On our way back from the reef we called into drop off the Hamilton Island and Daydream Island dwellers and found a few more yachts had arrived.

                                    As you can see it had been a big day arriving back at sunset.

 This is just a few of the collection of photos taken on the day we visited the reef. It was one of the highlights of the trip and a place we will revisit. The first 2 shots are when we first arrived and you can see where the pontoon is where our vessel will tie up to. The pontoon is manned 24/7 all year round and you can spend 2 days on it for a few extra dollars, it has a viewing section in the stern of the hull for people who don't want to go snorkling to see the reef shelf close up. The experience of getting into the water, close up to the fish and seeing the reef so close was worth the journey.
                                             

                                                          The Pontoon

                                         Big Groper and Giant Travelly are plentiful in the area.   

                                                               Parrot fish 

                                                  The reef being exposed at low tide

                                                  Meta and I getting ready to go snorkling

                                                  Finally in the water, Meta on shark watch

                                                  A shot from the viewing area in the hull

                                                         You can even fly out for a cost.

 This the beginning of our trip out to outer reef , leaving early in the morning from Shute Harbour and going via Hamilton Island to pick up passangers from their and from Daydream Island before continuing our journey. You will see some yachts in the marina at Hamilton Island that have arrived to contest a race in the coming weeks, big name yachts at that.

                                       Little turtle in the bay at Shute Harbour on our departure.

                                     Look very closely and you may see the whale blowing water.

                                                Spirit of the Maid

                                           Notice the sea plane in the background.

                                                A bit of money here

                                                  Another shot of the whale.

We really enjoyed this part of the trip. After Townsville we headed south as we had planned and stayed at a little caravan park on the O'connell River 23 Klms. south of Proserpine. This will be our base for a week to give us time to look around the area and view the Great Barrier Reef and the Whitsunday Group of Islands. We found a unused resort not far from here where we could also enjoy a couple of days fishing. In this area there are a couple of resorts that have gone into liquidation because of the downturn in tourism. At the place where we were fishing they had managed to rent some of the units to workers who had jobs in the nearby area. This place has golf courses, marina, tennis courts, swimming pools and cover many acres. They are barely keeping the maintenance up, the golf courses greens have been let go and some of the boats at the marina are in a terrible state. Following are photos of our little stay in this part of the woods, hope you enjoy them.        

                                               Cooking some of the fish caught at the resort

                                         These 2 ducks are Burdekin River Ducks.                        

 From Tully we ventured south to Townsville again to show the girls. We camped at the same place we stopped at when first went through Townsville. We quickly got set up, slipped into show the girls as we were keen to head on further south the next day.    

                                       How would you like this water feature in your back yard?

                                              Townsville has grown so much.

                               Blackriver Stadium where we stayed on our way through Townsville.