Sailing around the Whitsunday Islands

I left off with my plane ride to Airlie Beach. The airport, if you can call it that, was one of those dirt strip runways with an outdoor gate that made me laugh when I stepped off the plane. The inside consisted of only 3 booths, all offering transport to the nearest form of civilization that was 30 km away. I hopped on a bus/taxi on my way to Airlie Beach, not exactly sure where I was going since I had booked nothing and was truly running this one like a real backpacker. The taxi ride to town was only $15 which was a huge relief given the distance. I got off in the heart of the town, err rather single strip of shops and accommodation, and wandered around until I met up with some friends an hour later. It took three hostels before I finally found one that had any free rooms. I was starting to freak out at this point too because I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do if there was no vacany anywhere. I checked into my room which was consisted of 5 sets of bunk beds and a bathroom. And I must say, hostels are my new favorite thing. Granted sleeping in the same room with 9 other people isn't always the most convenient, especially when you have a loud snorer, but I met some pretty cool people from all over the world. My roommates were from England, Canada, Holland, Italy, Chile, and the US. Some were just on holidays, others were taking a 6 month backpack trip. After a refreshing shower I met up with my friends for dinner and a chance to witness the nightlife. Unfortunately I had a terrible headache and ended up heading to bed early.

The next day I had decided to lounge around while my friends went on a snorkeling trip. I quickly realized, though, that Airlie Beach is exactly what it advertises itself as: Gateway to the Whitsundays. "Airlie Beach" is hardly an appropriate name given that there is no beach there - minus the crappy, rocky beach that had a maximum capacity of twelve people. Instead they have this lagoon which was actually pretty cool. It was very similar to the one I described in Brisbane with sandy areas around it to lounge. And it looked out onto a harbour filled with sailboats anchored in the crystal blue water. I decided pretty early, though, that it would be an expensive and disappointing vacation to just hang around the lagoon so I did my research and booked a two day sailing trip. After my friends got back from their snorkeling trip we all met up for a barbeque at the lagoon. And by barbeque I mean a real, American barbeque complete with hamburgers - not sausage! I was feeling much better this night which was good since we were partially celebrating my birthday before my friends left.

I woke up bright and early at 7am not feeling so hot from the previous night. I made my way to the bus stop not thinking to grab breakfast and about an hour later we had finally been transported to the harbour. We spent roughly 2.5 hours sailing on the calm, turquoise waters to the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. We rode a dingy onto shore since boats cannot get too close to the reef and snorkeled for about 20 minutes while I awaited my big scuba dive. I'm not sure what freaked me out so much about the idea of scuba diving whether it was the potential encounter with certain animals, being so far underwater and possibly drowing or what. But I was NERVOUS. The dive was just the instructor, myself, and a mother and her daughter who had just done their first dive a few days before. The daughter said she had been really nervous as well for her first dive but ended up loving it so they were sympathetic and did their best to reassure me. We put on the gear and I about fell over the tank and weights tied around my waist weighed so much. We practiced our breathing in shallow water and went over the signals and other information before he took off the weights and deflated the jacket so we were completely weightless under water. He said the only other similar experience is being in space. We started off shallow but worked our way down to 8 metres which is about 26 ft under water. For every foot that you descend you need to equalize and make sure the pressure in your ears adjusts. I think that was what scared me the most was that I was not doing that properly. It was incredible to swim directly over the reef, though. It's not like they always portray it with these vibrant and florescent colors. For the most part it is very bland in color, although some sections of coral are actually those bright colors. Still, to be able to examine the intricate details of the formations was incredible. I also swam through tons of schools of tropical fish, although admittedly not all were cute. I was glad when we resurfaced as my head was starting to hurt from my mask, but I am extremely grateful I made the decision to go diving if for no other reason than to say I went scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef. We boarded the ship for a buffet lunch (and I was pretty hungry by this point) and for the sail back to shore. It was while I got to sit on the edge of the boat with my feet dangling off and the waves splashing me that I realized I was grateful the catamaran boat I had wanted to book had been full and instead I had to book this sailboat. Two new friends had arrived at this time so after a shower I met up with them so we could cook a delicious pasta dinner at the hostel. We were all exhausted, though, and decided to call it an early night.

I was supposed to wake up at the same time the next morning for my second day of sailing but must have improperly set my alarm. Thankfully one of my roommate's alarms went off at 8 since I had to be at the bus stop at 8:10. I rushed to get there and unfortunately ended up having plenty of time where I could have grabbed breakfast and actually brushed my teeth. My two friends went on the trip with me and we were not excited to see an overcast sky. By the time we got to the harbour and boarded the boat, it had started to pour. I was not a happy camper at this point as I sat drenched and cold despite the rain jacket the ship provided. We took off and the rain thankfully stopped which improved my mood. I met some more incredible people this day from Austria and Germany. Since it was so windy, we were actually able to turn the motor off for most of the trip and just sail around the islands. My friend Etienne and I even got to raise the main sail! Our destination for the day was Whitehaven Beach, the third most beautiful beach in the world. Unfortunately my pictures do not do it justice because of the overcast skies. Imagine a postcard of a tropical beach, though, and that's exactly what this was (they actually base a lot of postcards off of it). The beach was pure silicon so it never gets hot and squishes beneath your feet like a cotton ball. We had an amazing picnic lunch of chicken wraps and fresh fruit beneath the trees before lounging on the beach and going for a swim. I even got a chance to play my first game of cricket here! We loaded back on the boat for the sail back home and this was when I fell in love. The water was so choppy that waves were actually crashing over the front and sides of the boat. It was amazing to just sail and listen to the waves crash and admire the beauty of the islands in the distance as the sun peeked out from the clouds. 2.5 exhilirating hours later we docked and headed back to our hostel for a short nap. We went to a mexican restaurant to celebrate my birthday and then had a few drinks while I got to watch the Cubs game! Unfortunately they blew it and that started to sour my mood. Even more unfortunate was how exhausted we all were which meant another early bedtime.

I can say without a doubt this trip was the most memorable experience I have had in Australia. This was exactly what I had envisioned my study abroad experience would be like and I am so grateful for the experience. It made it hard to come back to Wollongong, but I am eagerly awaiting my next trip in just 12 more short days!