Phwew!  5,200 kilometres later, we returned to Sydney, having stayed in
places with names like, "The Town Of 1770" - which weren't a town at all and
necessitated pulling out the sleeping bags and the emergency rations, (Pate
fois gras and an amusing little red wine! <BWG>); 'Upper Bo Bo' - where
little piglets, goats and cows fought with koalas and wallabies for the
right to lead the escape out of town!; and other wonderful places with
beaches that stretched into infinity and not a soul upon them apart from us!
:-)

The diving in the Whitsundays - so called because Capt. James Cook, in his
survey of Australia, in 1770, 'discovered' them on Whit Sunday, in August,
1770 - was fairly ordinary.  But the people were great!   :-)

We stayed with an old mate, Bruce, a former Clearance Diving Officer, and
his wife, who insisted that we join them each morning for a walk up and down
the hills and through the national parks that surround this area of the
coast.  After which we'd go for a dive.  At the end of the week both Sylvia
and I were buggered - in the nicest posssible way! - and believed that we'd
seen every one of the seventy plus Whitsunday Islands, and viewed more
parrotfish than most people can poke a stick at! :-)

The vis was pretty ordinary, but the coral was outstanding.  Better, in
fact, than I've seen elsewhere on the GBR, and in greater varity.  The boats
were good, but - in an area of relatively small visitor numbers - catered to
every aspect of marine tourism.  On one boat, Bruce, Felice, Sylvia and
myself were the only divers, whereas the othe twenty were either into
snorkelling, or 'try-a-dive'.  (The on-board instructor actually asked Bruce
and myself to help him out and take some of the folks off of his hands!!!
As paying guests, we declined with grateful thanks!)

For people learning to dive - or those new to diving - the inner parts of
the Whitsundays and the island environs, offer great opportunities to see
the Great Barrier Reef up close.  But it ain't the very best place to go for
GBR and Queensland diving.

However!  Once back on shore the life is fantastic! (Well!  It was where we
were!)  :-)

More detailed report later - once we've recovered!  :-)

Strike