15 March : Hook Island (Whitsunday Islands, Queensland)
After spending the night in Luncheon Bay, we motored over to Manta Ray Bay via the two onboard dingies for some decent snorkeling before any day vessels arrived.
Once we got back, a few people took a scuba diving expedition as the boat hung around. This allowed anyone that wanted more snorkeling in Luncheon Bay to do so. It looked like I'd be the only taker, but at the last minute as we were about to board the dingy, Rose joined me. Leon took us to different spots in the bay than yesterday and we spent a LONG time in the water. It was the most clear conditions I had yet. When I got out at the end, my fingers were wrinkled and waterlogged. This took a while to go away as we ate lunch and sailed on to Blue Pearl Bay.
They have 4 kayaks on board so we got to go out in these for a short time. These were 2 person kayaks and it was windy and wavy so the conditions were not ideal but +Jill and I had a short kayak over to a point and back.
For snorkeling, this bay had worse conditions: wavy, windy, and TONS of day parties out there. It was chaos. I still went out for my 3rd time and Jill's 2nd of the day. After all this time out on and in the water, I was ready for a cocktail a bit earlier than normal. It definitely wasn't 5pm yet, but I'd already consumed enough salt and water to last a while. I got a chocolatey, creamy cocktail they called Tobleron. It was nice.
The final dinner was delicious just like the other meals on this boat - Pacific Sunrise. The guests all got along great and we sang Happy Birthday to the First Mate Leon in 5 languages as well as playing a few games. What ended up as a last minute change of plans because our other boat cancelled on *us*, ended up being a fun 3 days and nights amidst some other travelers.
Once we got back, a few people took a scuba diving expedition as the boat hung around. This allowed anyone that wanted more snorkeling in Luncheon Bay to do so. It looked like I'd be the only taker, but at the last minute as we were about to board the dingy, Rose joined me. Leon took us to different spots in the bay than yesterday and we spent a LONG time in the water. It was the most clear conditions I had yet. When I got out at the end, my fingers were wrinkled and waterlogged. This took a while to go away as we ate lunch and sailed on to Blue Pearl Bay.They have 4 kayaks on board so we got to go out in these for a short time. These were 2 person kayaks and it was windy and wavy so the conditions were not ideal but +Jill and I had a short kayak over to a point and back.For snorkeling, this bay had worse conditions: wavy, windy, and TONS of day parties out there. It was chaos. I still went out for my 3rd time and Jill's 2nd of the day. After all this time out on and in the water, I was ready for a cocktail a bit earlier than normal. It definitely wasn't 5pm yet, but I'd already consumed enough salt and water to last a while. I got a chocolatey, creamy cocktail they called Tobleron. It was nice.
The final dinner was delicious just like the other meals on this boat - Pacific Sunrise. The guests all got along great and we sang Happy Birthday to the First Mate Leon in 5 languages as well as playing a few games. What ended up as a last minute change of plans because our other boat cancelled on *us*, ended up being a fun 3 days and nights amidst some other travelers.