The, uh, Sunshine Coast

Cyclone Hamish had been down graded, but it was still dumping miserable weather on the Sunshine Coast. We spent the night at pretty Noosa, the antithesis to Surfers Paradise. We sat on the promenade eating chips and watching the surfers braving the massive breakers – all very well 'til that big wave soaked us and the chips.
















With no chance of the weather improving, we decided to bin Fraser Island, and get as far up the coast as possible. This turned out to be Emu Park. With a good hostel across the road from the beach, this would have been a nice place to spend a few days, except for the never-ending rain. Things had to get better, so we booking in for three days sailing around the Whitsunday Islands, and schlepped it up to Airlie Beach.

We arrived at our hastily chosen 'party' hostel in time to grab some food and hit the foam party. Nether of us had been to a foam party before, but provided you've drunk enough, they can be surprisingly good fun. We had a day to recover in town, before boarding our yacht, the Waltzing Matilda.



















Things did not go off to a promising start, as the Matilda's 14 passengers and 2 crew sailed off into the rain, making a miserable picture sat on deck in rain coats (below deck was too hot and stuffy to stick). By the afternoon the sun had poked through, and it was time for the first snorkelling trip. Unfortunately, this far north, the jellyfish can kill you (or at least inflict so much pain you wish you'd died), so you're forced to wear a rather fetching stinger-suit. Added to this, the passing of Hamish had reduced visibly down to a metre, making the snorkelling rather a damp squib.
















Fortunately the weather stayed good for the next two days, as we lazed around on deck soaking up the sun, with brief interruptions to eat, hike up hills for fantastic views, and lay on stunning white beaches. Our evenings were spent anchored in sheltered bays, drinking the BYO wine (fortunately we'd brought 4 litres), and playing party games – Kirsten came third in the pick-a-piece-of-cardboard-off-the-floor-with-your-teeth-while-both-hands-are-behind-your-back game (won by a surprising flexible deck hand, Dan).
















Back on dry land, we spent our final evening in Airlie Beach in the company of our shipmates, before departing for Ayr – the most convenient place to dive the SS Yongala.