My friends and I signed up for this Great Ocean Swim at Heron Island. I must preface this by saying they are swimmers, whereas I am NOT. They signed up to do the 3KM swim and I figured I'd give the smaller, 800 meter swim a try.
So we flew into Brisbane, then took a smaller plan from Brisbane to Gladstone. From there we took a two hour ferry into Heron Island. Having heard the horror stories of the ferry and the nausea it causes, I was prepared with my sea sick bands and other sea sickness remedies. My cousin Quy got me this awesome pill/wafer that just dissolves in your mouth and doesn't cause drowsiness. I've used dramamene in the past and while it works, it knows you the f out! These wafers were awesome and did the trick!
I must say, the water is AMAZING!!!! So clear and so beautiful! Since we signed up through this swim, all the nights were planned. The first night was a welcome cocktail party.
The next day we they had a swim instruction sessions where they gave you tips on swimming in the ocean and different drills you can do. I got into the water and tried to do these drills, but all I could really do was swim from one end to the other.
Then they took us on a boat to show us the course. They had an optional swimback where they dropped you about 500 meters from the water and you could swim back to the beach. So I decided to give it a go, but got dropped off a little later, just in case. The second I got into the water and tried to swim, I started to panic. I didn't know how to breathe properly and decided to just swim to the side of the beach and walk back. It was then I decided to opt out of the swim.
Later that day, me and my friends went on this Island Walk and saw some pretty cool things.
The next day was the swim so I was the official cheerleader and photographer. Was very impressed by my friends and their swimming abilities. Note to self: need to take proper swim lessons!
After the race, we had a little awards ceremony and buffet styled dinner. Awesome food and more drinks! Good times.
The next day we went snorkeling and I gotta say it was just AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL! My friends had my back and got me a little floatie, just in case :P
Our last night there, we had a "Hawaiian' themed party with what Australians consider Hawaiian food - roasted pork and everything cooked with either coconut or pineapple. It was good but it was no Shakas! Haha!
Overall a great trip - got a nice tan and was able to relax. The island had no cell phone reception so we were basically disconnected from the world for five days, which was nice but quite strange.
If you ever get the chance, I would HIGHLY recommend checking out the Great Barrier Reef. It was an indescribable experience.
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