Location: Hamilton Island
Weather: Spring days don’t get better than this wherever you are. Sunshine and no wind. 29°c

I am now a fully qualified Marine Terrorist….come Eco-Warrior!

I’m off on my travels again today and the next few days take me back onto the mainland to enjoy what the Whitsundays have to offer, first stop a ride on a jetski!

Terri from Coral Sea Eco Jet Safaris was there to meet me from the Fantasea boat as I pulled into Shute Harbour, we jumped into the company Troopie (Toyota Landcruiser), collected four more fellow riders and hit the road north.

45 minutes later after finally finding some great Australian dirt roads (I miss them after a year driving on them in Africa!) we pulled into Cape Gloucester and the picturesque setting of the eco-resort. Waiting for me on the beach was my ride for the day, the Kawasaki STX-15F a super fast jetski which is actually pretty environmentally friendly with low emissions and double silenced for sensitive areas such as the islands we’ll be visiting today.

Once we’d had the safety briefing it was out onto the ocean under the watchful eye of Shane and Nick our guides and instructors. It’s a great way to see Gloucester Island from close up and as we circumnavigated the huge granite lump we could cruise into gullys, visit secluded bays and race between the headlands.

It was a perfect day for it too with very little wind and warm sunshine, being wet and moving along at speed even in this tropical environment can result in getting cold you know!

On the eastern side of the island is a gorgeous sandy beach, where we stopped, had a snorkel for an hour, then climbed back onto our machines. We left the sheltered bay of Gloucester Island and raced across the open ocean to Bowen, played for a while reaching speeds of up to 100km/h on the flat water and finally made for our starting out point, Cape Gloucester.

The three hour trip went far too quickly and was immense fun, the sheer thrill of racing these things across the ocean is hard to beat even in a small, high powered speedboat – you’re just so close to the water and when you get used to them can throw them into neck-jerking turns from top speed. Just hold on tight!

End of day location: Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Airlie Beach
Distance covered: On the road 100kms, on the jetski 70kms