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As I had extended my stay in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia I was now under pressure to get to Airlie Beach. Queensland. This was the embarkation point for my three nights sailing the Whitsunday Islands. I boarded a Greyhound bus in Cairns, Queensland for an eleven hour journey southwards along the Bruce highway. This was to be my first experience of the long distances in Australia & coach travel. I was excited by the challenge but also had to do it to get to Airlie beach on time. I very quickly realised that the bus driver was very tired of the happy travellers smiling at him as we handed over our tickets. He barked the same instructions to every passenger about not standing over the white line, sitting in the seat allocated & to drink only water. We weren’t ten minutes into the journey when the AC broke down. The driver & a garage tried to fix it & because of schedules our diver was irate decided to keep going without AC in 34 degrees Celsius. I think I was delirious by the time I got to Airlie Beach however, the sight that greeted me when I stepped off the coach was a horseshoe-shaped, sandy beach backed by palm trees swaying in the wind, while the full moon shimmered on the water. I was transfixed again by nature & could see the funny side to my coach trip plus I knew my fiends would get a great kick out of me regaling them about what had happened.
The next morning I boarded the Pacific Sunrise, which is a 33 metre restored Fijian Trader which is elegant with plenty of spots to get away for a bit of solitude. She only takes 17 passengers with five crew including the owner Dan.
The food was of a very high standard, the drinks well priced & we all dined together around a communal table. There was a French couple on honeymoon, a Welsh Family, an English couple celebrating their 30th Wedding anniversary, Australians seeing part of their own country for the first time & myself the solo traveler. Everybody mixed well & we had fun after dinner sitting on deck under the moon-lit night sky.
We did a bush walk on Whitsunday Island & climbed high to get a stunning view of Whitehaven beach. We spent the afternoon playing rounders on the fine, dazzling white sand which is 98% pure silica. It’s pure beach lovers paradise!
The Whitsundays are fringed by the Great Barrier Reef & they took us to some special spots for snorkeling of course followed by more food. Here I was introduced to Tim Tams & of course I was hooked!

We spent the rest of our time sailing around many of the 74 islands that make up the Whitsundays. The skipper would bring out the charts & show us his plot for the following day. On the last night the wind whipped up & as the seas became rougher I felt very rough. Much as I love the water & boats it turns out I don’t have sea-legs!
As the Pacific Sunrise cut her way through the waves back into Airlie beach we raced with some of the other boats that sail around the Whitsundays.

We all said our goodbyes & promised to keep in touch which of course we have not, I boarded another coach which was bound for Hervey Bay & I couldn’t help wondering what kind of personality this driver would have….

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Four hours north of Auckland lies Pahia which is the gateway to the Bay of islands. This is northland of New Zealand. A really nice coastal town full of different types of accomodaton starting from hostels up to 5 star hotels. I travelled up with Magic bus a backpacker bus from Auckland arriving into Pahia at late afternoon just in time for a cruise out to the islands which I did with Dolphin discoveries. Its always been a dream of mine to swim alongside dolphins which I was lucky to do and make my dream come true. After my dolphin cruise I cruised around the bay of islands and saw the hole in the rock which is a huge rock in the middle of the sea and then returning back to hostel in time for a bbq which was a great way to meet fellow tourists and great to share stories etc.
The following day I went on a day trip up to the very north of the North island cape reinga to the famous 90 mile beach. Here we went on a 4 wheel drive safari and tried some sandboarding. On the way back we visited a really nice seaside town called Mangonui, famous for its fish and chips and headed back to pahia and then back to Auckland.

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Ulura, or as it is most commonly known Ayres Rock is the biggest monolith (single piece of rock) is the biggest of its kind in the world. When it is seen form fare away it is the only thing that creeps above the horizon in flat arid landscape. The closer you get to it, the more apparent the sheer size and scale of it becomes. Uluru is a single piece of sandstone rock, which is normally grey but in this case is a reddish rusty colour which is caused by oxidization which is pretty much rusting.
As you get ever closer to the rock it takes up the full view of the window and starts to reveal itself. From afar it looks smooth but up close you1ll see the different patterns and textures in the rock. There are also many caves, crevices and little cliffs that have been eroded into the rock by torrential rain that gathers in these fishers and creates large waterfalls which erode the rock. Uluru belongs to the traditional owners as it has done for centuries, The Anangu, or Local Aboriginal People.
There are two walks you can take at Ayres Rock, the first, Matitjulu walk which brings you along a stretch of land that the aboriginals have been using for generations and leads to the Mutitjulu waterhole. The second Mala walk takes you to some of the places where the aboriginals hold their religious ceremonies. At these ceremonies the men must climb to the top of Uluru. This is or was also one of the main things for tourists would do when visiting but people are asked not to climb the rock as it is offensive to the aboriginlas. However many people still do it.
Another place not too far away that people visit is the peaks of Kata Tijuta. Some of the peaks here, only 45km`s away form Uluru are even taller then the sacred rock and are themselves held sacred by the locals. If you make it to alice springs and Uluru it would be worth staying another day to explore these peaks as they are quite simply breathtaking at sunrise and sunset.

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The Great Barrier Reef is a series of interlocking reefs and islands that stretch for oer 2000 km in the waters off the coast of Queensland, Australia. It is the most extensive coral-reef system in the world, and the largest structure made completely from living organisms, tiny coral polyps.

Between 50km and 300km away from the shore, the reef comprises more than 2500 individual reefs (strips of rock or coral) and 600 islands. There are basically three types of island : continental islands (the peaks of sunken mountain ranges), sand islands and coral cays. Many of these islands have coral reefs nearby, or even mini-reefs fringing them, but Heron Island and the nearby Wilson Island are unique in that they are true coral cays that offer accommodation and actually form part of the reef. This means that you can simply swim from their beaches to dive or snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef itself.

The diving around Heron Island is reputed to be some of the best on the whole reef, attracting people from all over the world. The Island has been leased out to the Heron Island Resort, which provides a range of accommodation, as well as diving and snorkelling excursions. Wilson Island is administered by Heron, and just 10 people are allowed to stay on it at one time. Those with a scientific interest in the reef can stay at the research centre on Heron Island, which is run by the University of Queensland.

From ground level, the barrier reef appears unexceptional. The sea might be a luxurious blue and the islands sandy beaches creamy white, but little is revealed unless you go up or down. From the air the true extent and colours of the Great Barrier Reef become apparent. Within waters of the purest turquoise, reef after reef seems to stretch away as far as the eye can see, and dotted around are tiny white-fringed coral cays surrounded by there own reefs.

Diving or snorkelling on the reef is a truely magical experience, and no superlatives can do it justice. Its like experiencing a completely new world, where sight is the only sense you needand gravity seems irrelevant. Stick to shallow waters if you want to see the colours clearly, as deeper water filters out most of the red and green wavelengths, giving everything a deep blue tinge.

The coal is home to a wealth of life forms. Multicoloured fish dart around at lightning speed, while green turtles and loggerheads take things at a more leisurely pace. At the top of Heron Island, in the aptly named Shark Bay, you will have a good chance of being able to swim with small and relatively friendly reef sharks.

If you dont fancy getting wet, the Heron Island Resort has a semi-submersible – basically a boat crossed with a submarine – where you can sit in the glass keel and view this underwater world in comfort.

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If you want to escape to paradise, surround yourself with nothing but ocean views and indulge in spa treatments, secluded Dhoni Mighili, set in the crystal-clear waters of the Maldives, is the island you have been dreaming of.

A tiny speck in the middle of the Indian Ocean- it takes only 800 footsteps to round its sandy circumference-Dhoni Mighili is a dreamy world of luxurious indulgences. With only six bungalows, it never caters for more than 12 guests at a time, so you will have most of its white sands and shimmering turquoise sea to yourself. To get to it from the airport at male takes either a 30 minute seaplane ride over a necklace-like string of atolls or a four hour cruise on your own private Dhoni, a traditional Maldivian sailing boat.

These lovingly crafted, 20 metre wooden boats with double sails have been specially built to allow guests to live on board if they want a change from their bungalows, as well as using them to journey, explore and indulge. With such great names as Sublime, Serenity, Dream, passion, Seduction and Bliss they will take you to visit nearby islands and go snorkelling. The relaxing need not stop when you’re on land. Your can take a dip in your own pool; lie back in the shaded garden of your bungalow.

For the more adventurous, there’s windsurfing, catamaran sailing and kayaking, as well as a dive school if you want to enjoy the Maldives’ world-class underwater action.
If you just want to spoil yourself, the Sen Spa can provide some serious pampering. With indoor and outdoor treatment rooms, both overlooking the sea, it is difficult not to fall asleep because of the sound of the water gently rising and falling.

The Spa menu includes the deliciously name “holistic heavenly bliss”, an all-over body treatment that is as good as it sounds. The tropical fruit wrap, made with fresh fruits including coconut, papaya and pineapple.
Wining and dining is a key part of the Dhoni Mighili experience, with water all around the sea food is the big hit on the menus. Tropical fruits are also in abundance and make any meal truly exotic.
Relaxing is the easy part of staying on Dhoni Mighili – the hardest part will be leaving the paradise you have found.

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