I went to Whitsundays with two friends from Brisbane so we could sail across the islands. Basically, Whitsundays is a cluster of islands that is off the northeast coast of Australia, somewhere between Cairns and Brisbane; I'd also like to now refer to it as "Tropical Paradise." Our trip was three days and two nights, living on a sailboat with 10 people and 2 crew. It was a pretty small boat, but we all had so much fun.
When we first boarded the boat, it was pretty overcast and looked like it was about to rain. We were a little upset about the weather because it's supposed to be dry season up north because it's winter; did I mention that the temperature in this so-called winter was in the 70s? It lightly rained as we headed for our first snorkeling spot, but as luck would have it, it stopped right when we got there. Our first spot was called Caves Cove and it was right over a beautiful spot in the Great Barrier Reef. I've already snorkeled and scuba-dived out in the reef when I was in Cairns, but I can honestly say it is impossible to get sick of exploring one of the most mesmerizing creations in the world.
In these instances, I'm really thankful of all of those painful years of ridiculous breath training for swimming; I was able to dive down about 15 to 20 feet along the edges of the reef and see some of the most vivid colors of reef and fish. There was one fish that was as big as half of my body; it was about two and a half feet long and shaped like a circle. It swam right by me when I was pretty deep so it originally scared me because I thought "of course I'll be the one person that actually runs into a shark." When the freaking out subsided, I was relieved and pretty excited that such a cool thing swam so close to me. I'm convinced that some of the fish are so used to people snorkeling around them that they follow us to see if we have food.
After snorkeling for a while, we got back onboard and raised the sails. We were pretty far out from our destination in the morning, which was Whitehaven Beach, so the Skipper wanted to sail for a while before anchoring for dinner and bed. I don't know if it was just in the moment or not, but I think nothing can beat relaxing on a sailboat, cruising around tropical paradise. I love being on a boat. Whenever I'm on the water, I'm always at peace; maybe I should have been born a fish. The just such a serene and calming place to be; I definitely could have sailed on that boat forever and never come back.
It was still a little cloudy throughout our first night, so it was hard to see the stars. It also made it almost eerily dark; I don't know if I've ever been on a boat that late that hasn't been docked. I thought that falling asleep to the world in pure silence except for the sound of the water, while rocking away to the waves would have led to a great night sleep, but we tried to fit all three of us in our little, tiny cabin like sardines. If I could find a way to make a boat really spacious below deck, I would; it was a tight squeeze for all of us.
In the morning, we woke up on our way to Whitehaven and we were SO excited because it was sunny and hot. The day before I thought the water was blue, but nothing compared to the sun shining off of it. The water was a combination of turquoise and emerald blues that literally just sparkled. We had all morning at the beach and took a ton of pictures, while every single person got fried. Sunscreen seemed to be at the back of everyone's mind and it definitely showed that night when we were all glowing pink.
After the beach we sailed away to another fantastic snorkeling spot and spent the afternoon playing around in the water. Whether underwater or out of it, everywhere I turned was beautiful. As we were traveling around another island, the sun was setting, which was unbelievable. Everyone onboard just kept saying "it doesn't get much better than this."
The next morning, we woke up bright and early and sailed into Nara Inlet. There was a short hike up one of the islands that led to an Aboriginal cave. We got to see some paintings that had been there for hundreds of years and look at some of the territory which old tribes lived in. Our Skipper told us that the reason people came to Nara was for the protection from storms. It's almost surrounded by islands which causes a shelter from bad weather and hurricanes. Whether someone went for protection or just to see the caves, the place was incredible; it looked like a painting.
After exploring the inlet, we headed back out to our ship. There was about a three hour sail back to Airlie Beach and we had absolutely perfect conditions. We all had a blast on this trip and I would have carried it out for a few weeks if I could have. If I ever get the chance, I'd go back to Whitsundays in a heartbeat; it's definitely my kind of paradise.
That same afternoon, we took a flight back to Brisbane and I stayed with one of my friends for three days to explore the city. It's a lot smaller than Sydney, but we definitely had a lot of fun. A river wraps around the city, so it's still by water, which in my opinion makes it awesome. The weather wasn't great, but I still had fun exploring, shopping, and taking pictures.
One of my favorite things that we got to do in Brisbane was visit the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where we got to hold koalas! Most animal sanctuaries in Australia don't let anyone hold the koalas, just pet them, so we were SO excited to cuddle with them. After walking around and playing with kangaroos, we finally got our chance. It took all of my control to not take the koala and run; it was so adorable!!! The fur was soft and really thick, and the cuties just curl up around you. One thing that the guides made sure for us to do was stand completely still, almost like a tree; apparently, koalas aren't that big into people, so as long as you stay stable enough they'll hug you.
I had such a fun week on this trip and I'm so glad I didn't sit home and study. I'm sure all of my professors would have made the same decision I did and enjoyed the week. It was my last vacation from vacation in Australia and I had a blast. I can't believe my time here is winding down. I only have a week left until I'm on a plane and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Obviously, I can't wait to see my family and friends, but how do I leave the perfect city? One thing is for sure, I will come back; I've only been here for 124 days, but it's become a second home.
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