Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands

I had another early start and another long bus journey to my next destination. This bus was only for 6 hours, and as usual I was asleep straight away.

I arrived in Airlie Beach around 6pm, and walked the short distance to the Waterfront Hostel where I was staying.

Airlie beach is the gateway to the Whitsundays, and also a backpackers heaven. The streets are lined with bar after bar selling cheap cocktails and discount dinners. There's a real party atmosphere, meaning a lot of travellers come here with the intention of seeing the islands and moving on, and then never leave!

I think in total there are 74 Whitsunday islands. They are known to be pure paradise, and so you get all sorts of tourists visiting. There are the backpackers who, like me, book onto 2 day/2 night party boats with 32 other likeminded people. Then there are the middle-aged tourists with money to burn, who do the same trip but slightly differently. There will only be 10 on their boat, or even better, they'll hire their own, and they'll do the trip exactly how they want to, a nice relaxing, peaceful sail between the islands. And then there are the people who have multi-million dollar yachts sitting in the marina. Regardless, everyone is here for the same reason, to enjoy these magnificent islands.

Back in my hostel, I met one of my roommates straight away, Clarisse from France. Clarisse and I click instantly, and so she invites me out that evening with 4 girls she'd met previously from Denmark. The 6 of us all ended up sitting on the hostel balcony for so long, chatting, listening to music, playing drinking games and so on, that by the time we went to go out there was only one club open, Mama Africas. We had a great time; 6 girls dancing the night away.... It felt like ages since I'd done that!

The following day I had what I'd call a 'koala day'. I literally did nothing but eat and sleep the whole day. In fact I don't think I was awake for more than about 3 hours at a time. Shame on me, yes.... but I never do it, so I let myself off this one time.

The next day I packed a small bag and headed to the marina to get on my boat, the New Horizon. While I was waiting I met the other people I'd be spending the next 2 days and 2 nights with. There were only 2 other English people, which is OK. I didn't come all this way to be with English people. Everyone else was German, French, Swiss, Spanish and Swedish, with 32 of us altogether. I have nothing against other nationalities, in fact I have a lot of European friends, however, when there's a group of them they tend to stick together. If you don't speak the language you're not often included, and so you become an outsider; not great for me travelling on my own. But there are 2 things with organised tours and trips that you can't control; the people and the weather. You just have to make the most of it.

So I made small talk etc, but mainly just sit there, happily watching the surroundings as the boat sails through the islands.

We stopped for the night and are warned, again, not to go into the sea. Despite the usual jellyfish warnings in Queensland, this time we're told that we've stopped in a channel that tiger sharks use as a breeding ground. So basically, if you go in the water, you're shark bait!

When I went to bed that night in the cabin I shared with 7 other people, the rocking motion of the boat sent me to sleep.

We were woken up for breakfast at about 6.30am, which was no problem for me as I'd slept like a baby. Up at the table though, some people weren't feeling so fresh!
Our first and main stop was Whitehaven beach. We were dropped there and told we had 3 hours. First, you walk through woodlands to the viewpoint. From there you're looking out to sea at other islands, and the ever changing sand formations down below. One of the boat crew told me you'll never see the sand dunes look the same. The sand is supposedly the finest in the world; so fine that if it was struck by lightening it would melt and turn to glass instantly. Nasa used the sand from this beach to create the lens in the Hubble telescope. The Olympic games wanted to hold the volleyball competition there but as it's a national park they were told they couldn't. Apparently the beach is second only to one other in the world, somewhere in the Caribbean. You can imagine what your expectations would be like if you heard all this!

Walking down through the woods from the viewpoint there's an opening in the trees, and there it is. Crystal clear sea, and the whitest sand. It was everything that I expected. I stood waist deep in the sea and could still see the white sand between my toes.

Like with everywhere else in Queensland, we still had to wear stinger suits in the water, which is a pain when you're trying to work on your tan! I stayed in the sea most of the time, and could see stingrays swimming around my ankles which was a bit scary!

In the time we were there, the tide was coming in and changing the shape of the beach. So much so that I sacrificed beach time and trekked all the way back up to the viewpoint to take more photos of the beach looking different this time.

Back on the boat after lunch we were taken to a spot that's good for snorkelling, and it's safe - well away from the tiger sharks! The coral here was so much nicer than at Green Island. The fish however were pretty much exactly the same. There wasn't anything I saw this time that I hadn't seen before. But still, I love the water and snorkelling fascinates me everytime, so I was still in it for hours.

That evening we sailed a bit further. Tonight I'd decided to have a few drinks, considering I was on a party boat afterall. And it was about time I actually got to know the people I was on a boat/ sharing a cabin with, even though maybe it was a little late.

We were taken to a secluded beach, where they dropped us off for an hour or so to watch the sunset, have some drinks and just relax.

When the boat stopped for the night I noticed just how many stars there are in the sky. Out in the middle of the ocean where there are no aritificial lights, the stars just brighten up the sky. It's amazing, and a shame that it doesn't come out in photos.

The next day, after another stint of snorkelling (which by the way is a great hangover cure) in a different spot this time, it was time to head back to the mainland. On the way, we had dolphins swimming alongside the boat, and I saw my first ever sea turtle, poking it's head above water.

The trip itself was great. Had I gone with a group of friends, or met more people on the boat, it would've been even better. But this is what travelling is all about! At the end of it, I've seen the 2nd most beautiful beach in the world, and it really was amazing.

The only real downside towards the end was that I could feel myself coming down with something, and I was about to go on a 19 hour overnight bus journey!

I got back to Airlie at lunchtime and met up with Clarisse. She'd checked back into the same hostel, so I used her shower, went on the net for a bit and generally pottered about until 6pm when it was time for me to catch a bus, with a cold, all the way to Brisbane.