Waking up after nearly four hours of sleep normally doesn’t get me all enthusiastic and active at once. This day, May 7th, was an exception though. The extended itinerary set up by Tourism Queensland for me and George, the Irish finalist, was something that made me jump out of bed before the alarm went off.
First destination: Rockhampton, an inland city, known for its (they say) excellent beef. We were privileged to be driven from the boat at Airlie Beach to the Travel Lodge in Rockhampton by Trevor Cox; Tourism Queensland’s Director for the regions Central Queensland and Southern Great Barrier Reef.
He was so kind to accept George’s and mine highly-frequented napping moments during the six hours ride. In moments of our full attendance he told us about the region and how good Bundy’s rum is, coming from the sugar cane – fields we drove through.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel, we decided to stay in, watch a movie and just chill out. Luckily Trevor and the cowboys who came to celebrate Beef Week understood that and had their piece of meat without George and a veggie…

Chop Chop, alarm clock at 8 AM to be on the chopper flight to Voyages Heron Island.
Another exceptional experience awaited George and me when we flew over the Southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. Kristy Taylor from Tourism Queensland came with us to manage our trip an co-enjoy the islands. During the flight we got to see some islands that are for sale. Wake up and act now: there are islands just off the coast for only 2 million euros, a bargain!

 
Heron Island and it’s staff treated us like prince and princesses. Cassie, the Wilson Island liaison and Bernie, Executive Assistant Manager on Heron, gave us the full VIP service, which George and I modestly accepted of course…

Heron is a mecca for snorkelling and diving enthusiasts as you are literally already on the reef! As it is a coral cay island you simply walk between the corals into the sea and 30 seconds later you’re surrounded by reef sharks, turtles and colorful fish.

Once George and I had chased enough seagulls (they eat baby turtles!) for that day, we decided to set the alarm again – which is a high exception when staying on the islands – to go diving. Finally for real! After taking the plunge in the diving tank in Amsterdam I couldn’t wait to make it look actually cool. Being stared at by fish instead of cameras. Finding Nemo myself…. Which I did! Although we had some rough water and a strong currency, we were perfectly able to be amazed by the natural living beauty 9 meters underneath the surface. The dive instructor was very patient with us using the underwater cameras Tourism Queensland gave us. Nemo and his friends must have felt like George, me and the other 14 did over the last few days. Flashing cameras, zoomed in portraits and our requests to “please move your fins like that again”.
 
Did I mention the To Do – lists George and I made up the first night we met in Brisbane when we found out we were teamed up together? He already completed 2 out of 5 To Do’s: he fixed some lovely banana pancakes for breakfast and got his hands on a guitar to rock it and sing along with some of Heron’s great staff. Three tasks left and I still have mine to complete. Will keep you updated on these “Tiniest Jobs in the World”.

Cassie showed us around the island and now George and I got a clear view on why and how Heron Island is a certified ECO tourism destination. She took us up to the research and university area, where all kind of marine and sea life research is done by researchers from all over the world. Her knowledge of the different species knocked me out and amused me lots as the creatures on the bottem of the ocean have some crazy habits! Speaking about habits: by seeing all these stunning spa’s, I have a new one on my personal To Do list: checking out the spa’s! I decided Heron Island’s spa launched itself in my top 3 when I got pampered with organic cremes and felt reborn after the treatment.

Ending our stay on Heron Island with a spectacular full moon – lightened beach walk, we hoped to see some baby sea turtles finding their way to the sea while staying on the next island called Voyages Wilson Island. Stay tuned to find out if we did, I’ll let you know in the next post about, in my opinion, ”The Best Island in the World”.
Posted from Brisbane with Vodafone Mobile Internet on my notebook

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