Airlie Beach and The Whitsundays

Saturday 9th October - Saturday 16th October 2010

We arrived in Airlie and got to "Airlie Waterfront Backpackers", a large complex and we have a small room with bunkbeds! But we like it. It seems more "party" than Maggie but not quite as trashy as Cairns so it's all good.

When we woke up in the morning the weather was s***...again! So we cheered ourselves up by buying a couple of xmas prezzies (one we couldn't resist for Alex!)(I was reluctant to spend any money on Alex whatsoever. J) and Joe bought himself a couple of "singlets" (vests/wife-beaters). Macca is back on the team, we had a brew and a brownie (it's not that warm in the breeze) and a four x on the beach. It's still warm and pleasant and our spirits are still high. (Also on this joyous afternoon Me and Elle persuaded macca to shave his hair off as it would be more practical. He was very reluctant as he's a bit of a homo but we did it and he looks very very funny!! hahaha. J)

It's Sunday now and we have spoken to Mal (Bruces friend who does the Whitsunday tours). He has said he will give us a cash deal on a 3 day, 2 night sail around the Whitsundays and we can stay on the boat tonight and tomorrow night for free! Free accomodation is good news these days! I just hope the weather improves as the thought of seeing Whithaven beach and the beautiful Islands not in all their glory, under a grey sky, is a very depressing one...(But we cant really complain because we're still having bbq's on the beach, drinking alot of goon and wearing shorts and vests! life could be worse!! Joe.)

Watch this space...

Staying on the boat was amazing! We had a sailing yacht to ourselves in a marina full of rediculous yachts! The weather was rubbish on Tuesday but it was ok as we just chilled out on the baot and wathced a film. It's so cool waking up on the boat, there are flocks and flocks of cocatoo which are so noisy they wake us up and you can even see the fish in the marina so it must be amazing out on the reefs.

We left on the 3 day sailing trip on Wednesday morning. The weather was grim but we were still excited. We sailed out for a few hours which was very exciting in the wind and rain and snorkled for the first time at an island called 'Caves Coves'. The visibility wasn't great due to the wind but we still saw loads of fish (I wretled with a shark and cooked it for tea later that evening. Joe.) and coral. We went for a sail in the afternoon which turned out to be quite an extreme sail due to the weather! I was convinced we were going to tip over but it was so much fun being sprayed by massive waves! There were 12 of us on baord and all helped with the sails, ropes and steering, it was so much fun! We anchored at another island and had food and wine on the deck and watched the sunset, it was amazing!

On Thursday we went snorkling again at 'Dumbell Island' the fish are so colourful! We hired an underwater camera and got some great pics! I still haven't found nemo though! But...we did see turtles!!! Then we stopped at 'Tongue Bay' on Whitsunday Island and walked through to the viewing point of Whitehaven beach. WOW. Even though the sky was a bit grey, it was still boiling and the view was incredible. I can't even imagine what it's like on a clear day, it really does take your breath away. Then we walked down to the beach. The sand is like flour, only whiter and the water is so clear you can see the sand through the waves. And, although it was cloudy we all burnt!!! Must be the reflection off the white sand or maybe from the boat but we all looked very red that evening! We anchored at 'Sunset Bay' that evening and ate and drank again! On Friday we snorkled again in the morning. I love waking up on the boat (although we wake up very early as there are no curtains!), having a brew on the deck then jumping off for a snorkle! I almost cried today as we saw a pod of dolphins swimming alongside our boat - amazing! Also...it's sunny!!! Yey! We also visited another beautiful Island which was basically just a beach! An island of sand and nothing else - perfect! And because the weather was so good it looked better than Whitehaven! We then sailed back to Airlie. We had a mixed bag of weather and it would have been nice to see Whitehaven in all it's glory in the sunshine but the wind and rain made for a really exciting sailing trip which we wouldn't have had if the weather had've been calm so it's all good! Mal is an absolute legend and let us stay on the boat on Friday night too so we have saved loads in accomodation. Macca also stayed on with us on Friday as Mal has offered him a job as a decky! What an amazing opportunity! Me and Joe would have loved to have done it - -can you imagine a job sailing the Whitsundays!!!) but we couldn't commit due to Fiji and Sydney. Never mind but good luck to Macca! (I would of lvoed to do the decky job! over $700 a week too! Whilst we were sailing I loved helping out on deck and by the end of the trip i was pretty much the skipper! Mal also let us stay on the boat for a night after the trip so saved a bit of money there! class! J)

We have booked our Greyhound to Hervey Bay for tonight. It's a 13 hour trip so we are doing it overnight to save another night's accomodation. I don't want to jinx anything but the weather looks ok there! Mal told us that the reason for the freak wet weather is due to the El Nino weather phenomenon which occurs very rarely and has brought the wet season to the east coast 6 weeks early - just in time for us!!! Just our luck, but we are making the most of it and it isn't getting us down. It's still hot!

Will let you know when we arrive in Hervey and our plans for Fraser Island!

Lots of love,

Elle and Joe x x x