Published on May, 2020
We spent a week with Lynne and John on Sydney Sundancer in August 2019, my wife and I and our two boys, 11 and 8. Communication with Lynne via email beforehand was excellent and told us all we needed to know to prepare for the trip. A ferry from Airlie Beach got us dockside in Hamilton Island Marina to meet John and Lynne.
We spent 6 nights on Sydney Sundancer: a beautiful boat, comfortable and more spacious than we had imagined. The itinerary included visits to popular and secluded spots; snorkelling off beaches and in bays and a trip to the outer part of the Great Barrier Reef to see some fantastic displays of coral and wildlife. We snorkelled with all sorts of sea life including turtles and an incredible selection of fish of all sizes. The kids were thrilled to spot a Dugong – only the second one John and Lynne had seen in 30+ years; we swam through a ‘bait ball’; swam with a massive Maori Wrasse and saw humpback whales breaching. We used the two kayaks on board and John dropped us off from the tender on several beaches, including Whitehaven, to explore. One of the highlights was a 3-hour reef walk with Lynne on Langford Reef. That is a truly memorable experience which is only possible with a handful of guides. Lynne is so knowledgeable about shells – a huge plus for our boys who learnt loads, were totally engaged with all she had to teach them and loved the opportunity to see such a variety of shells on the reef.
John and Lynne are lovely company and go the extra mile to make the trip special. The itinerary was well thought through: varied, packed but not over-busy. We still had time to enjoy being on board, the scenery, sundowners in a quiet bay. John and Lynne kept a constant eye on the weather and shifted the itinerary accordingly – our journey to the outer reef was timed to be in a favourable weather window meaning we had a lovely trip there and some fantastic snorkelling on the best reefs we saw all trip.
We loved the food on board. Lynne does an amazing job preparing lovely meals. Both lunch and dinner would be impressive if served in a restaurant, let alone a yacht. The one learning we had was that it is hard to persuade our somewhat-fussy 8-year-old to try delicious food even in the Whitsundays and he occasionally needed something a bit simpler!
All in all, it was the trip of a lifetime. If you are looking for a truly unique way to experience the Whitsundays which allows you to see all they have to offer, you would be hard pushed to do better.
