The Whitsundays – New Year’s Eve!
‘The Broomstick’. That was the name of the racing yacht we boarded at Airlie Beach on 30th December 2006. There were others – ‘Condor’, ‘British Defender’ – yet we got the one with the slightly camp name. Nevertheless, The Broomstick set sail with a crew of three and a cargo of 21 layabout pissheads, all on board to see in the new year in style (but not necessarily comfort).
The Whitsundays has become a ‘must do’ activity for anyone visiting Australia, mostly because it’s a fun experience and great value for money. Our first day and night was spent primarily on the boat, enjoying the sunshine and occasionally learning a few pointers on sailing. We docked in an enclosed bay around tea-time for a walk around one of the islands, where we indulged in licking ants asses… that’s right – according to our crewmate Zac, the green-behinded ants all over the trees overlooking the bay have a rather citrus taste when you lick their bottoms. He wasn’t wrong! How this fact was originally discovered and by whom was the subject of much debate as we returned to the boat for an excellent feast of food and a few drinks. Even though this was ‘the night before the big one’, it didn’t stop us playing a complicated drinking game whilst getting to know eachother. Still, a quiet one overall.
We raised anchor early on day two and headed for our New Year’s destination: Whitehaven Beach. Whitehaven is one of the few beaches in the world that lays claim to a vast amount of silicon sand, which means it is soft, white and fine. It’s the type of beach people dream about, and I played footy on it. Swimming in the sea isn’t advised due to poisonous Jellyfish in the area, but earlier in the day we donned some sexy lycra stinger suits and went snorkelling. I was amazed when we actually saw a turtle swimming beneath us in the deeper waters. It was an incredible bit of luck. We kicked back on the beach after gorging on nacho snacks, then returned to our vessel to get ready for the big party.
The crew had a stack of pirate masks and fancy dress material at the ready for us to put on and look like insane children for the big countdown. It was a lot of fun. I’d already earned myself the title of ‘Cap’n Cook’ due to my Buff headwear making me look suspiciously like a pirate anyway, so it was just a matter of sticking on a fake beard and moustash, holding a plastic sword, a bit of eyerliner and it’s hello Jack Sparrow:
‘Gaaarrrrr!’
Yes me heartys. We partied on Whitehaven Beach with the passengers of boats Condor and British Defender for all of an hour before the tropical heavens literally pulverised us with rain. It was a swift return once again to the boat in time for the countdown to 2007. Once onboard, all the Europeans (whom hadn’t brought much booze with them, idiotically) stole our drinks from the ice boxes under our noses and got pissed courtesy of us resident Brits. Cheapskate bastards. Even so, it didn’t dampen our party attitude well into the night, as we were all completely soaked anyway from the rain. A treasured night was had by all shipmates and scoundrels on deck.
Happy New Year and good luck for 2007!
J.
Tags: Australia, Random Stuff, Travel
J
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