My Whitsundays trip ... by Evangeline, aged 8

"Are we there yet?"

It was a long plane trip and I kept on saying "are we there yet?"

Finally, we arrived at Hamilton Island. After walking off the plane on the runway and then getting our bags we had to then walk up big hills and down lots of stairs until we got to the marina where the boat was. The boat was big and called Purrfection because it is a catamaran. Mummy and daddy’s friends, Ian and Wendie own the boat. Inside the boat there was a big map on the table showing all the places you could sail to.

We went to lots of bays around the islands. We would anchor in the bays, sleep there and the next day we would snorkel and see lots of fish, sea slugs, turtles and lots of pretty coral. When we were swimming back to the boat I kept on saying “are we there yet?” because we snorkelled far away from the boat. Then Wendie swam to the boat and got the dinghy and quickly came to pick us up. Then we went to see the big clam, it was enormous. It was so big it was scary. It was bigger than me! But, it was also pretty with purple. We went over the top of it with the dinghy and it would shut  its shell very fast. Then we went back to the boat and had lunch.

On the next day we went to Windy Bay and snorkelled, again!  I loved doing it. Today we saw a shark. Yes, a real shark. It was resting underneath a rock ledge. It was fast asleep and Wendie told us it was a white tip reef shark that wont hurt you. We saw lots of clown fish, they had a sea anemone.

We went on a beach called Whitehaven Beach and I loved playing with my brother and sister, then we went to check out a camping site. It was sheltered by all the trees and we saw lots of campers coming in on a boat. I also spotted a goanna, he had dots and lines and all awesome patterns. On the beach we made a big sand castle when dad and mum were on a walk on Whitehaven Beach.

My brother loves fishing. We went out on the dinghy and fished and my brother got a big nibble. He almost pulled it in but it got away! I think the fish was saying, “I hope I am not there yet?” I love swimming with the turtles because we could swim next to them and see them swimming with their legs, we could even see the moss on their backs. One night my brother and Ian caught heaps of fish for dinner, they had yellow tails and were really yummy to eat.

We were on a big walk and I kept on saying “are we there yet?” There was lots of trees and stairs, finally we got there. We could see all the different islands then we walked back, it didn’t take as long. Downhill was easier but daddy said it was hard for him. One day there was garfish all around the boat, they have a long pointy nose. While we were moving we caught a fish, it was a Queensland school mackerel, it had dots on its side. We stayed at bay 25 for the last night then we got up early to clean the boat. Then we went to the boat mariner and then we got on the plane and I kept on saying...

“Are we there yet?” all the way to Melbourne.