“It’s too hot and humid to do anything physical”

“I wouldn’t think of going anywhere north of Brisbane over summer”

Well let me tell you something ladies and gentleman, I’ve been in Tropical North Queensland for the past two days and had one of the best, most enjoyable and trips since arriving in this fair state back in 2009.

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This visit is all about a taste of adventure. Being the Adventurous by Nature capital of Australia, Cairns and the region hold a few events around the calendar to appeal to those people who love the great outdoors, keeping fit and enjoying life to the full. I think I fit into all three of those brackets.

First stop was Port Douglas, the gloriously beautiful town 75kms north of Cairns where I met up with Pat Kinsella (who also fits into all three categories), an adventure writer for a number of publications based out of Melbourne. He’s here to cover a few of the key events taking part in 2012 and it’ my job to escort him and have some fun.

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) – something I’d tried once on the Brisbane River a few weeks ago with Riverlife….which was good. But take the boards and head out to Low Isles, a stunning coral cay, 30 minutes boat ride from Port Douglas marina and you’re talking about a different experience all together.

Brett from Wind Swell runs courses in SUP and kite surfing and is a wealth of knowledge on life on the water and the reef. Once we’d got our balance and found our sea legs he took us on a tour of the island, the mangroves and then together we all made the crossing to Woody Island in the distance.

I won’t lie to you here, the rain started….and intensified and came down in bucket loads but we were all having such a good time no one even cared. We were all armed with snorkels and masks and it’s something I never, ever get tired of – jumping in the water and snorkelling to my hearts content.

The corals around Low Isles are renowned for their colour and beauty and were fantastic. After spending an hour underwater clicking away with my camera I’d seen stingrays, turtles, sharks and so many fish it was like rush-hour on the reef!

All too soon we headed back to the shore smiling and laughing about how good the day had been and how little the rain had effected us. Pah it’s only a bit of water!

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When the Solar Eclipse takes place on November 14th this year, a thin strip of land in the north of Queensland is plunged from day into night for around three minutes, a rather exciting event will be kicking off in Port Douglas, the Solar Eclipse Marathon (SEM).

Having participated in the 2011 Great Barrier Reef half marathon, I can vouch that it will be huge. The location rocks, the course is challenging and undulating and the climate at that time of year will be as close to perfect as you can get.

It was our job to head off and try some of the course out. At the 15km mark of this year’s full marathon the route arrives at the base of a 300 metre climb up through the rainforest….and definitely the hardest part of it is the Bump Track. It was originally an Aboriginal trail between the coastal and mountain regions, but became a crucial link between Port Douglas and the hinterland for settlers and miners.

After 40 minutes of slogging our way up the incline, we arrived at the clearing with views of the Coral Sea to one side and dramatic waterfalls to the other. It’s a hard grind but so rewarding when you hit the top! Just remember that during the event you have to then run all the way back down AND another 21kms to the finish line!

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There is definitely no rest for the wicked on this adventure, so Pat and I jumped into the car and drove two hours south to the cane fields of Babinda. On the banks of the creek, Garry and his wife Linda run a very unique company called Babinda Kayak Hire offering kayak trips along the river. The local press from Channel 7 were there to meet us and filmed our departure as we floated off downstream enjoying the very tropical weather – again!

The creek winds through cane fields, past bamboo plantations, under bridges and eventually to the sandy beach of Babinda. Can I tell you this was fantastic! Four guys, a river to take on, some torrential rain and smiles all the way I guarantee. Sometimes the simplest things in life bring the greatest pleasure and this is one of them for sure.

So tomorrow….I really need to get some sleep now so that’s all I have time for today. Be sure to visit again in a couple of days time when we’ll have run Dunk Island, raced the Magnetic Island ferry and mountain biked some very exciting trails.

Needing sleep, but having a total blast in Tropical North Queensland – Adventurous by Nature!

Ben

I decided to grab a snorkel and go swim alongside them…

Flying in by chopper you sweep low over nearby Lamont and Wistari Reefs which are the epitome of that view you have in your head for a reef system; ridiculously bright blue water, bommie outcrops of coral and turtles everywhere diving for cover.

I’ve spent a day here so far and feel at one with my surroundings. Even the birds here are relaxed; the seagulls walk at a slower pace, the rails leisurely hop out of your way and the ocean has been akin to a sheet of smooth aluminium foil ever since we arrived.

As with the other Capricorn and Bunker islands in this region, Heron Island has had an interesting past. It was discovered in 1843 by the H.M.S. Fly under the command of Francis Prince Blackwood and gained its name from the sheer number of Reef Herons the ship’s geologist, Joseph B Jukes observed feeding on the reef flats.

In 1925 Mr L Marsh opened the Australian Turtle Soup Factory but the company folded after two years due to declining numbers – thank goodness.

The island was turned into a resort in 1932 and back then it was common practice to actually ride the turtles back down the beach after they had nested…as if that job wasn’t hard enough for the water-loving creatures!

Protecting the entrance to the island is the iconic wreck of the H.M.C.S. Protector, she was originally built in 1884 but in 1943 she was struck by a towboat and eventually brought out here to protect the tourist boats waiting to bring their passengers ashore. Today she is one of the premier snorkelling sites on the islands harbouring shoals of fish, stingrays and turtles.

The Lonely Planet Guide to Diving and Snorkelling rates the Heron Island Bommie as “the best fish dive on the Great Barrier Reef”. When I visited back in 2009 I’d have agreed but since then I’ve dived a multitude of other sites that could take its crown very easily. It’s time to get in the water and put that theory to the test. I’m editing the footage as we speak so will bring you a new YouTube dive movie very soon

Underwater Earth have been here with me filming some of the marine life found here and we’ve all been amazed by the huge numbers of Rays that rest in the shallow waters around the jetty beach a high tide. You can swim right up to them (being very wary of course) before they disappear off to another quieter part of the beach.

As with any real life adventure obstacles arise to test us, our planning and ability to cope with the unexpected. After completing the first section of the Best Expedition in the World my support yacht ‘Sunshine‘ was all safely tied up to a mooring on the western side of Lady Elliot Island protected from the wind and waves when a gang-buster wind came ripping through the island. In the early hours of the morning Sunshine’s mooring broke and she came to rest on a flat to the north of her original position.

At first light I was informed of the issue by the staff on the island and raced from my room to find her resting on her keels on the north-west tip of the island looking very sorry for herself. Together with two of the crew I walked out to her, jumped aboard and started the process of freeing her; dropped a stern anchor and attached mooring lines to her rear with the aid of Clinton and Kym from the island’s dive team.

With a dropping tide we had to wait another couple of hours before there was enough water to refloat her and with one final heave we managed to get her back out into deeper water and onto a safe mooring.

My first concern was that of the reef but we’d been lucky and had come aground on some rubble (old coral that isn’t alive) causing no damage to the surrounding environment although ‘Sunshine‘ suffered some minor damage to her keel and rudder in the process. In order to get her back to port safely we had to wait around for a couple of days for a gap in the weather so that MSQ (Maritime Safety Queensland) could come and assist us back to port.

But this break in the proceedings did give us a chance to further experience the incredible diving, snorkelling and lifestyle that Lady Elliot island is so very famous for – it’s not all bad you know.

So as I sit and type this blog post to you in Bundaberg feeling rather anxious that the Best Expedition has had a minor speed bump, but that doesn’t mean the expedition stops, or even pauses for a second.

While the shipwrights go to work repairing Sunshine, the crew will remain with the vessel in Bundaberg and I will head to Heron Island as planned to meet up with the team from Underwater Earth. During the week I will assist them with filming and photographing some of the locations we visit … and Mum and Dad will be there too as part of their Queensland Road Trip.  The plan is for Sunshine to join us on Heron at the end of the week.

Heron Island is known as the ‘Best Fish Dive’ on the GBR – so I can’t wait to get underwater and experience it all again!

Keep following the map here and seeing exactly where I am and the photos and video I’ll be taking so you can live it too!!

Yours expeditionally

Ben

This place to me is one of those jewels in the crown of the Great Barrier Reef that I shouldn’t really praise too much in case thousands of people decide to go and try it for themselves thereby ruining the peace and solitude that it offers. Oh well it really can’t be helped!

After departing from Hervey Bay 40 minutes later on the horizon appears this perfectly formed coral cay. The closer you get the more obvious its size is, the tiny unsurfaced runway stretching from one side to the other with just enough length to stop a fully loaded Cessna Caravan. The final loop around the island teases you with views of crystal clear blue water, breaching whales and the outlines of Manta Rays around the perimeter. This is exactly how I’d picture an island…

Lady Elliot does everything simply. The accommodation is designed to have minimum impact on the environment, the power generation is done by efficient solar panels, the buffet food allows you as much or as little as you’d like and the key to staying here? Reducing your heart-rate down to that of the island.

If you want a pampered holiday go elsewhere, if you want an adrenaline filled extreme holiday go elsewhere, if you want to fully absorb yourself in nature and the Great Barrier Reef then you’ve come to the right place – this is where the interaction between humans and the natural environment is the least impacting and most impressive you will find.

I came here for my first visit back in November of 2009 and produced a blog all about my time on the island that you can read about here – I won’t repeat myself and this will be a short blog post but please enjoy the photos and the video I’ve compiled of my time of the island.

If you love your diving and you intend visiting Australia then you have to visit.

Enjoy

• Dolphins can hold their breath for 30 minutes, turtles hold their breath for 60 minutes or more, whales can to stay submerged for up to 2 hours..fish just breath the oxygen that is in the water.
• Humpback Whales can eat 6 tons of Krill a day . They live to around 60 years of age and grow to 45 tons. They can propel this full weight out of the water with just 2 flicks of the tail.
• Green Turtles are the biggest local turtle and can grow up to half a ton..and reach two metres long
• Coral trout start their lives as females and change sex to become males later in life.
• Cuttlefish is the most unusual, it has green blood, three hearts and can change color in an instant.

Location: Hamilton Island

Weather: Very, very strange one here….a dust storm has hit the Queensland coast for the first time in decades masking the skyline in a dull red/orange. Feels like the apocalypse is coming! 28°c

I spent last night battling away trying to get the final parts of my PADI Advanced Dive Course completed before departing to the mainland as today I was departing on Whitsundays Sailing Adventure’s newest dive boat – the very impressive Emperors Wings. Suffice to say I completed it and the theory part of the course is now complete! YAY!

I’m on the road and the water for the next ten days with a visit to the Great Barrier Reef onboard an Islandive vessel then a few days on Long Island at Peppers Palm Bay and wrap it all up with a back-to-basics visit to my neighboring rock, Whitsunday Island and a camping trip – this will be pretty special.

Being away for this long means one thing however…hauling around virtually everything I own in four bags…I’m turning into a high maintenance chick here!

We’re departing from Abel Point Marina and as I arrive there’s already a few of my fellow passengers waiting for the off so we make our way down the pontoon to Emperors Wings – a luxury, purpose built sailing boat with accommodation for 30 people and equipped with everything onboard for diving and snorkelling – this is the way to explore the reef.

I’d met a couple of the crew the week before when diving the S.S. Yongala so it was good to see some familiar faces and as the rest of the passengers arrived onboard Sammy showed me to my bunk which was a big, comfortable double bed – no hammocks or bunks here.

Wings 2 Layout

With five crew and 24 passengers on board there’s loads of space for everyone with a relaxing lounge area and huge flat screen tv used for viewing the daily slide show. Being a purpose-built boat there’s some excellent features like the heated spa on the main deck, hydraulic lifting platform for the rubber ducky and the most organised setup for the dive kit I’ve seen; everything’s built around giving the passengers a thoroughly comfortable, interactive and educational experience whilst out on the ocean.

Stu our skipper for the trip (another Pom addicted to working in the sunshine has been with the company for five years) steered us carefully out of the marina and into the Whitsunday Passage heading east towards Whitsunday Island, our destination for the night. The open deck arrangement of the boat means there’s loads of space to lay back and enjoy the ride and a perfectly good time to find out a little more about the other passengers and what their individual stories are.

My fellow travellers are from all over the world; amongst others there’s a couple from Canada (Bre will be happy!), a group of New Zealanders now living in Australia, three Brazilian girls and a few individuals all on their own little mission around the world. There’s no set demographic to this sort of trip it’s pretty much a open book but everyone’s got one thing on their mind – to have some fun, get some sailing in and to discover more about life on the Great Barrier Reef.

Our first destination for the adventure is along the coast of Whitsunday Island, taking in the dramatic scenery it has to offer with Hoop Pine trees and dense bush all the way down to the waterline broken up by granite boulders and tiny sandy bays. One of my Canadian friends comments on how alike the terrain looks to that of their own home in British Columbia and I totally agree. The hills of Whitsunday Craig and Peak teasing me to climb them and at some point I will!
With the south-easterly blowing at a fair pace we make for the sheltered waters of Tongue Bay just around the headland from the famous Whitehaven Beach and drop anchor for the evening. I moored up here during my sailing course and spent most of my time in the water swimming around the boat then…today was no different and I launched myself off the stern of the boat into the warm ocean.

The smell of good cooking wafted through the boat as Cari had fired up the barbeques on the stern, Sammy had been working furiously all afternoon preparing our dinner and finally our rumbling bellies would be satisfied. It’s surprising quite how hungry one gets lazing about in the sunshine, very important to fill up tonight though as there’s a big day ahead tomorrow with diving all day.

Once dinner is out of the way everyone beds down for an early night, with the exception of Stu and Johnny who gently glide the boat around the headland and to the south of Whitehaven Beach where we finally moor up for the night. I’m restless as ever and end up sitting on deck with one of the passengers, Julian from France, watching the moon on the ocean and watching for shooting stars. I don’t want to be anywhere else on the planet right now….just here with my thoughts.

I awake from my slumber, having finally made it to bed, and poke my head out of the port hatch as the sun is breaking the horizon to the east. There’s only one way to wake a sleepy head and that’s to jump straight in the ocean, the shock of cool water on my face enough to jerk my brain into life and after a good swim I feel ready to take on the day.

Whitehaven is one of those places that just has to be visited if you’re in the Whitsundays, it’s an iconic symbol of what ‘perfect’ beaches are all about; crystal clear water, blue skies, lush green trees and of course the contrasting fine white silica sand. I’ve been a few times now to this gem of a location but can never tire of its majesty and happily visit once more as the rest of the boat disembarks for their first experience. I swim to the shore as part of my continued training for the Whitehaven Beach 2km Swim in November!

Turtles seem to be the order of the day as we spotted a few on our trip around the island last night so in the spirit of the trip I try and make one out of sand….what do you think?

I’ve come on this trip to progress my diving to another level and hope to leave with my Advanced certification which will allow me to explore yet more amazing places under the water and to do this I need to complete a number of tests on each dive with the first being navigation.

The beauty of a trip such as this one is there’s a chance for non-divers to try their hand at using a SCUBA setup. Certified divers only made 20% of the passengers…everyone else had the chance to try it out for the first time.

We made our way to the more sheltered waters of Hook Island and Mackerel Bay as it offered protection against the north-easterly wind which had swung around over night. At the stern of the boat lies the kitting-up area and here Steph, my wonderfully experienced Dive Master, was issuing our BCD’s, weights and my compass and dive computer, something I’d need for this part of the course.

After a quick tender ride I dropped into the ocean, descended to three metres and began to focus on what surrounded us….not a lot actually! The visibility was pretty poor at no more than five metres meaning spotting marine life wasn’t exactly easy…but I was here for another reason, my navigation test. The poor conditions actually made the test better for me as I had no idea where I was heading during the task which required me to swim 15 metres, turn through 90°, swim 15 more etc until I’d returned to my starting point having completed a full square.

I passed with flying colours! After a couple of easier reciprocal navigation tests we made our way back to the awaiting Emperors Wings, changed back into our dry kit and prepared for the next part…the night dive on the outer reef! Totally exciting and something I haven’t done for over a year. The nerves will be jangling for this I can tell you!

As we motored out to the reef the wind picked up giving a few of the passengers a pretty hard time with green faces above and below deck. The rolling of the ocean dropped off slightly as we came onto the mooring we’d spend the night on.

Then all of a sudden it was here – my chance to dive the Great Barrier Reef at night!

The blue underwater lights from the boat were already attracting Giant Trevally, bright silver flashes signalling their arrival as they twisted and turned attempting to catch the bait fish who’d become hypnotised in the iridescent glow. We were on…..

It’s a totally different experience to me, diving at night. Yes you still use the same equipment (plus a light and glow stick or two) and you still travel down to roughly the same depth but the feeling is somewhat different. Spatial awareness becomes more intense, the 3D effect of lights hovering around you seem almost otherworldly and with the restricted tunnel of light you look down it takes more concentration to realise where you’re placed in the water compared to your surroundings and other people.

We moored up along a row of famous coral bommies here on Bait Reef known as the Stepping Stones, they tower up from the ocean floor and are impressive during the day but at night they become almost cathedral-like. The first time I shone my torch all the way up the wall my regulator nearly dropped out of my mouth!

As with the majority of the world, at night the reef sleeps with the exception of some pretty hungry predators. The Giant Trevally swim all around me using my torch light to seek out unwary fish resting outside the protection of the coral beds, they’re like futuristic android ships patrolling swiftly and silently the depths of the ocean….and then there’s the sharks!

As I scan the horizon wide-spaced green eyes stare back at me slowly swimming along just far enough away to not appear a direct threat but close enough to remind me I’m now in their world. During the dive I spot around ten of them, White and Black Tip Reef Sharks all big enough to inflict a nasty bite should they feel that way, but thankfully they keep their distance. A Wobbegong sitting motionless on the rock is the closest I get to a shark.

It’s all over far too quickly, I check my depth and rise to the surface along with the other divers, eyes wide open racing with adrenaline from the experience. We board the boat and talk constantly about what we’d seen and the incredible underwater adventure we’d just had together. If you’re certified this is the way to do a night dive in perfectly clear water, surrounded by coral and predators onboard a fully catered catamaran. I struggle to get to sleep….
The next day dawns early for me as usual, I make my way to the foredeck and watch the sunrise out of the hazy, orange sky (it’s actually a dust storm which has engulfed the Queensland coast for the first time in decades, click here for more info and pics) an hour later Sammy announces that breakfast is ready and then we’re off again….three more dives today!

Once I’d got the practicals out of the way for my Advanced course the dives were probably some of the most relaxing and observational I’d ever had; schools of fish cruised off in the distance, anemone’s wobbled in the foreground and my favourite the cleaner wrasse worked furiously picking off any parasites from hospitable subjects at the cleaning stations. This is the reef working in perfect harmony and with the visibility back up to around 25 metres the big television show I’ve dropped into seems gigantic.

This type of trip encompasses so many different things you may be looking for as a traveller, backpacker or tourist – you’re being catered for on all levels and never feel hungry or left out, the snorkelling or diving are as much or as little as you desire and the experience of sailing hard across the wind hanging off the pulpit as the hull slices through the swell simply can’t be beaten.

By the end of an exhausting day I was three dives more experienced, had gained my next level of certification and was a very happy man…and that was before another cracking meal arrived on the table.

As we arrived back in the marina and prepared to leave it felt like the end of a true adventure. I’d made lots of friends, taken on some challenges, seen some unique sights and really felt a pang of sadness as I unloaded my kit back onto dry land. That’s one for the memory bank for sure.

End of trip location: Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach

Distance covered: 3 days at sea…something like 120kms