side of Border Island. When we arrived someone saw a turtle; I only saw a brown shape in the water and was too slow with the camera to get a picture. Oh well!

Underneath the surface the choppiness wasn't noticeable, but the
anemones (which always remind me of shagpile carpet) were being
pushed back and forth by the currents

The coral colours were a bit more muted, and the fish were bigger

After our second snorkel, we were starting to get a bit cold (in spite of the wetsuits) and tired. But then the crew announced that since we hadn't gone as far as planned (i.e. to the outer reef), we had a bit more time and so they would be taking us to Whitehaven Beach.

We were glad that we didn't miss out after all!

We had about an hour on shore, so Raewyn and I decided to do the 45 minute loop walk up to the lookout.

Fun fact: the sand is white because it is silica with few other elements. As a result, it doesn't absorb the heat from the sun so is not hot to walk on. We found that if you try to walk too quickly (or jump or stomp your foot to make an impression), it makes a squeaking noise!