Mission Beach!

At last, we saw what we came for! The Great Barrier Reef in it’s magnificent glory! We had the best time ever in Mission Beach (two hours south from Cairns) where we spent a long weekend at our friends Michelle, Jamie and Bonnie’s house. On Friday we went out in their boat to do water sports off Dunk Island (a resort island about 15 minute by boat off Mission Beach). They had all geared up with wakeboards, surfboard and some discs. I had the best instructor ever in Michelle who did the discs with me and got me up and on the go most of the time. Surfing behind the boat was excellent and after a brief affair in the water it was no problem whatsoever. I found a new hobby, I just LOVE water sports…especially with the warm water here you don’t have to worry about freezing. The middle-aged rich people staying at the Dunk Island resort had something to watch as Greg, Michelle, Jamie, Henkka and I did our best to impress in the bay waters.

Michelle and me on the discs...

Ooops! Going down for a drink...

Henkka learned his lesson about letting go of the rope in time...ouch!

Greg goes for a jump on his wakeboard...

A happy surfer...me!

Riding after the boat...
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Yesterday we had the Great Barrier Reef adventure with what turned out to be the best weather of the year at the Reef. Calm waters and sunshine made for a spectacular undersea adventure. Jamie spear fished on the depths and caught us dinner, a big saltwater trout and two big crayfish. He later threw them on the barbecue in true Australian tradition.

I spent hours snorkeling and saw so many different fish, reef, underwater mussels, clams, snakes, slugs and even a reef shark that swam up to me a couple of times. We had company on the surface with dolphins dancing around us making the trip back to shore even more magical. I saw so many different fish (even Nemo!) that it’s hard to even remember now, a complete sensory overload with colors and movement all around me. The huge schools of fish would just swim around me, small fish and big ones with no worries about what we were up to trying to catch dinner. The jellyfish were out in their thousands, which was a bit freaky at first but most turned out to be harmless and with so much to see you forget they are even there and just push them out of the way. It was a perfect day and we saw so much that I couldn’t almost sleep just remembering all the life below the surface.

The reef as seen from above...pictures from below will be developed later!

The hunt is on...Jamie finding the good spots to spearfish...

Jamie and his prey!

Michelle and me happy after our snorkling...

The dolphins followed us home...

Dinner!

Henkka in a "Swedish-colored" stingersuit...

Dinner "al fresco" at the Dore residence...

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Up on the New Horizon resort, a few minutes drive from where we were staying we took a break in the warm pool. Bonnie 3 ½ months old had a good time in her new swimming gear.

Happy hour in the pool....

Check out this beauty we found lurking outside the window...

And this fella in the garden...

We had visitors in the backyard...that had no manners!

Checking us out...

The big butterflies...

Breakfast on the patio with the Dore girls, Bonnie and Michelle...

Home Hill...again...

The "mini"

When we were in Home Hill we also enjoyed the ”traditional” Australian Sunday with a morning “barbie” (Barbecue, that is…), followed by a tour of the Cy’s sugarcane farm, a spin around in his “Mini” on the driveway, and shooting some coconuts in the backyard. Just another lazy afternoon that is…Cy, our host for the day, had built up a home-wired “Mini”. You had to sit on the backseat as the engine was taking up the front. The car had a few overheating problems (just like our Jeep!) and we rushed to water down the engine after it smoked itself up. It was a fun day with big dogs, small cars and tasty sugarcane. Here are some pictures that explain more than words…

Henkka eating sugar cane

The interior of the "mini"...

...fitted with a Ford 5.0 l V8 engine...

Enjoying a nice Sunday drive on the farm...

...quick! Before somebody calls the cops...

Shooting coconuts at the farm...

Nicole's Chihuahua Lily, had a puppy!

Mustafa!

The Whitsunday Islands

In the rainforests...

The best way to see the Whitsunday islands we were told was to take a cruise...so we did! With hundreds of boats to choose from (with names such as "Spank Me!") we decided to take a "Tall Ship" that was more luxurious and spacious (we've learned that as price goes up, the backpacker 18 year olds don't tag along). With palmtrees swaying in the soft wind, endless white sand beaches and sunkissed moments on the old sailboat with a chilled glas of Chardonney in mind we booked the "Derwin Hunter". With a crew of four and with 16 passengers we were in for a ride on the highseas. The storm started as we left the harbour and we were shown to our cabin which we shared with a young couple from the UK. The cabin was all in all the size of a Silja Line toilet with two bunkbeds. No air, no space...definately no romance nor chilled wine in hand as the boat slung itself on the waves (creating more nausea than relax among the most of us). We saw one of the "Top 10" beaches in the world, Whithaven.

The moment we arrived we were in luck as the sun amazingly appeared for a brief yet appreciated visit. The beach was very nice, but I must expose the truth behind the beautiful beaches in Australia. There are some basic rules:

#1 don't go in the water (you'll either get zapped by one of the 600 species of stingers, caught by a hungry crocodile or mistaken for a lazy turtle by the sharks)

#2 if you dare venture in you have to wear "stinger suits" which remind you of a big stocking more than a wetsuit. They also restrict movement which in water is not necessarily what you want

#3 the tides and currents are deadly. Every week people are swept off into the sea from shallow water in the currents...mostly tourists as the locals think it's madness to swin in the ocean. #4 any beach worth visiting (ie. those pictured in travelbooks and on postcards that make you wish you were far away from that office-space) are in remote locations which require lots of time, money, effort and just pure good luck so you actually can get there.

This is why most people hang around artificially created lagoons in the middle of towns. Small water holes with lots of screaming kids...not your reading-in-the-sunshine-and-relaxing-at-the-beach kind of thing.

The three day sailing trip was an experience and we did enjoy it, even with the sleepless nights, bad food and chilling cold water that drenched us (rain & waves). But we did it and never were we happier to see land than when we steered into Airlie Beach and on the road again.

Henkka and I were congratulated for our Finnish preparation having our own raingear with us!

Whitehaven beach lookout point...

On the boat again...

The little hatch u see goes to our "cabin"...

Enjoying the few sunrays at Whitehaven (which is only accessible for 1-2 hrs per day due to tides!)

The famous white sands of Whitehaven...

Henkka as far as he would go into the water...moments later we saw a small tiger shark where he stands in the picture...

The great looking stingersuit...I did swim though!

The bushwalk on a random island where the boat took shelter next to for the night... next to it was another island that had the most poisonous death adders on it in the world...

The Aussie map

Here are maps of Australia that you can refer back to when needed.