snorkeling in whitsundays
 

My wife and I have chartered a sailboat for five days in the Whitsundays. Can anyone recommend good snorkeling sites or other places of interest? <BR> <BR>Thanks! <BR>Neil

There are only a few good places in the Whitsunday Islands - the currents stir up the sediments too much, so the water tends to be a bit murky. The best sites we found were on the north side of Hook Island. Manta Ray Bay is considered the best snorkeling/diving site there, and is a "Special Management Area", where no anchoring is permitted. You can anchor in nearby Luncheon Bay, where there are a few mooring buoys, then take a dinghy over to Manta Ray Bay. There are some nice coral formations and many large fish schools. Our favorites were the Batfish who are incredibly curious and friendly. They like to be touched! Another OK snorkeling site is Cataran Bay, on Border Island. The good coral is in very shallow water, close to the beach. Its also a great protected anchorage for spending the night. We also liked Chalkie's Beach, which is across the channel from the much more-celebrated Whitehaven Beach. In most conditions, Whitehaven is a very populous and rolly anchorage, while Chalkie's is much quieter. There are a few coral heads there that attracted schools of fish. Be careful when anchoring at such beach locations - there are large coral heads (Ozzies call them 'bommies') where you can easily wrap your anchor chain. We 'saved' an unfortunate fellow in a sloop which had wrapped its chain several times around a bommie during the night. We had dive gear and unraveled him just before the rising tide pulled his bow underwater! Many charterers spend an evening/day in the marina on Hamilton Island. The mooring charge is extremely high, but that includes the use of the resort facilities on the island. There are several fine restaurants and all sorts of other attractions, if that is something that interests you. We took a day trip on a fast motor catamaran from Hamilton out to the Great Barrier Reef, where there was fantastic snorkeling and diving. If you are not planning any other trips out to the GBR, I would take one from Hamilton Island, or Shute Harbor (on the mainland). Have fun, it sure is beautiful, the wind is almost always good, and there are plenty of sheltered anchorages.

Neil, <BR>Lonely Planet have a guide book on snorkelling and diving the barrier reef. I think it's their Pisces series of books but you could locate it through their website www.lonelyplanet.com or a good bookstore. <BR>Kay

I can't think of any sites off hand but I am sure that I would know them if I saw them - perhaps you could invite me along to carry your bags and to show you the dive sites - you lucky devil you!!

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Can't wait to get on (and in) the water!