The 12 hour bus ride was nothing but fun, honestly. If I was
with any other group of people it would have been torturous, but really…I had
HEAPS of fun. I ate some pears, some cereal, we played window bingo, and sang
and danced like children. What could be better? I regret ever complaining on a
car trip to Boston…
So we arrived in Airlie Beach just in time to shower and get
dinner. This hostel was very different from the first, the group of us all got
to stay in the same room, but it was like a cabin and there was beautiful
nature and scenery everywhere…cool pink koosh ball flowers and awesome trees. There
is actually only one street in all of Airlie Beach, so we needed to take a day
trip somewhere. The next day was another early start as we headed off for a
sailing trip. If you Google image search “Whitsunday Islands” you’ll see the
paradise I got to indulge in. We hopped on the sail boat and went out to
Whitsunday Islands National Park and took a 20 minute nature hike through a
forest until we reached the most gorgeous lookout point I have ever seen.
Literally, my heart stopped. The most gorgeous shallow white silica sand
covered by clear turquoise waters with the puffiest clouds ahead and mountains in
the distance. Truly, it was amazing. It’s one of those places where the photos
just won’t do it justice…but I took a hundred pics anyway. Then we boated to a private beach where we
jumped off of the boat to swim ashore. We tanned, swam, and ate a wonderful bbq
lunch. There were really cool lizards all around too. Then we sailed around to
an amazing snorkeling location located between these massive rocks, and the
water seemed so raw and almost too natural for snorkeling. We got in anyway and
while the water was freezing, the fish were amazing! There were those big fish
with the really ugly lips and the most colorful coral I’ve seen. Yes, I realize
I said that about the Great Barrier Reef, but I enjoyed this snorkeling more.
There were schools with hundreds of fish swimming around me and I kissed a few!
So surreal.
That night we found a bar to watch the US/Australia rugby game…and
the US got wrecked. Then we went to the Rum Bar…a bar with over 100 kinds of
rum. I indulged with a $15 cocktail that was enough to keep me going on the
dance floor all night.
