Sailing in the Whitsunday Islands

By Mooloolaba Beach

Nikki's Birthday Dinner Gang

Tuesday night Me, Jess, Tahlia and Elli took Nikki out for dinner for her 21^st Birthday! We had every intention of taking her to this Irish Pub in Mooloolaba near the beach so she could have a birthday beer. Unfortunately,  Jess had class til 8pm so we didn’t get to leave until 8:20. Businesses in Australia are usually open around 9 and are open til ‘late’. Well, we quickly figured out that ‘late’ in Australia is about 6 for some stores and 8 for serving food. Who even eats dinner by then? I’m so used to being able to go to restaurants in the US and order until 11:30! So, naturally we didn’t get to eat at the pub. We walked around asking other restaurants, but they were all closed as well. We ended up eating at this pizza place where the ‘chef’ lays on a couch and watched Bones on DVD when he doesn’t need to help people. The food was good atleast, but not quite the Birthday we’d hoped for Nikki. We had a cake for her to eat there though so that was good. Then we went back to her place and her Roomie Elli had made her a cake from scratch! So we of course enjoyed that as well. It was a pretty successful birthday and she loved it because she doesn’t usually do much of anything on her birthday.

Nikki and Elli with the home made cake Elli made her

Thursday we were going out to celebrate Nikki’s birthday. I was feeling quite sick from a head cold and wasn’t in the party mood. But, It was my friend’s 21^st, So I put on a happy face! At the end of the night, which ended up being very very long and exhausting for me, She had had a great birthday night!

The bday sign Me, Talz and Jess made with our 'kindi' artwork

Friday, I nursed my sickness by getting plenty of Kleenex and pills for the weekend and by taking a short nap.  At 2pm Jess, Nikki and I caught our airport transfer to Brisbane for our weekend in the Whitsunday Islands. Once at Brisbane Domestic, we went up to the check in counter, gave them our itinerary and got our tickets…. No ID necessary! Please tell me how safe that is?! No passport, drivers license or anything. Sketchy! When going through security, we got to leave our shoes on and It wasn’t quite as intense at MSP! Then we hung out, ate some hungry jacks (the Aussie version of Burger King, same logo and everything!). It was pretty tasty. Then we boarded for our 4:50pm flight to Proserpine, Queensland. 

The flight was only about an hour and fifteen minutes, but it would have taken 19 hours to drive there. Once arriving, it was raining of course, and we got a transfer to Nomads hostel in Airlie Beach. We were so exhausted by the time we got there. It was all of our first times staying at a hostel so we didn’t know what to expect. It was pretty cool, our room had 3 bunk beds, we all chose the bottom, and prayed we didn’t have any roomies! After putting our bags down, we set out for some dinner. We ate at this small café thing but everything was connected- the bar, pool tables, entertainment of live music, and tables for eating/drinking- all under these huge canopies between the buildings. It was a cool setting and a lively town at night. Too bad we wanted to simply eat and sleep, we were exhausted. After dinner we headed to bed around 10:30! Lame, I know.  Unfortunately at about 1am we got company. A couple came in, pretty sure just as surprised to see people as we were. In the morning we found out they thought they were getting a single room for a super cheap ‘hostel’ price. They didn’t know they had roomies. To top it off, they were probably in their forties… weird.

The marina where we caught our sailboat

Our sailboat! 'Camira' is an Aboriginal term for 'of the wind'

Saturday morning we woke up and headed to the bus stop around 7am! We were off to the marina to sail the Whitsunday Islands for the day! Go figure, it was sprinkling and very overcast already. Sick as a dog, I was trying to stay positive, knowing this was going to be an experience of a lifetime and I didn’t want to waste it being in a bad mood! We got out boarding passes and climbed aboard the Camira sailboat. It was purple! Us three, along with three others our age, were the only young people, otherwise they were all adults and couples. We got morning tea, which is coffee, tea and dessert, and then set sail! To start, the boat was motor and hydraulic powered to get out of the marina and into the wind. After a bit, we picked up two additional people at Daydream Island and then the motors were off and we were sailing for real! It rained on and off, me being me and hoping for sunny weather didn’t bring a jumper (sweatshirt) or anything, got wet and froze. I used my towel for some warmth but it didn’t do too much, being in a bikini and dress.

Whitehaven Beach from a distance

My "sickly" self and Whitehaven

Our first exciting adventure was snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef!! We all had to wear stinger (wet) suits because its jellyfish season and 3 people in the last 2 weeks have gotten stung when not wearing suits. Then we got our sexy masks and flippers and learned some basic motions in case we need help. Then be boarded the small transfer boat and we were taken to the reef near one of the islands. The turquoise blue water was so warm! Thank goodness! Snorkeling was AMAZING! There were so many different kinds of coral and anemonies, and huge and small, colorful fish. I hope I get to go again! After a half hour or so, we climbed back aboard the Camira and tried to warm up.

Just chillin on the trampoline

The gorgeous Whitehaven beach on the Whitsunday Island

Our drinks from "the bar" on board. Not the best tasting in the world...

 After sailing for a few hours more, we came across Whitehaven beach! It was a strip of pure white sand 7 km long and so bright! With sand that is 98% pure white and so fine that you could make glass straight away from it, shine your diamonds and even polish your teeth! The Camira dropped us off and the crew cooked lunch while we spent an hour on the beach. The colors were picturesque! So many colors of blue, tan, white and green. The sand was so soft and it exfoliated our feet just by walking on it. I shined my necklace, to test out the theory, and was amazed! It actually worked!! After about a half hour of taking in the beauty, snapping pictures and wading in the ocean, it began to downpour. I had to stand in my bathing suit for a half hour in the cold down pour, shaking and turning purple from being sick and cold. It was miserable. All I wanted was sunshine for this trip! Finally we got to board the Camira again, I tried to warm up, and got lunch! Chicken, sausages, steak, fish and plenty of noodle salads and coleslaw. They opened the bar- beer and mini wine bottles, and had other beverages. The meal was good!

The water was so warm

So many colors!

A storm was brewing!

Turquiose-Blue Water ~ Most beautiful water I've ever seen!

We continued to sail around, it rained off and on and we got to sit in the ‘trampoline’ part at the bow of the boat when it stopped raining and I was able to sit outside and not shake from the cold. Later, fruit, cheese and crackers were served! I LOVE fruit so I was all over that! We sailed around for what seemed like forever, sometimes through quite choppy water from the storm. We sailed back to the marina around 5:30pm and got our transfer back to Nomads. We had all planned to shower, get ready and head out for a night on the town! We didn’t think we would be so exhausted! I was sick, tired and physically exhausted from shivering all day. So, we showered, tried to look presentable, and just went out to dinner. I got a cheeseburger! I was so happy because it was the first cheeseburger since I’d been there, made by Aussies, and not stuffed with something weird! It was delicious. Then we walked around Airlie beach a bit and headed back to our room and I passed out almost instantly.

The marina from the hill

Part of the Airlie Beach Lagoon

 Sunday we woke up at 7:30 and headed out for some breakfast. Then it was a day for shopping, naturally because it was raining! We hoped to do the beach…. Nope! After walking around, shopping, and grabbing some lunch, we walked along the beach. We got to see all the sailboats out on the ocean and spotted the ‘Airlie Beach Lagoon’ so, we checked it out. It was this swimming pool type area that was really neat and next to the beach and ocean. Wish we had something like that back in the states. We took some photos and then it was time to catch our transfer back to Proserpine.

Our Hostel for the Weekend

We got checked in again, with no ID, and went through security, without having to take off shoes or even take out our liquids. People were able to bring their own water etc. through security…. Way more lax than usual! The only thing that made me feel safe was the random explosives check, jess was the chosen one! Our flight ended up being an hour late, so we missed our airport transfer back from Brisbane. The last one was set to leave at 8:50. We landed in Brisbane at 8:30, didn’t get off the plane til 8:45 and basically had to run to catch it. We made it, and got back to Sippy Downs no problem, but very exhausted.

Even though it was a rainy weekend and I was deathly ill, it was an experience of a lifetime and so incredible. There are no words for scenery like we saw. It was a great experience with fun friends. Can’t wait for the next adventure!