Simply Abu Dhabi XXXVI

1 9 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I I secure my snorkel mask, hold my breath, and quietly slip off the side of the tender. I’m the first in the water, and I see it immediately. A pair of thick, rubbery lips loom half a metre from my face. Two distinctive black lines behind its eyes, and a distinguishing hump on its forehead identify my companion as a Napoleon wrasse (also known as a Māori wrasse or humphead wrasse). A second joins us from my left, its deep shades of green turning purplish-blue as it swims beneath me, brushing my leg. Mainly found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region, Napoleon wrasse can grow up to two metres in length. On this day we’re swimming with juveniles in the shallow, sandy waters of Manta Ray Bay, so-called for the abundance of manta ray often found feeding here. It’s a two-minute tender ride from where our yacht, 28m Norseman is moored on Luncheon Bay off of Hook Island in the Whitsundays. Swarms of large batfish circle the tender, alongside grass sweetlip and red emperor. Listed as one of the Great Barrier Reef’s protected green zones the fish are able to age to healthy sizes – and are incredibly friendly. Luncheon Bay is situated on the northern side of Hook Island and offers pristine fringing reefs. One of Captain Ben Robinson’s top five Whitsunday anchorages, it is also a prized scuba dive site. Lionfish live among the staghorn coral here, while a unique swim- through coral formation, known as the ‘tunnel of love’, is located just in the bay. Further round the island, The Pinnacles is arguably one of the best dive sites in the Whitsundays, with hard corals comparing favourably to those seen on the outer Great Barrier Reef. Happily, the Whitsundays remains virtually untouched from the Great Barrier Reef’s more recent climate-change induced coral bleaching episodes. For snorkellers, the northern bays of Hook, Hayman, Black and Langford islands provide a profusion of soft corals, but the Whitsundays in general are ideal for coral growth housing over 400 species in the warm, clear and relatively shallow water. Temperatures average around 20–30 degrees Celsius, and fast currents stream south with the incoming tide, transporting food and nutrients. Back on board Norseman, we cruise west passed privately owned Hayman Island, home to the newly opened Intercontinental hotel, and head to our next anchorage, Langford Island. Secluded and uninhabited, it is famed for its long sand spit that all but disappears at high tide. Stretching for several hundred metres at low-tide, it is ideal for intimate picnics on the soft sands, reached only by yacht, helicopter or sea-plane. A fringing reef surrounds Langford Island, providing yet more incredible snorkelling opportunities to see small, colourful fish and turtles that live among the bommies (clusters of coral).