"If you see something unusual, enjoy it for as long as you can."

That was the watchphrase for the 3-day boat trip I took around the Whitsunday Islands. We were scheduled to spend at least 2 days over the Great Barrier Reef, but the winds were too strong. The waves out there were over 3 meters (10 feet) and besides getting seasick and not being able to prepare meals very easily, getting back onto the boat would have been next to impossible. So we cruised the islands. This company was not set up to do photography of any kind, so I'll remember to ask that very important question when next I schedule a dive.

A boat similar to what we went out on. 21 people and a crew of 4.

The diving was mediocre because the visibility was limited to about 5 meters = 15 feet. The coral was very prolific and varied, with intermittent patches of sand that contained gobies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goby) nesting. I snorkeled more than I dove (dived?), and swam above loggerhead turtles and rays. We also saw a small school of Maori wrasse and a huge Napolean wrasse (at least 3 feet long).

The first night out, bait fish were attracted to the lights at the rear of the boat. A 2 1/2 foot squid was hunting these fish, which often jumped out of the water to avoid the squid's lunge.

I was planning to dive off Kaikura on the east coast of New Zealand and just above Christchurch, but the water is rather cold there right now. Since that would mean wearing a thick wetsuit, I would have to carry so much weight on my belt that I'd use air faster having to push all that weight through the water. I'm going to wait - until Hawaii, if I have to - for warmer waters. 30 minutes on a dive is not enough! That means I might just stick to a whale-watching cruise.

It's warm here - 85 degrees or more - but humid. I couldn't live here, as I'm too spoiled by Colorado. But it would be fun to have a boat and cruise the islands once in a while. I enjoyed that, especially when we were under sail versus using the engine. Watching the captain and crew set up the boat on our trip was fascinating to me. The boat was a catamaran, which meant two hulls. That makes for stability when sailing with the compromise that in higher seas the boat rolls as well as pitches (up and down). That makes for seasickness, and I had a touch the first day out. After we landed, we met as a group at a bar later that night because the company arranges for a free jug of beer per 4 people, and we all commented about how we felt we were still on the sea. The ground was still rising and falling, and even lying in bed it felt as if I was moving through space.

The 18th, I fly to Sydney and stay overnight. Early on the 19th I fly to Christchurch, where I catch up a bit in time such that I'll be on the same day as the USA versus 18 hours ahead. Arranging my schedule in New Zealand is still taking a lot of time, so with the encouragement of several of the people in my sailing group, I'm going to wing it just a bit more than I'm usually comfortable doing. I'll probably have to camp more often than I expected because certain huts on the tracks may be full (tracks = trails), but I can handle that. Again, while it would be somewhat easier to get around having a car to drive, taking the "hop on - hop off" bus tour is simpler and way cheaper.

Not to worry.

Oh - and what does a beach resort do to prevent coconuts from killing residents and visitors?