Arrived in Airlie Beach on Thursday 9th Jan mid afternoon and decided to spend the rest of the day by the pool. The weather was glorious and our hotel was right on the ocean.
Airlie Beach is a backpackers paradise. Full of bars, cheap eateries and hostels. It is a really buzzing little town with a constant turnover of people. It's a base for exploring the 74 islands that are here. We decided to frequent a couple of these bars on Thursday night and, after a meal and a little pub crawl, ended up in Paddy Shenanigans where a one man acoustic session was taking place. The bar was lively and full of young party goers, and we blended in perfectly ;). As soon as the acoustic session was over, a band started in the other corner. All in all a pretty good place. After several VodCrans and a couple of Jagerbombs, it was time to leave them all to it.
The plan for the friday was to get up with a hangover, have some breakfast and sunbathe all day by the pool. 2 out of 3 were ticked off as there was an almightly storm over head.
So, Saturday was the 2 night Whitsundays Cruise. Turned up at the Marina with a crate of VB and a couple of pairs of trunks. The boat consisted of 18 guests and 3 crew members. Left the Marina at about 12pm and headed off into the Islands.
The trip consisted of a couple of scuba dives, some snorkelling, some paddle boarding and a walk to Whitehaven Beach. If you have not heard, this beach is 99.95% silica sand. Not like the sand you get on normal beaches, but softest, whitest sand you have ever felt. The beach is a National Park and you need a license to be able to remove sand from here. Only 1 of these have ever been granted, and that's held by NASA. They collect 1 bucketful every year to use in their telescopes. It's so soft you can even give your jewellery a polish
The cruise was a brilliant 2 days. Everyone on board got on really well and there was a great mix of people ranging from backpackers to honeymooners to parents who were visiting their kids that are working in Oz. Each night the Captain found a secluded, calm spot on the ocean, lit the BBQ everynight and took turns to put our iPods on. And, when it got dark, the lights came on at the back of the boat which attracted marine life such as little crayfish, turtles and dolphins. We were so well looked after by the crew, who took care of everything. And, even though we are up very early to begin our day, you could never tire of having breakfast with views like this....
If you ever find youself in Oz, this is a must do trip.
It would have been great to go out for a few beers afterward with our newly found chums, but we were due to catch a plane at 4pm.
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