Day 14

Another early start, but at least the night temperature has now dropped so we slept fairly well. On our way out the campsite, I stopped in at the office to make sure our night check-in form had been received, they were barely processing it through we were leaving so early, but I did stop and chat about how clever they were to have night check-in. Check-in and out sorted, the first thing we wanted to do was have a look at the beach, having arrived at night. We drove back into town and had a wander around, the beach was nothing too fantastic, almost a bit of let down after how awesome we thought the town was. We headed on out, stopping only to buy lunch and supplies for the day. Arriving at the marina, 15k out of town,  we approached the office and eventually found 'Salty Dog' in the yard. After taking our money, he started to pull down 2 kayaks for us. Doug had done sea kayaking before, but in a flat, open top kayak. These were enclosed, just like the river kayaks I'm used to, but longer and with a rudder on the back. With a variety of compartments we were able to stow the snorkeling gear we'd rented, the safety equipment, our supplies and a watertight bag for our phones and keys. All too quickly we were hurried off the jetty, thinking have we got anything? Back in the water, it was nice to be in control, even if the rudder did make things slightly awkward. We'd been given a map, and planned a route based on snorkeling spots and avoiding paddling against the current as much as possible.

First stop was Big Rock, and required a short 300m dash against the current, we barely seemed to be moving, and only by checking our position against Chute Island did we know we were on fact making progress. Beaching the kayaks on the stony coral strewn shore was a great respite, and we stayed put for a while catching our breath. The mild 33 degree days meant we were both more than ready for a dip in the water to compare the reef this far down. Pulling out the snorkeling, masks and flippers (or fins as the diving world would have us call them) we realised we should have checked the sizes first. With our feet already damaged from correctly fitting flippers on the reef, trying to wear flippers 2 sizes too small was too much. Doug gave up and swam without while I soldiered on. Both Doug and I instantly and automatically changed the position of our snorkel from right to left hand side of the mark, essential in diving as your breathing regulator is on the right and you wouldn't want to get the 2 confused 15m underwater. Sitting on the shore to pull my flippers on, I was instantly set upon by small white coloured bugs, similar to mites or ants, which decided my arse was the perfect meal. Having pulled as many of them off me as I could find, I splashed my way into the water not noticing until it was too late how cold it was. Having got used to the 26 degree water in Cairns, this was a bit of a shock, and the visibility was terrible as well - barely 1m, at best 2m. Still there were fish still visible and both Doug and I commented after on how different it was seeing the reef so 1 dimensional, instead of it being all around us. Once we'd explored the reef formations close to the rock, we set of for our next destination: South Molle Island. This was a longer sea crossing, but thankfully with the flow of the current so wasn't too strenuous as we dodged ferries, fishing boats, sailing yachts and the odd catamaran. Reaching the shore, we were disappointed again that there was no nice sandy beach, which we put down to being one of the closest and more protected of the Whitsunday Islands. Pulling the kayaks ashore, we explored a bit and found a nice picnic area for lunch. A quick nap/lie down while we watched the thriving ant colony devour our leftovers, and we were ready for the short walk planned for the afternoon.

The highest point of this island was supposed to have a good view of the rest of the islands, and only a short 4.2km. Off we set, having made sure the kayaks were high enough to stop high tide washing them away, single water bottle between us we headed off. About 1k in, Doug was sweating and panting and starting to get grumpy. We stopped on a bench in full sunlight and took stock. We were both tired from the recent 2 weeks adventures, and had been burning the candle from both ends to see as much as possible. Doug decided very sensibly that he couldn't make it all the way through the walk in the heat. After taking a gulp, I left him the waterbottle and headed off alone. Before we started out, we'd read the safety spiel: No walking alone, wear sensible clothing, take plenty of water, use appropriate footwear, don't go off the path, wear a hat. As I pushed on alone, I realised how many of them I was disregarding - I was walking alone with no water, in flipflops and boardies with my t-shirt hanging over my shoulders, my suncream had probably worn off and as normall I didn't have a hat. Ah, the warnings didn't apply to me anyway. The path was windy and went through so many changes, nearly every corner showed something different, from dried up streams to lush green trees, tall dead grass to fist sized pebbles. As I pushed on, the views changed too, one minute the mainland was in sight, then North and West Molle islands, with dark blue sea, then more islands, but with green and turquoise shimmering waters,never the same shade and golden beaches - maybe same if maybe white coral broken down. Fantastic scenery, which got better and better the higher I climbed. When the sun got too hot, my t-shirt went over my head, hanging down my back to delay the sunburn. Finally reaching the top, the path stopped by a bench, and ahead of me was a rock outcropping. Of I scrambled, until I was on the peak of the island - looking out 360 degrees over the entire area, islands spread out like a map, with little boats making white lines on the multicoloured sea, and tourist planes making white lines in the clear blue sky above. I had no camera to photograph it with, but the image will stay in my memory for a long time to come. I rested on the bench for a while, seemingly alone on the island in paradise. Eventually, I thought of Doug. I had no idea how much time had passed, or what time it was. We had to be back by 4 otherwise search boats would be out after us. I dragged myself back up, the scenery once again swimming in front of my eyes. I set off again, meandering down the mountain I realised I'd now broken all the safety rules and lived to tell the tale. Literally.

When I found Doug he was lying and snoozing in the shade, he had fallen asleep in the sun, woke up very sunburnt and thirty had drank the rest of the hiking water supply.  I finished off the warm dregs from my kayaking water bottle, and saw off 2 mini peaches. I was in dire need of fluid, but had no more with me. Realising we had a short while before we needed to leave, we got the snorkeling equipment out again, and explored the water. Once again noting the cool chill of the water but appreciating it this time, I paddled around looking at the marine life brave enough to live on this reef section. The water was still cloudy and murky and the coral just looked so different. We came out the water, not so much disappointed with the Whitsundays, but all the more appreciative of the GBR we dived on.

The paddle back to the marina was a hard slog. The current seemed to be pulling the front of my kayak so far round I was paddling on 1 side only for much of the trip, but eventually we made it to land, and Salty Dog was there to pull us in. As soon as I was out of the boat, I rushed to the water tap to replenish my fluids. We unpacked the kayaks and repacked the car, getting wolf whistles when I changed out of my boardies by the side of the car. We hoped to get a good distance travelled tonight, so with me behind the wheel we headed off, guzzling water and peaches to revitalize myself.

The drive was a good chance to reflect on the day. The Whitsundays looked fantastic, and we'd experienced them as few other people did, but in hindsight maybe we should have done of the traditional way - by boat to the tourist spots. Doug's concern had been the exhaustion factor, knowing how we both were from diving still. It was this that kept me from handing over the driving when I got tired, and it was nearly dark so we'd need to stop soon anyway. We arrived in Sarina, and I was dead in the wheel, I was ready for sleep, food could wait for me, but I didn't want to deprive Doug of a meal, so after pitching the tents in another caravan park Doug drove us back into town. Most of the roads had roadworks on, but we managed to navigate around, eventually parking in preparation to get a Subway. We'd managed to park right next a steak house, so ate here instead, once we'd finished we went back to the campsite, and I passed out for another nights exhausted sleep.