When Catherine and Peter arrived in Airlie Beach a few days ago, all they wanted was to relax and see some Whitsunday magic, like dolphins and whales.
We spent a day lying around the pool of the Coral Sea Resort, solving cryptic crosswords and reading books while gazing over the tropical sea in warm, sunny weather. We watched the sunsets from Debonnaire in the marina and then enjoyed dinners at nice restaurants during the balmy evenings.
We had perfect weather on Saturday for a day cruise. We had the wind in our hair as Peter “the wayfinder” applied his natural navigation skills to steer us straight and true to Stonehaven. It wasn’t long before the Whitsundays delivered some of its magic: we sighted whales cruising past the islands and a pod of playful dolphins darted around the boat.
At Stonehaven we snorkelled around the reef and saw very good coral and lots of colourful fish.
The highlight of the day was waiting for us back at Debonnaire: an inquisitive green sea turtle came to visit and swam around the boat for ages. It swam up to our boarding ladder as we climbed out of the water. It came within Catherine’s reach alongside the tender. It was perfectly happy as I swam with it around the boat.
We already had a fantastic day but we still had champagne and prawns for happy hour back at the marina! It was a truly memorable day up close to nature and we were so pleased that we could share the experience with our animal whisperers Catherine and Peter.
Debonnaire 