Ever since we left, I have received emails from people saying they want to come over and see us, but at time goes by, you start taking them with a pinch of salt. Well having a holiday over here isn't as simple as taking a 2 week break in Majorca! That's why we were so happy when we heard our best mate Paul was coming over for a couple of weeks, not bad when you consider he has a kid and just moved into a new flat!
We found out he was coming over just as we started fruit picking, so it gave us something to look forward to whilst we were slaving away! With only 2 ½ weeks in the country, Paul didn't really have time to see it all, so in the brief time he had we tried to squeeze as much in as possible.
Before meeting us he spent 2 days in Melbourne with Holly, Dan's girlfriend. Then after 2 flights, 1 bus ride and 12 hours travelling he arrived in Arlie Beach, gateway to the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. A tiny town, there isn't much to do here apart from party, so, after opening all the presents he had brought from home, we hit the town hard!
The following morning, hangover in tow, we made our way, dejectedly, down to the harbour. I say dejectedly because it was absolutely pissing it down. When you book onto a sailing trip around the Whitsundays you want glorious blue skies, if only to make the photo's look better, so, whilst standing there on the jetty with other travellers, you can imagine spirits weren't too high! As you can see from the photo! It hadn't been a good start for Paul, having rain every day since he arrived!
Luckily though, it cleared just in time, and for the next 3 days we had the stunning weather we had hoped for!
After climbing on board, and seeing where we were going to sleep (make shift bunk beds/coffin below deck, that felt like we were sleeping in a sauna) we set sail into the sunset. The crew tried in vain to entertain us, but you could tell they hadn't had much experience at it as all they could manage was a game with beer cans and of course the legendary limbo! We were a little surprised that they drew these out for about an hour and a half, but even more surprised when they then asked us if we knew any games? You would expect they knew more games than that. Because of this most people just got drunk or, like me, crashed out early.
The following morning, I awoke, like most of the others, on deck. We had all tried to sleep downstairs, but the heat was just unbearable, that coupled with the token snorer, had made most of us decamp to the deck. Although bloody uncomfortable, it was at least cooler!
But no rest for the wicked, by 8am we had finished breakfast and been shipped to shore to visit our first 'tropical' beach of the day, Whitehaven Beach. Continuously voted one of the best beaches in the world, we had seen so many photos and postcards of the beach, it was so amazing to finally see it in person. After a 20 minute walk up a hill, we made it to the vantage point; what a breathtaking sight! We just wanted to get down there!
So, after walking back down the hill we made it to the beach and the crystal clear blue water. Resisting the urge to run straight in, we suited up in the very attractive stinger suits! It was now 'stinger' season, which meant there was a possibility of deadly jelly fish in the water, so to be able to swim we had to be covered head to toe! After getting dressed, we resembled Navy Seals combat divers! As you can imagine, it made swimming in the water a little less enjoyable!
Leaving everyone to sunbathe on the beach, we took a walk up the beach. It really was true paradise. Apparently Whitehaven beach is the whitest beach in the world, and apparently so fine, you can clean jewellery with it, great for jewellery, not so great for your camera's! Either way it was now up there as my number 1 beach in the world! You could tell Paul was starting to enjoy his holiday of a lifetime!
After a few hours there we made our way back to our boat 'New Horizon' for lunch. Although there wasn't much room to eat, the food was always top class, and was cooked by just one person. We got our energy levels up and sailed to our next spot, a secluded bay perfect for scuba diving. Whilst me and Dan were off diving by ourselves, Paul and the other first timers got there first experience of the underwater world. The good thing about the boat was it gave everyone a chance to see the Great Barrier Reef and best of all it was free of charge. Even though we love diving, I think Paul preferred the snorkelling!
Because of the busy day, the fact we didn't get any sleep the previous night, and because most of the other travellers were boring, I was fast asleep by 8pm! Although I learnt from my mistake of sleeping on the deck and this time collapsed on the padded seating where we ate our food! No more wooden decks for me!
We spent the next day visiting more secluded beaches and bays to snorkel in. The weather was still nice and we even managed to raise the sails to do a bit of real sailing. It was on this last day that we all found out that the skippers 10 year old son (on board because he was sick from school) had caught chicken pox! Fortunately everyone on board had caught it before, but it would have been interesting if they hadn't!
By the end, everyone had literally collapsed on deck. Paul was funny as he had sunburnt his feet the previous day, so spent a couple of hours with his feet bathing in cold water. Although we loved the trip, the beaches were excellent as was the diving and snorkelling, everyone was so tired they just wanted to get off the boat! As we pulled into the harbour, the heavens opened. Just as we had left 2 days ago, we arrived back to a tropical storm! We were just so glad it stayed nice whilst we were out on the water!!
Other things I got up to in Airlie Beach
Got a tattoo done! Yep finally got the gutts up to sit on the chair! I wanted something to signify my time here in Oz so I got the Southern Cross (Stars on the aussie flag) and the title of their national anthem, "Advance Australia Fair" on my ankle/foot. Don't ask me why I choose them words, I thought it was better than "Matt and Dans Round the World Tour" Plus only people that know about Australia will know what it means. Either way it bloody hurt!!
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