Airlie beach

We arrived in the pouring rain, it was late and as we walked up to the hostel we heard cheers and antics. We walked through quickly to get our keys. The atmosphere at the hostel wasn't quite what we were used to with most people there over 25. Perhaps it was because this hostel was located slightly out of town. But we met a lovely American girl in our room. And by the time we left she had been offered a job at the hostel and planned to stay another 8 weeks. That's how easy it was to get sucked into hostel life.

The next day we had to walk through town with our heavy bags to check in to Base hostel. We had booked our Whitsunday boat tour package through them. It was a scorching hot day and we were excited for Whitehaven beach which was meant to be incredibly beautiful. We chilled by the pool for a bit where a large group of Australian guys were playing water volley ball. We were amused by their constant banter and good humour. We fancied a cool drink in the afternoon heat so we headed to the bar. It seemed that there were a few groups around with as much energy and banter as the group we had seen in the pool. That evening the bar was filled with guys, some on football tours and some on stag dos. It was still early but many people were up dancing and yelling along to the music.

After talking to some people we went to magnums which was meant to be another good bar. There was a band playing with a female lead singer who was from England. Her versions of songs were really good, made quite different by the drums accompanying her. Later on people moved into the club inside which had a 'hot legs' competition on. Girls would strut along the stage showing off their legs in attempt to win the $1000 cash prize. We found this a very bizarre concept as you couldn't see the girls faces. My favourite bar was called shanagans which was an Irish bar. They too were playing live music but by this point in the night a lot of people were on the dance floor and really going for it. We both had a great night, I even saw the sun come up for the first time since I've been in Australia.

Whitsunday islands

The next day we struggled to get our act together as we needed to pack and get to the marina for our boat tour. We were very tired but managed to sort ourselves out and the good weather got our spirits up. As soon as we had got on deck the crew were introducing themselves and getting us excited for the next couple of days. There were 4 guys working on the boat and they all seemed really good friends. They worked well together, sharing the job of keeping everyone on the boat energetic and enthusiastic. There was 32 of us on the boat and there was plenty of space. We were able to sit around the front deck or up higher to sunbathe and chill. There was also an inside area where the food was set out at every meal.

We set off to our first destination, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just cruising along. Everyone started chatting and it was interesting to find out what different nationalities we had on board. About half of the people there were German. We stopped inbetween two islands where we got into sting suits (thin wetsuits to protect you from stingray stings) and spent ages jumping off the boat and enjoying the scenery. We just couldn't believe how beautiful the sea and islands were around us. Jess and I felt so glad that we had come here and Australia just in general.

The next morning the crew woke us up at 6.15. They were all jolly singing in the kitchen and preparing breakfast for us. We set off to Whitehaven beach - the most famous beach on the Whitsunday islands. Again it was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed just cruising through the ocean. We approached land and had to take it in turns to get in the small speedboat to get over to the island. We had to walk up a steep path to get to the viewing point over Whitehaven beach. It was incredible, the White sands made swirling patterns with the blue sea across the beach. We were told that every day the beach looked different as the sand was moved in different ways by the sea. We then went down to the beach to go swimming. The water was beautifully clear and blue. A stingray came up to us and one of the crew told us to form a circle around it. He told us that it wouldn't sting us if we kept still as it would just think we were part of the reef. It swam around the circle quite happily trying to find a way out. Jess and I also took many pictures doing handstands on the beach and climbing over a large rock at the far end. We had to take the opportunity for awesome photos. A group of us also took pictures in the water using go pros and underwater cameras. It was great fun and such a surreal place to be. As we set off to our next place we were lucky enough to spot dolphins coming toward us. They swam right up alongside the boat but before we knew it they had disappeared.

After an early lunch we set off to another destination for snorkelling. Some people went diving while the rest of us just spent the whole time snorkelling. It was just as good as the coral was pretty shallow and we saw a whole range of fish. My favourite were the rainbow fishes and I saw one which was black with a purple rim around its tail. It was amazing that these bright colours could be created by nature.

That evening we all chilled on deck enjoying the surrounding views of lights on other boats and the clear sky full of stars. We saw schools of fish and squid alongside the boat. The crew also put a tent us for us all to chill inside. It was a great atmosphere playing drinking games and having a laugh.

The next morning I was woken up by commotion outside the room. I went up and the guys working on the boat told me to look at their new dog. On the side was a tiny black face wrapped in a towel. It was actually a bat that they had rescued from the water. They named it Freddie the flying fox and set it free later on.

We were all very tired and quiet that morning. But the sun was out and it was time for more snorkelling. Jess and I got in the first speed boat taking us out to the reef. We were about to get out the boat when Rich noticed something splashing over on the other side of the sand.

We realised it was a shark, Crossy the skipper got all excited and radioed to some of the other crew telling them what we could see. They all hopped on the other boat and came over to look at the shark. We watched from the sand as Chase got really close to the shark with a go pro. The boys all hopped on the speed boat and followed the shark for a bit. It was a hammerhead shark and it had just eaten a stingray whose tail was hanging out of its mouth.

After all the excitement we got into the water a bit tentatively now we knew there were sharks around. But we soon got into it and zigzagged the shore as we swam to cover most of the reef. After a while in the water some girls near me shouted out that they had found a turtle. I came over and a turtle was swimming along happily about 2 meters down. We followed him from a distance and every so often I dived down to get close to him. It was an amazing experience to be that close to a turtle while it swam along in its natural environment. It's swimming strokes made it look so chilled and majestic. I tried to take in every detail of the turtle and it's beautiful shell. Every so often the turtle came up for air and popped its head out of the water. Eventually it went down so deep that I watched it disappear into the darkness. On the way back to the boat we spotted several more turtles, they were everywhere! I got back on the boat buzzing, I was so happy to have been that close to a turtle. It was the highlight of my trip!