Spring Break

Lady Elliot Island

The holiday we had been waiting for all year had finally arrived. We were heading to the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef for some island hopping and sailing. Our trip began on a small ten-seater double-prop plane that flew us from Brisbane to Hervey Bay. The plane had seen better days. It shook, rattled, and rolled down the runway before lurching into the air. Hannah thought it was an interesting experience. Jodi and I were happy we had updated our will. The plane struggled up the coast, flying sideways for much of the trip, to Hervey Bay. From Hervey Bay we transferred to an even smaller plane and headed off to Lady Elliot Island.


















Lady Elliot Island is a small coral attol (cay) located about an hour off the coast. We spent the flight staring down at the azure blue waters of the Coral Sea in hopes of seeing a migrating Humpback Whale. Eventually a small dot of land could be seen off in the distance. As we started our descent, the island still appeared to be not much bigger than a dot. Lady Elliot Island is approximately one kilometer long, half a kilometer wide, and one meter above sea level. The island is renown for its outstanding diving and snorkelling. The resort itself is an eco-resort and every care was taken to protect the island's habitat. The plane landed on a rough landing strip that was comprised of coral and bits of grass. There is a coral reef surrounding the entire island. The reef protects the island from the ocean waves and tides.



















A large lagoon, home to an astonishing amount of sea life, was just meters from our room. We kept our flippers just outside our door in case of a high tide!





































We spent five days on the island and had an absolute gas. We snorkelled at least twice a day, and Hannah joined a Junior Rangers program and learned about the marine life and birds that make the island their home. The water was amazingly clear with visibility extending beyond thirty meters. We saw colourful displays of tropical fish, huge turtles, manta rays, and even the odd shark swimming around. During low tide, we walked the lagoon and looked at the corals, sea cucumbers and other marine creatures.

























The resort provided delicious and plentiful meals given their isolated location and it was a good thing we were so active! In the evening Hannah went coconut bowling, star gazing, and to movie presentations. We all had an amazing experience!


Fraser Island

Soon we were off on the second leg of our holiday. We flew back to Hervey Bay and this time we were lucky enough to see whales from the plane. Once we landed, we took a boat to Kingfisher Lodge on the world's largest sand island for three more days of adventure. The lodge is also an eco-friendly resort. It has won countless awards both for its environmentally friendly design and operation and for its service. We spent the first day exploring and swimming in one of the resort's three pools.


















The second day we were off to explore the island. Fraser island is a UNESCO World Heritage site two times over. It is recognized for its cultural significance and for its environmental diversity. We boarded a huge four wheel drive bus for our trip across the island.




















The trip was a one on the Hannah vomit scale, but this time it was Dale who was having a tough time. We made it through the rainforest and onto the huge expanse of beach on the other side. Here the bus and many other private four-wheel drive vehicles roared up and down the beach as if it were an extension of the national highway system. There is actually a 100 km speed limit on the beach! Drivers had to stay alert because aircraft also landed and took off from the same stretch of beach.





































We visited the shipwreck of the Maheno, which was grounded in a severe storm while its Japanese owner was attempting to tow it home to sell as scrap, crystal clear streams, such as Eli Creek, and beautifully clear lakes. The grains of sand in and around the lakes are actually spherical and have the consistency of talcum powder. We had an opportunity to swim in the fresh water of Lake McKenzie before returning to the resort. When you rub your jewellery with the sand of Lake McKenzie, it leaves it all clean and shiny. It is also the cheapest spa treatment you'll ever have, as it exfoliates the skin, too.

The next day we were off on a whale watching tour. We saw large numbers of Humpback whales as they migrated past the island on their way to the Antarctic Ocean. Numerous calves were making their first trip south under the protection of their mothers and other pod members. The waters off the coast of the island are teeming with sharks and many of the young whales are taken. At one point, a mother and her calf came right up to the boat for a look at us. It was incredible to see such an enormous animal so close. They looked at us with their enormous black eyes before slowly sinking below the surface. The whales treated us to acrobatic displays. They spy-hopped, breached, and slapped their flippers against the water.














Just before our scheduled return, we came across a dead whale floating in the water. It was fascinating to watch the tiger sharks attack the carcass. Huge chunks of flesh were being ripped from the whale with every bite. You can see each half circle bite mark at the top of the carcass. The experience sent shivers down your spine. We returned to the resort and Hannah tried her hand at fishing.




































Sailing the Whitsundays

We returned to Hervey Bay via the motor launch and went to the airport. Once there, we looked around for our airline. We were unable to locate their ticket counter so we asked another agent. She informed us that our airline was no longer in business! Luckily, Qantas had stepped in and was honouring our tickets. We flew back to Brisbane on a very modern and comfortable Dash 8 that had been proudly built in Canada and subsidized by Canadian taxpayers. For an hour or so, we felt like we were home!

Once in Brisbane, we boarded our second flight of the day (fourth of the holiday) back up the coast to Airlie Beach. We should have collected air miles while in Australia! After a short bus ride, we arrived at our hotel. It was a pleasant enough property; however, unbenounced to us the entire community of Airlie Beach (including our hotel) was home to a national gathering of Harley Davidson motorcycle owners. We hadn't seen that much leather, chrome and tattooing since leaving Maple Ridge! We tried to encourage Hannah not to stare at the bikers. She couldn't understand that our travel insurance didn't cover us if we got our butts kicked. So we just let Hannah walk ahead of us whereever we went. She got to gawk and we felt relatively safe. We awoke early the next morning to the sounds of explosive exhaust and spinning tires and decided it was time to head to the docks to look for our ship.


















Our ship was called the Whitsunday Magic. It is a tallship eight-masted schooner. There were twenty-eight passengers from around the world. We sailed through the Whitsunday passage and around numerous islands. Much of our route duplicated that of James Cook when he first explored the Australian coastline. It was an amazing experience to feel the ship keel over into the wind and slice through the waves. The only noise you heard was the sound of the wind whistling through the rigging and the water rushing against the hull. Our days revolved around eating, snorkelling, diving off the ship, enjoying sunsets and socializing with the other passengers and crew.



































Hannah met a friend from Sydney with whom she played for the entire three days at sea. The highlight of the trip was the day we spent at Whitehaven Beach. We arrived off the beach after sunset and in the morning we were greeted with the site of the most beautiful strip of white sandy beach and crystal clear water. This was undoubtably one of the most beautiful places we had been in the world and is rated as one of the world's best beaches! The sand on Whitehaven is all silica and, if hot enough, will turn to glass. It squeaked under your feet and was unbelievably soft.



















Daydream Island
We sailed for one more day before being dropped off at our last destination - Daydream Island.





















Daydream is a destination resort and we were there for the last three days of our vacation. The hotel's setting was absolutely stunning and we did very little other than relax in the pool. Occasionally, one of us would have to make the long swim (three meters) to the bar to get a refreshment. We did hire a couple of sea kayaks for a paddle around the island which was considerably more effort than swimming up to the bar.





































In the evening, there were many activities to entertain us; however, the most unique one was watching a movie on the beach. The resort erected a huge screen against which they projected current movies. Beach chairs and blankets were provided and we all enjoyed the experience.



















After our three days in paradise, it was time to head back to Toowoomba. We caught a high speed catamaran to Hamilton Island, where we boarded our flight to Brisbane. We had an awesome trip! Our only concern was what Hannah's rather straight-laced principal would think about her new 'Harleys Rule' tattoo.