More Sailing in the Whitsunday's

The following morning we hiked to the Ngaro Ancestral site to see the aboriginal drawings on the cave walls. Tom and Todd braved the slippery rocks and made it to the waterfall. But everyone else was anxious to get in the water and see some fish! We sailed up along Hook Island to our next destination, Langford Island, to do some snorkeling. We spent the next few nights anchoring along the bays of the northern tip of Hook Island where the best snorkeling was to be. February is smack-dab in the middle of Stinger Season and thus, we wore thin mesh suits that covered us head-to-toe to prevent any potential threat of deadly jellyfish stings. Totally attractive, let me tell you, but completely worth it to be sting-free!

It felt so incredible on my pregnant body to be in the water. Swimming was easy and felt almost effortless with flippers and my added buoyancy. The water temperature, heavenly. Fortunately, the weather had turned absolutely glorious, sunny with a nice sea breeze, perfect conditions for both sailing and snorkeling. And of course, there was plenty of just simply hanging out on the boat, which is the best ever.

Our friend Diana amazed me on this trip. Tom and Diana know one another back from Tom's LDS mission in California where Diana's sweet mom was constantly opening their home to feed the missionaries. She has long been a family friend. Diana had a second kidney transplant a few years ago (I hope she doesn't mind me sharing) and has this infectious adventurous spirit about her. Her attitude is that she has this amazing gift and second chance at life and really, she's up for trying anything! It was fun to have her on board and eager to GO and SEE and DO all that was available. Diana brought a fishing pole and caught some beautiful fish, and even cleaned and cooked one up for dinner. Isn't she a doll?

Putting the sails up is always a daily highlight for me. I love seeing the guys out there working with the rigging, cranking on the ropes, checking the gauges, wind speeds, directions, etc. It seems to me that sailing is the perfect guy adventure. With all the gear and equipment and "figuring" involved, they really eat it up. I love to just sit back and watch it all happen. It is a beautiful thing once the sails are up, the motor is off, and we are clipping through the water using only the power of the wind. Nirvana!

Hello Baby Bump! By pregnant belly literally grew inches while in Oz. Truth be told, I had a few "pregnant moments" on the boat when the heat and humidity would get to me and I couldn't find a comfortable position to exist in. In those moments I would take big deep breaths and focus on what the baby and my body needed most. Usually it was rest, so I was conscious not to swim too much or over-do my sun exposure and I prayed for strong breezes that would keep things cool and dry. Or it was Nutella. The baby just needed Nutella. Everyday. One afternoon I stripped to practically nothing but a hand towel (grrrr-owl) and laid underneath an open hatch to let the breeze wash over me. Everyone on the boat was very kind and understanding, especially if I needed to stand up rudely during dinner and run to the back of the boat to stick my face in the wind.

It was fun to take the dinghy to shore and explore around the beaches, finding patterned sea shells and bright blooming flowers on trees I'd never seen. The Whitsunday's are designated National Park land, therefore most of the islands are remote with no services of any kind. The beaches might have a sign, a trail head, or a washed up flip-flop, but other than that they haven't been inhabited in hundreds of years if ever at all.

And finally this picture...cause I thought it was cute. We kept taking the most ridiculous pictures and couldn't quite get our faces right squinting into the sun, which was making us giggly. Funny how I tend to like those ones the best :). This guy: he gets to me.

 

But wait...there's still more!