Lady Musgrave Island

Set on the southern rim of the Great Barrier Reef, Lady Musgrave Island is a 14-hectare vegetated coral cay populated with nesting sea turtles and an impressive number of sea birds. The surrounding 1192 hectares of reef is considered to have some of the best snorkelling in the southern Great Barrier Reef. All of this makes the vomit-inducing boat ride worthwhile.

I manage to keep my breakfast down, despite the sound of retching reverberating around the boat and, thankfully, we are soon in the shelter and tranquility of the reef that is bizarrely in the middle of the ocean. I board a glass bottom boat to see more of the turquoise-blue coral lagoon as we motor across to the secluded and uninhabited Lady Musgrave Island.

After a short hike along the sugary white coral sands, I return to the main boat to quickly snaffle some lunch and don my snorkelling gear. I spend the next few hours exploring the coral gardens, bommies and abundant marine life, including my first swim with sea turtles.

The ride back is, thankfully, more sedate and I then drive a few kilometres out of the Town of 1770 to the large eucalypt-forest retreat of Southern Cross for a chilled evening.

Distance: 243.6km

Whitsunday Islands

The luxury 70-foot sailing yacht, the Sabatayn, rocks gently in the early morning sun on the edge of the harbour. Three of us hop into the tender and are transferred to the yacht. After the mandatory safety briefing, we motor out of the bay and hoist the sails. We skim across fantasy-blue waters on a tropical breeze to Hayman Island, the most northern of the Whitsunday group. The crossing becomes a little choppy, but we are compensated to stunning views of the Whitsundays and the rare spectacle of dolphins dancing around the hull of the yacht.

We moor up in Blue Pearl Bay and jump in to snorkel amongst the cyclone battered coral reef. Although the coral is still recovering, and therefore not as dazzling as other reefs, the menagerie of marine life makes the snorkelling memorable. The reef is teeming with fabulous tropical fish.

After working up an appetite, we are treated to a gourmet lunch and then sail across to the lovely Langford Island. We moor up again and are ferried ashore to the thin strip of sand that makes Langford Island. We walk along the white sand on the rim of a ludicrously picturesque coral-filled lagoon and then climb through the bush up to a small viewpoint. The vista of turquoise waters encircling paradise islands reminds me how lucky I am.

Once back aboard the yacht, we motor sail back to Abell Point Marina, and, as the sun is setting, I drive a few hours southwards beyond Mackay. In complete darkness, I head off the main highway and follow dirt tracks deeper into the bush…

Stoney Creek Farmstay is a bush retreat, where I stay in endearingly ramshackle accommodation without any mod-cons: this dead-set bush living and I love it!

Distance: 158.3km

Great Barrier Reef

The grey day starts with a wobble as the helicopter shakes into the air to give me a view of the vast coral reef and its cays and islands. Despite the drizzle and greyness, the amazing sight of this vivid undersea kingdom cannot be dulled. The view from above allows me to truly appreciate the size of this wonderful and rich ecosystem. The wobbling starts again as we come into land on a tiny pontoon - impressive piloting to say the least.

We bounce across from the small pontoon to the main vessel in a flat-bottomed boat to begin getting up-close and personal with this aquatic marvel. After the safety briefing, I submerse myself in the menagerie of marine life and dazzling corals. Moore Reef has an abundance of colourful coral and fascinating fish. At first, my senses are overwhelmed, but soon I can fully appreciate much of the rich and colourful coral that lies just underneath the surface.

Back on the main vessel, we blast north-east to the outer reefs. The gorgeous shallow coral gardens and bommies of Milln Reef have countless species of fish hiding in the Staghorn coral and offers a different experience to that at Moore Reef.

I try to keep my lunch down as the boat bangs and slaps its way back to Cairns. Towards the end of the journey - in the shelter of the bay, the cultural guides acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Land and Sea on which their business operates. They share the traditional stories and pay their respects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging. It is my first experience of the history, culture, conflict and reconciliation in Australia. I have a lot to learn...

Back on land, I take my knowledge of the reef to new depths with an evening lecture at Reef Teach. Marine experts explain how to identify species of fish and coral, how to approach the reef respectfully, and the truth about Finding Nemo ;-)