Day 1: Depart Geraldton
This afternoon you will depart Geraldton on a connecting transfer flight or on the Eco Abrolhos ship. Departure times vary according to date, please confirm your exact itinerary with your travel consultant.
Day 2: Southern Group Islands
This morning you will depart the Fishermans Wharf in Geraldton at 6.00am and enjoy continental breakfast, tea, coffee and morning tea on the 5 hour cruise to the Southern Group Islands.
Once you arrive at the Coral Patches at the North Eastern corner of the Southern Group we will drop the anchor. This area is a sanctuary and is home to an abundance of fish and corals. Snorkelling brief, snorkelling, and glass bottom tours. While lunch is being served, we will steam to Post Office Island & Basile Island. Now is a good time to set our cray pots ready for a pick up on the way out in the morning. On arrival we will head ashore to visit Latitude or Pelsaert Pearl farms. These 2 Islands are shared by the crayfishermen and pearl farm operators and are a good insight into both industries.
During our voyages between the islands we will have a lure out off the stern of the ship in case we can pick up a yellow fin tuna or a spanish mackerel for dinner. If we still have time, we can take a look on the island which is the site of the guano miners jetty built back in the early 1900’s, also a haven for nesting migratory sea birds in the thousands with up to 100 varieties scattered throughout these islands. Dolphins are usually at play in the turquoise waters inside the reef so a quick trip in the glass bottom is the best way to see them. At night you will enjoy dinner in the dining room with a selection of seafood (or other choices if you do not eat seafood). On the back deck we fish for bait and squid while watching the schools of fish dance in the spot light. School sharks and dolphins also come in chasing the bait fish and squid for their dinner.
Day 3: Southern Group Islands - Easter Group Islands
Today we will weigh anchor and head north west to the Easter Group.
On our way out from Southern Group we pull our 4 cray pots. Once we arrive at Easter group, we drop the anchor at Wooded Island. This Island is heavily populated with sea birds with a couple of resident osprey nesting close to shore. The Squid Hole is also at one end of Wooded Island, here we snorkel in this well protected hole between two islands and if we are lucky we can catch some squid for dinner. Wooded Island is a good walk to view the bird havens, mangroves and inland lakes. Whilst having lunch we make a casual cruise past Roma, Little Rat & Big Rat Islands which are only habited from March until August each year by the crayfishermen during the season. Off the north west corner of Big Rat Island lays our mooring, nestled in a sand hole surrounded by coral reefs. Here we can take the tenders and do a range of activities dependant on weather currents and tides.
Activities include:
- Glass bottom boating
- Snorkelling
- View the sea lion colony on Little Sandy Island
- Visit Big Rat Island crayfishing community with a walk or by tender
- Fishing in the lagoons inside the reef to catch dinner
- Set the cray pots ready to pull the next day
- Relax on board and read a book or watch DVDs about Abrolhos History and the Batavia Mutiny
- Afternoon snacks & drinks on the top deck at Sunset.
Day 4: Easter Group Islands
After breakfast, we pull the cray pots. This morning we carry on with activities missed previously and swap activities for different groups. After lunch, we take a slow cruise through the Easter group of Islands on our way to Leos Island where we visit the sea lion colony and hand feed a cod in a land locked lagoon. Amazing beaches and colours with one lone crayfishermen the only human inhabitant on this island. There is good surf either side of the island when its the right conditions. Before or after Leos Island tour (depending on the tide) we will pull up on the Anemone lump to hand feed the spangled emperors and parrot fish. Trolling for mackerel, tuna, coral trout & squid can be done outside the Sanctuary while others visit Leos Island, later than afternoon we enjoy sundowners, snacks and dinner. In the evening, we will watch the Batavia movie and discuss the saga, learning everything we can in prepartion for the Quiz night tomorrow night!
Day 5: Batavia
After breakfast at 7am. We drop the moorings and head for an interesting excursion to Wallaby Group and the Batavia’s Graveyard. We need to coordinate the next couple of days with the tide, swell and wind to reach all the places of interest.
Some of the activities include:
- Visit the island of angry ghosts (Beacon Island) where 126 men, women and children were massacred by the blood thirsty mutineers over 400 years ago.
- Snorkel on the wreck site of the Batavia. The swell must be low and the wind calm for this to be possible.
- Visit the forts built by Wiebbe Hayes and his band of solders on West Wallaby Island. The forts are said to be the first European buildings in Australian history. Wiebbe Hayes held off Cornelius’s Mutineers until help arrived but that’s another story altogether?
- Wallabies, snakes, lizards and thousands of birds inhabit this island (we need a full high tide to get to the beach for this tour).
You can snorkel the Long Island Dive Trail, erected by the Fisheries Department. Which is a series of plaques on the sea bed that you read and follow, also picturing and naming the different species of fish and corals in the area. Large brain corals are the highlight and can be easily snorkelled. Fishing is also an option (strictly only enough to eat) if the right conditions prevail, limited to a few in the tender, while other tours are in progress. At night we will anchor at Turtle Bay off East Wallaby Island. There are usually herring, taylor & squid around at night. Tonight we will have a lovely BBQ on the top deck at sunset to end the day.
Day 6: Turtle Bay - Geraldton
Our last day of the trip and you will enjoy Turtle Bay on East Wallaby Island which is spectacular with long sandy beaches and crystal clear water. It's a great place to snorkel and on the eastern point shuck oysters off the rocks and take a walk to the top of the cliffs, possibly catching a glimpse of the local wallabies and osprey.
Some optional activities on offer this morning include Island expeditions, Snorkelling & Fishing. And any activities we didn’t get to on day 4. After lunch, we will depart for Geraldton. Trip will take 6 hours from the Wallaby Group before we farewell our friends and return home.
