Boating

In the morning I was supposed to wake up Carter as he has no alarm, but I must have switched mine off somehow, so I get up in a panic thinking we are going to miss the boat, and as I am walking to his room he is was coming down the hall way! He just looked at me, put both hands in the air and went back in his room lol. It was all a big rush, i hadn't even packed yet, and had to speak to Jenna to find out if she was staying in Airlie beach or moving on. I said goodbye to Jenna not knowing her plans and we finally made it to the docks after speed walking for 15 minutes, it turned out we had plenty of time : ) Once we had a quick shop for our alcohol we was all ready to go. When we got to the boat Carter and Me looked at each other because we were really suprized at how small the boat was, we thought it would be twice it's size, we also noticed that everybody else was foreign speaking, and then before we set foot on the boat, the crew took our shoes from us.
Once we were on board the ship we had to pick beds, Carter and me were offered a double as they thought we were a couple, but we took the singles. I was above Carter so I could just lean over to chat. We all went upstairs, and it was great to find that everyone spoke English, and we had a really nice group to spend the next few days with. Lunch was on its way, which was great, but by this time I had started feeling a little sea sick, but I done my best to eat, then sat up on deck, as the motion was not as bad up there! Then it started to rain : (, I realized I only had once jumper, but luckily the captain Jeff lent me his plus a big yellow rain jacket. It was still freezing, and very wet though. I was so pleased to get to our first stop Whitehaven Beach!
We made our way through the rainforest in the rain, it was a great experience to see all the puddles flowing down past our feet, with the beautiful greenery all around us. After walking for a good 20 minutes we made it to the whitehaven look out, it was the most beautiful beach I had ever seen even in bad weather! We carried on for a further 20 minutes and made it down to the beach, the sand was so white, and when you walked over it you would sink a little as it was so soft. We all gathered around, a water whole to see a stranded star fish, and then wandered further down to the sea. Carter decided to try and juggle the sand, and done it pretty well. After messing around for a while it was time to get back on the boat, which I was not looking forward to, as I knew I would feel ill again, and the rain kept on coming.
Once we were back on board we continued to sail for another four hours or so. By this time I needed to cry, I decided it was best to skip dinner and go down to try and sleep. We was due to settle for the night anyway, but because the water was so choppy Jeff had to stand in the rain and sail for another hour and half to a calmer spot. I managed to sleep pretty good suprizingly, trying to sway with the motion of the ocean, and getting used to the spooky sounds at night!
The next morning we were woken early to a gorgeous breakfast, and I had overcome my sea sickness, I now just had a cold from the weather, but today was a beautiful day, so we were all up on deck to take in the views and lounge. We sailed around a few islands and saw dolphins on the way, then stopped it was time to scuba dive. We all had a talk on what we should do, and then we all went in groups of four. Carter and Me was in the last group so we went on another island. We were taken to the beach, they were all coral so it hurt your feet. We got into the ocean and Drew fixed us up with the equipment. It was so heavy that I nearly fell over twice. We then had to show that we were capable of a few skills and get used to breathing, which was a strange sensation, one man didn't like it so he came up and waited on the beach. It was a bit scary but I decided to go for it. Once we were under it was fantastic but I could not equalize my ears so I had severe pain, which made me cry. I carried on because I didn't want to hold up the group, but it became to painful so I had to go back, after a while. I was told I could have burst my ear drum! The experience was ruined by this, but I still done it, and to be honest I thought snorkeling was a much nicer way to see the Great barrier reef.
We all climbed back on board and it was time for dinner again, Elainer's gorgeous food! Jeff put the canopy over the deck tonight for me, I think he felt sorry for me because I had moaned a fair bit. A few of us sat up by Jeff near the wheel, talking and taking in the sounds of the sea, the bright stars in the sky, with a couple of drinks and smokes! After a while we all went down, and decided to play cards. Once we were in bed Carter and Me were talking for a while, and then it was time for bed, ready for the early rise!
Our last day we had the chance to snorkel at three different islands, and it was a great weather again. When we got to the first island we had the choice of being dropped at the beach or swimming to there ourselves, I decided to swim, and as soon as I put my head just below the water I saw hundreds up jelly fish, I was hanging on to the side of the boat, waiting for Jeff to come get me, and take me over. Once he got me there he asked me to keep an eye on Jeannette, a girl who had a rare sleeping disorder, if she got scared or to excited she would fall asleep. So there I was holding her hand to make sure she didn't fall asleep, and trying to dodge the jellyfish. I told Jeff I didn't like them and he said " It ok it's the ones you can't see that will kill you" and laughed. We carried on and Jeff told Jeanette and Me to look down, so we did, and we saw the biggest fish I had ever seen. They called it Elvis, a regular fish, he was stunning too.
I snorkeled at the second island, and then decided to skip the last one as it was too much hassle getting in and out of your wet suit, and you were only allowed one shower a day, it lasted a minute and was cold water. So instead I stayed on board and made myself and Jeff a cup of coffee, then sunbathed for a bit. After half a hour it was time to head back. By this time I didn't want to leave the boat I had enjoyed myself so much. On the way back I sat by Jeff on the low side of the boat, I was almost touching the water, and had a go at sailing the boat to, it was really fun.
Now we were back but the fun wasn't over, we all went back to our hostels, and got ready to meet the whole crew for drinks and dinner! Actually the first thing I done was to check if Jenna was still around and she was, but she had made a new friend Erinna, and wasn't interested in coming out with the people I had met on the Whitsundays, I also come back to find that Rory had gone already, and I had no chance to say goodbye, it was a little upsetting, our first roomy had moved on. I still got ready and met all the crew except Elainer and Jeff couldn't make it. We started at beaches, were someone old enough to be my dad gave me his number, and everyone took the Mick! We all got pretty tipsy here singing and talking about the past three day, and finding out more about each other. Then we went to Shinanigans, it was an Irish pub, playing great rock music, we all just let loose, I had the chance to jive with Teppo, and jump up and down like a crazy person. Drew dissapeared somewhere, and Carter went back to the hostel before close, so I stayed out with the French lot. It was hilarious, and once the pub closed we all went back to my dorm to wake up Carter and we all made a fair bit of noise in the hostel! I'm suprized we weren't kicked out. Then it was time for bed, I was a little upset as I found that when I got back Jenna didn't really want to know me as she found a new friend, she was doing things with, and Carter had to leave the next morning, so I would be on my own! Besides I had really grown to like Carter, I knew he would look after me too. I told him he was to wake me at 7 the next morning before he left to say goodbye!